Resilience

As unfortunate and pessimistic as it may sound, resilience cannot be taught; it is something that can only be learned through those kinds of experiences that are usually considered indescribable.  Everyone begins with some level of resilience but in most cases this resilience is specific to a certain area.  Some people are more patient than others, some can withstand more verbal confrontation, some have a higher pain tolerance.  All of these things constitute some sort of resilience. In teaching, however, I believe the form of resilience necessary is the ability to continue forward, maintaining your beliefs, even when it seems that no one is on your side.  I also believe that this is one of the more difficult types of resilience to sustain. This is the reason that so many teachers change professions withing the first three years: they simply do not have the resilience required.  That is not to say that it is impossible for one to develop such resilience, but rather that such development needs to happen before the commencement of a significant lifestyle change, namely, teaching. 
Schools like Luther College give their education students plenty of opportunities to experience a hands-on approach to learning how to teach.  Not all schools are like this, however.  Thus, when they send students out into the working world of teaching, they are woefully unprepared for the challenges that await them.  Really, the only way to teach true resilience is to give people crap. Make their lives a little more difficult and see if they get through it.  Perhaps this is harsh, perhaps it is unfair, but it definitely the only way teach resilience.