Jo Cerini

Hooray for Scarlett Jo Cerini

The story Hooray for Scarlett looks at the stress reaction and how it can be managed. Because Scarlett plays the piano beautifully she is invited to perform in her first concert. As she walks on to the stage anxiety builds up; the audience is so big! This is an unfamiliar environment. Scarlett is used to playing for only one or two people. She freezes, and can't play. What does she do? How does she feel? How does she overcome this problem? Stress often occurs when something new is undertaken. The new situation must be made familiar in the mind before we can feel comfortable. How do we make it familiar? The story reveals a planned course of action for recovering from setbacks. This approach may be practised in a variety of circumstances. Children develop resilience, independence and confidence when they know how to recover from setbacks.