Through the Doors of Adversity...

2011 Harvard Commencement Speech

“Through our own example, we can teach our students how to walk through the doors of adversity, gracefully learning to become great people.” (Howells, 2012, p. 123)

2011 Harvard Commencement Speech 

Through the doors of adversity – what a great read I found this chapter of Kerry’s book! (Howells, 2012, Chapter 8).

I had so many ah-ha moments as I read this and marked numerous quotes that spoke to me.           

Joseph Campbell said “At the darkest moment comes the light.” (Howells, 2012, p. 114). This reminded me of a Youtube clip I used with my support group, shortly after the mid-year exams, as we headed into the ‘make or break’ weeks left before the final exams. This clip was part of J.K. Rowling’s Commencement Address to Harvard in 2011. The full 21 minutes is worth watching, but I used just 5 or so minutes from around the 7^th minute (Harvard Magazine, 2011). In this segment Rowling talks about the lessons learned from failure, and what they teach us about ourselves. I used this clip, knowing that some students would not get the results they expected. In doing so I hoped that they would be able to see that failure is not the issue, so much as how you react to that failure. “Focusing on what we can be grateful for can empower us to make different choices, choices more likely to bring about positive outcomes.” (Howells, 2012, p. 120). 

In follow up interviews where students were despondent about their potential to achieve the results they desired, this acted as conversation starting point, an example of how they could overcome the adversity of failure and re-approach their subjects with an altered mind set. Rowling’s interview also illustrated the value of gratitude practice – that even at her lowest point, she was able to list the good things for which she was grateful, and to work forward from that point.

Howells, K (2012). Gratitude in Education: a radical view. Rotterdam: Sense.

J.K. Rowling Speaks at Harvard Commencement (2011, sept 15) in Harvard Magazine. Retrieved January 12, 2017 from https://youtu.be/wHGqp8lz36c?t=460