The skills students need to succeed are teachable, as those who tuned in for a C.H. Booth Library virtual author talk with Dr Michele Borba learned on September 8.

The event was made possible thanks to the Library Speaker Consortium. Borba, a child development expert and author, spoke about “raising thrivers.”

The “Raising Thrivers: Parenting Tips & Tools to Help Kids Thrive in an Uncertain World” author discussion lasted about one hour and attendees had the option to submit questions to Borba. Brandon Adler of the Library Speaker Consortium hosted the discussion.

“Really what we now know is thrivers are made and not born, which means we can teach certain skills along the way,” Borba said near the start of the discussion, adding that skills that help students to be resilient and succeed throughout life are teachable.

Borba said she is a mom of three boys and was a teacher for “quite a long time.” She said it is never too late to boost resilience in a child.

Throughout the discussion, Borba highlighted portions of her book Thrivers: The Surprising Reasons Why Some Kids Struggle and Others Shine. She broke down the discussion into presenting skills that boost confidence and ways parents can teach those skills to their child or children.

Borba highlighted the skills of resilience, empathy, self-control, integrity, curiosity, perseverance, and optimism. For each skill Borba offered some ideas or stories on how to emphasize those traits and teach them.

For example, for resilience, Borba recommended parents take notes while watching their child, at a time when their child does not know they are being watched. The notes should focus on tasks they learn with more ease or things they have more patience for. Once the parent has discovered those things, tell other caregivers, such as a grandparent or teacher, about them and praise them at select times.

“I just noticed how kind you were because you held the door open for grandma,” Borba said as an example of how to praise a child for being kind.

One thing Borba noted when discussing empathy was the power of “using the library.” While she discussed teaching students skills to read facial expressions and understand how someone is feeling and what the child can do about it, she also said reading literary fiction boosts academic achievement and empathy skills.

While choosing which books to read to children, parents should note characters that can help students feel more comfortable with differences, as exposing them at an earlier age can help.

Later, when discussing supporting curiosity in a child, Borba said to encourage children to brainstorm for ways to handle a problem when one arises. She recommended not to judge the ideas and to allow the brainstorm session to keep spinning. Setting a one-minute timer can help.

“Thrivers are really and truly made, not born ... It is teachable,” said Borba.

She recommended that parents start encouraging the seven characteristics in their children as soon as possible, and not stopping the support.

“It all starts with you,” said Borba.

More information about Borba and her book Thrivers: The Surprising Reasons Why Some Kids Struggle and Others Shine is available on her website micheleborba.com/books/thrivers.

For a list of upcoming virtual author talks through C.H. Booth Library see its website at libraryc.org/chboothlibrary/upcoming.

Education Editor Eliza Hallabeck can be reached at eliza@thebee.com.