Growing Perseverance: How to Help Students Push Through When They Want to Quit
- Glenn Fletcher
- Feb 3
- 1 min read
“I can’t do it” is the phrase you hear 47 times a day. Math problem too hard? Quit. Shoelace won’t cooperate? Meltdown.
Perseverance is the #1 skill colleges and employers say is missing in Gen Alpha.
Proven perseverance builders:
1. The Power of Yet Jars
Every time a child says “I can’t,” they write the sentence on a strip and add “yet. “I can’t read this word… yet.” Jar fills up = visual proof of progress.
2. Famous Failures Read-Alouds
Kid-friendly stories of Michael Jordan getting cut from varsity, J.K. Rowling’s 12 rejections, Thomas Edison’s 1,000 failed light bulbs.
3. Effort Praise Only
Ban “You’re so smart.” Replace with “You stuck with that hard puzzle for twelve minutes—that’s perseverance!” Specific effort praise doubles persistence (Carol Dweck research).
Auto-B-Good’s Perseverance episode with EJ and friends learning to never give up is the best-in-class. Kids see failure → effort → success in nine engaging minutes. The collection includes lesson guides and activity pages.
Catch EJ’s story + all the other award-winning lessons:
