Strengths Development in Action

On February 28, 2022, a 56-year-old woman in Shanghai went to a fever clinic with fever and other symptoms. On March 1, she became the first case of local infection without a transmission source in the new round of Covid in Shanghai. The following month, the outbreak spiked exponentially. On March 28, Pudong (East of Shanghai) was first placed under region-wide static management. On April 1st, Puxi (West of Shanghai) was also placed under region-wide static management. Static management means no one is allowed to go outside of residential compounds without a special permit. For over two months, Shanghai went through a mandatory lockdown where distant-learning, remote working, group shopping of food and supplies, and frequent Covid testing became the new norm.

On April 27th, Beijing also issued a Notice of School Closure and Online Learning due to a new round of Covid outbreak. In both cities, students of all grades completed the entire semester through online learning.

Online learning fatigue was real. Emotional stress of the whole family was real. The impact on emotional and social wellbeing for the students was also real.

Since June 1st, Shanghai and Beijing have gradually emerged from the lockdown and resumed a new "normalcy." People started to return to work in offices; restaurants and shops slowly re-opened for business; and kids were getting ready for their summer break.

What could positive psychology do to help these kids tap into resilience and develop strengths? The Integrated Development Group (IDG) conducted six summer camps in Shanghai and Beijing over the summer, covering different age groups. Below are a few highlights.

Strengths Development Camp - 1st to 3rd Graders

These little ones were just happy to be with each other in person. The five-day camp focused on four character strengths – Courage, Self-control, Social intelligence, and Perseverance. Different learning methods were used to make the children more engaged: story-telling, creativity work, movie clip appreciation, outdoor activities, and group projects.

To learn "Courage" in a practical way, the kids created using playdough, writing a "My Fear & My Courage" story, and received encouragement from each other as they shared the stories in small groups.

Another activity was “Finding my voice” during which the kids built their own snowflake using pieces of snowflake lego, and shared personal strengths and characteristics.

One of the activities for “self-control” was reflecting and developing healthy screen habits, which has been a challenge for many kids due to online learning. Narrative stories were used to help the kids learn and identify solutions. A second grader developed the story to the left about a kid who secretly played video games in his room, who grew up unhappy and eventually learned his lesson.

Resilience Camp for 4-8 Graders

The five day camp focused on the themes of the resilient body, resilient emotions, resilient mind, resilient friendships, and being a resilient learner.

On day one, the students learned and discussed the five-dimensions of “Resilient Body”: nutrition, exercise, sleep, intake of sugar, and screen time management. Afterward, the kids went for a 90-min walk around Century Park amid the heat wave of nearly 100 degrees. In teams, they taught each other how to stay cool and hydrated and were proud to help each other complete the journey.

Resilient Mind was composed of several activities, one of which was knitting for 45 minutes every day. For those who are familiar with knitting, you are aware of the patience and persistence it requires. Some older boys who scoffed at the activity initially could not put it down at the end, and a few finished three scarves!

Love of Learning Camp - 5-9 Graders

In a country where the majority of the parents take their children to supplemental classes to learn math, English, and writing since Pre-K, it is not surprising that at an early age, kids start showing lack of intrinsic motivation to complete homework and learn. Many of the 5-9th graders were suspicious the first morning when they arrived at the camp, admitting that “mom wants me to be here”.

We started by discussing a bit of neuroscience, that our brains were born to learn, that we could all remember some fun early experiences of exploring and learning. From there, the students started to reflect and discuss the following topics:

What is one of your favorite subjects? What made you like it?
What is one of your least favorite/toughest subjects? What made it tough?
Who do you study for?
What do you want to do in the long term?
How can we learn self-directed learning?
What is one effective learning habit that we can share with each other? How did you make it work? How did it work for you?

The students helped each other in the subjects, reflection, and planning. Most importantly, they formed groups to work on one of the 17 United Nations Sustainability Projects, presented at the camp's end to all students and parents.

Back to School Prep Camp, 4th to 9th Graders

After two months of lockdown, three months of distant learning, and two months of summer break, how are we going to get ready for school?

The kids created a "tree of worry" listing their worries relating to academics, health/Covid, friendships, and families. They smiled at each other upon finding many commonalities on the big tree and felt relieved.

The unique aspect of this camp was that the parents were present with the kids during the final half day, discussing how to adjust communication patterns, support the development of new routines, and form well-being habits (such as the three-blessings exercise!).

2022 is the eleventh year IDG has disseminated positive education in China, with an increasing focus on building a family system that facilitates growth at home due to the distress of Covid lockdown measures. Most of the teachers are parents who have worked extensively with both the kids and their parents along the journey. We have witnessed the power of character strengths helping students as they grow up and cope with challenges. Every year we see students who have benefited from positive education enroll in universities around the world. Just yesterday, we said goodbye to a young lady going to UC Davis and a young man heading to Manchester University. One thing we know for sure is that life is full of challenges. Yet, knowing that they have a solid foundation of optimism, persistence, social skills, and self-awareness is surely a blessing and relief for the caring adults waving them off.

"It is not how much we give, but how much love we put into giving." – Mother Teresa

Karen Zong (C’07) is the founder of Integrated Development Group (IDG), with offices in Beijing and Shanghai, and is one of the leading providers of positive education in China. Karen has over 20 years of HR management, leadership development, consulting and counselling experiences in the US, Hong Kong and mainland China, and has facilitated workshops on positive psychology based leadership development and team development for Yale China, Beijing University, China European International Business School, Fortune 500 companies and Chinese local enterprises. Prior to her current work, Karen worked as Managing Director for PDI China, People Director for Walmart Global Procurement overseas operations, and Director for People & Organization Capabilities for Microsoft’s Greater China region. In addition to her MAPP degree from Penn, Karen also holds an lMBA, is an EdD candidate with Fielding Graduate University, and is a Marie Fielder Scholar.