In the first century BC, the Roman orator Cicero wrote comfort letters to friends who had lost a loved one. He expressed his condolences, but also did not call them in itself by allowing their grief to be dragged. Do you prefer to focus on your daily obligations, his advice was. But then Cicero in 45 BC. He did not follow his own words himself. “His daughter Tullia died in childbirth. At that time, that great statesman was suddenly very small and sad and unable to be resilient,” says Tessa Leesen (44), associate professor of History at University College Tilburg. “He let go of all his public responsibilities in Rome and withdrew into a villa on the coast.”
“Trust your speech as a remedy for sadness
Leesen discusses Cicero’s letters in its European history lectures. “Not only because of the historical and philosophical significance, but also to let the students reflect on their own intercourse.” She already noticed before the Coronapandemie that students were struggling with fear of failure, stress and depression complaints, and needed more support from the university. That is why, together with other employees, she set up a program in 2019 to help students develop resilience, the Resilience Project. They took an example from renowned American universities such as Harvard, Princeton and Stanford.
In my loneliness I only speak with books, interrupted by tears
Emeritus professor of General Social Sciences Alkeline van Lenning (68), who was head of University College until last year, welcomed the initiative. She worked at the university for 42 years and in recent years she struck how much students struggled with their lives. “A question I always asked during admission interviews is: what is the last book you have read? Sometimes there was a book that they read in high school before the final exam. But often they mentioned self -help books. They talked about that with more enthusiasm than about it than about it than about it than about it The plague from Albert Camus. ”
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Bang
The resilience project includes workshops, based on positive psychology, in which first -year students learn to find balance between studying and relaxing. Another part of the program is embedded in the Bachelor’s program. Leesen: “Teachers offer lectures in which psychological studies but also literary and philosophical source texts are read about failure and success. They discuss this with students. Both about the scientific value of the text and about the life lessons you can pull out.”
In her lecture on Cicero, Leesen sketches the historical, political context in which he lived. “His daughter died at the time of the collapse of the Roman Republic, the political system in which he had played an important role,” she says. “That was a big blow for him.”
I fight my tears, but lose the fight
She also discusses with her students about Cicero’s attitude towards mourning and loss. He received the advice he had given his friends back like a boomerang. “They saw his withdrawal from public life for a while, but after a few months they became impatient and struck him to pick up his activities again.” The teacher notices that a conversation will automatically relax in the lecture hall about radical life events and how you can respond to them.
Draw lessons
A book recently came up about this way of teaching, which is called ‘Character Education’ at: Rethinking Resilience in Character Education. Leesen and Van Lenning contributed to this. In a classic dialogue, in which they exchange arguments, they show how they themselves draw lessons from the letters from Cicero.
With your daily complaining you will not get a step further
In the office of Leesen they will do it again. She thinks Cicero’s friends are very hard for him. “That’s how it goes today. We always want everyone to continue to function, whatever happens. I draw that parallel with the students. The university can give their best a little time if they experience setbacks.”
Van Lenning is more on the line that students have to learn a ‘stoic’ position. The Emeritus professor says that students are increasingly requesting requests for extra time for exams or other exceptions to the rules. “If you are dyslexic, I fully understand that. But I also see students come by with self -diagnoses. I hesitate to.” Leesen does not fully agree. “One student can handle setbacks better than the other. We have to take that into account when supporting.”
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Divide
Van Lenning believes that students have received an individualistic view of education. “They are lonely central heating builders. They are complaining about their exam figure because they are afraid they will not succeed.” Leesen understands that students are worried about their figures. “A diploma is very important in our society. If you don’t make it at the university, it will be seen as failure.”
What they agree is that it is good if students learn to put success and failure into perspective. The University College organizes an event, Failing Forward every year, in which students, teachers and alumni frankly share their failures instead of their success stories. Van Lenning also participated. “While I was cheerful about my problems in high school and rejections for scientific subsidies, our rector Magnificus came into the room. I thought: oh no, now he hears this too. Then I knew how failure feels again, just like the students.”