Take Healthy Risks

I am sending this blog post out to my students and any secondary student out there that happens to stumble upon it.

It is now October and much of my time has been spent helping students problem solve difficult situations.  These range from struggling in a class to struggling with other students.  After 16 years of teaching and working with junior high and high school students I finally have figured out what I wish my kids would do more of.  I want my kids to take more healthy risks when it comes to school and relationships.

It is normal for students in junior high and middle school to take many risks and push boundaries.  Often these are not healthy risks and they tend to do more harm than good.  So what is a healthy risk?  A healthy risk is one that has a positive upside no matter what the result.  A small example would be that time you gave up on an assignment because you didn’t know how to do it.  This can only have a negative result because you will not get a good grade on the assignment and you will hurt your overall grade in a class.  To take a healthy risk in this situation is to work at the assignment, even if you are confused.  Turning in that work communicates to the teacher that you need help.  Turning in no work sends an entirely wrong message.

Where I see the most unhealthy risks is in the social arena of school.  Making and keeping friends can be hard.  Finding where you fit in is hard too.  The reality is how you treat people is how you are remembered by these folks as you get older.  A good example of this could be whether or not to intervene when a fellow student is upset or struggling.  A frustrating discovery for me is that when something goes horribly wrong, I find out how many people knew about what was going on but no one stepped up to help or lend a hand.  I realize that it can be difficult to judge when it is appropriate to help but for a kid that is hurting, just asking if they are okay or how you can help goes a long way for them.  This is a healthy risk because you may gain a new friend or prevent something bad.  It may mean that they will return the favor down the road.

Take a look at what I consider to be healthy and unhealthy risks:

Healthy Positive Payoff	Unhealthy Negative Side Effects
Sit with someone new at lunch.	Helping to spread a rumor.
Compliment someone.	Dishonesty
Participate in an extra curricular sport or club.	Fighting
Give five minutes a day to help a student or teacher.	Making fun of someone or helping to make fun of someone.
Prevent an awkward situation for someone.	Use divisive words like “prep” and “skank”.

I ask all of you to RED every day - Resilient, Exceptional, and Dedicated.  This is easier to do than you think.  If you just put relationships first then you will be taking healthy risks and change the way you feel and how people see you.  Start taking risks today.  Healthy ones of course.