Grades! Grades! Grades! They have always been the currency of educational wealth. They are the measure of a student, some of their abilities, and their worth in the academic and industrial market.
But what do they tell us about the person behind the transcript and resume? Not much!
The same goes for our students. We have all had the kids in our classrooms who "cherry pick" their successes but show little desire, commitment, or grit in the areas that they find challenging or are of little interest to them. On the flip side, we have all had the students who are gung-ho and relentless with their curiosity, perseverance, and zest for learning that whatever the subject matter they eat it up regardless of the flavor. Why do we have that split of kids who are only happy progressing in the areas which they are comfortable, and those who are fearless and hungry for more of the unknown.
The answer brings us into the realm of what are probably the two most popular and talked and written about ideas within education at this moment in time: THE GROWTH MINDSET and GRIT.
I won't waste [your] time repeating what thousands of educational bloggers have already addressed, as both the works and findings of Carol Dweck and Angela Duckworth (respectively) clearly stand up without question in classrooms, teacher lounges, family homes, and the workplace, without any shadow of a doubt. Anyone is going to benefit from having a growth mindset over a fixed mindset, and from applying more grit instead of putting in less effort, fight, and determination, no matter what their walk of life. Now, while it is really quite simple and time efficient to explain the big picture thinking behind these concepts, the breakdown, absorption, understanding, and application of what is required to develop them takes a little longer. And for educators, it may be longer than we ever get chance to witness.
Teachers have a 45 minute to an hour window, to teach their lessons, but more often than not it takes much longer than that for our students to benefit from the learning outcomes. Especially when it comes to the more conceptually based ideas i.e. we can explain a growth mindset in 20 minutes but it may take months or even years for a child to fully develop one.
So what does it take to develop a growth mindset and a stronger sense of grit?
Let's go back to the 6 virtues and 24 character strengths and start working on a growth mindset:
• Honesty is required to face up to both our successes (modesty, while a beautiful thing, shouldn't affect recognizing that something is good) and our shortfalls. Let's not tell ourselves, or others, we are doing a "great job" when it falls far short of our potential.
• Humility and modesty come into play when we succeed and achieve the desired outcome but don't carried away with the idea of having reached the summit of our abilities. There is always one more step; one more challenge; more to learn. However, we still have every right to celebrate our winnings.
• Critical Thinking/Judgement while on the list of 21st century skills, this strength is needed for self reflection and acceptance of feedback and the opinion of others.
• Being brave to submit work for criticism and being open to the feedback that comes with it, rather than "hoping it will do" can be a difficult strength to develop. After all, nobody likes repeating themselves or doing something more than once. However, growth is a never-ending process, not a "one trick pony" or a "flash in the pan" fluke.
• An appreciation of beauty and excellence is something that I personally try and exercise everyday, and it certainly helps with the realization that in the larger scale of things we are "not all that".
Ultimately, if we can identify the need for these "strengths" from the outset we can visualize an endless potential for opportunities to learn, study, understand, develop, strengthen, and grow. As we apply these strengths in all that we do, our mindset shifts to one that fosters, nurtures, and supports ongoing growth.
Developing GRIT through character strengths:
• The obvious synonym here is perseverance and it speaks for itself, but there are other strengths at play.
• Hope and humor are vital components of grit. Without hope why would we bother? Setting realistic goals and knowing that the outset is achievable delivers constant hope. Having the ability to laugh or smile at a setback (maybe because you realized an obvious error that you should have avoided) make humor a valuable asset. The journey may be long but there is nothing wrong with having some giggles during the detours (it's definitely better than the alternative).
• Zest is one of my favorite words and having that enthusiasm and desire to do what it is we are doing, makes a huge difference in getting us across the finish line.
• Bravery again comes up in the achievement stakes. Whether we are thinking about it (mindset) or doing it, there are times when we are going to be uncomfortable and challenged. If your mindset is right, what's the harm in taking the leap?
• Creativity is often overlooked in the hard, dark, gritty world of "getting things out of the door" but problem solving provide answers and creative, divergent, and synthetic thinking play a huge part in cracking the lock.
So with that, when do we get the time to teach and develop all of these strengths and mindsets and gritty constitutions, to our kids. More so, how do we assess that they have learned them? And how in heaven's name do with give them a grade?
Firstly, the teaching part is the easiest simply because it is the most feasible. As mentioned in earlier posts, character strengths can be slickly taught through subject content, advisory & team meetings, and the most straightforward way (like most concepts) is when it is modeled by the teacher.
The assessing and "grading" of character strength? Why would we want to?
The development of character helps students achieve success through their school years. The investment we make as teachers helping students invest in themselves to become "better people" is synonymous with giving a student a glass of water because they are thirsty. They need something, we give it to them. We don't assess how well or quickly they drink it. We just give them what they need to thrive. Unfortunately, we may never even get to see the reaping of the benefits, as it may well be high school or college by the time grit and growth mindsets have completely manifested themselves in the hearts and minds of our former darlings.
Very often in middle school, we just sow the seeds!
But what do they tell us about the person behind the transcript and resume? Not much!
The same goes for our students. We have all had the kids in our classrooms who "cherry pick" their successes but show little desire, commitment, or grit in the areas that they find challenging or are of little interest to them. On the flip side, we have all had the students who are gung-ho and relentless with their curiosity, perseverance, and zest for learning that whatever the subject matter they eat it up regardless of the flavor. Why do we have that split of kids who are only happy progressing in the areas which they are comfortable, and those who are fearless and hungry for more of the unknown.
The answer brings us into the realm of what are probably the two most popular and talked and written about ideas within education at this moment in time: THE GROWTH MINDSET and GRIT.
I won't waste [your] time repeating what thousands of educational bloggers have already addressed, as both the works and findings of Carol Dweck and Angela Duckworth (respectively) clearly stand up without question in classrooms, teacher lounges, family homes, and the workplace, without any shadow of a doubt. Anyone is going to benefit from having a growth mindset over a fixed mindset, and from applying more grit instead of putting in less effort, fight, and determination, no matter what their walk of life. Now, while it is really quite simple and time efficient to explain the big picture thinking behind these concepts, the breakdown, absorption, understanding, and application of what is required to develop them takes a little longer. And for educators, it may be longer than we ever get chance to witness.
Teachers have a 45 minute to an hour window, to teach their lessons, but more often than not it takes much longer than that for our students to benefit from the learning outcomes. Especially when it comes to the more conceptually based ideas i.e. we can explain a growth mindset in 20 minutes but it may take months or even years for a child to fully develop one.
So what does it take to develop a growth mindset and a stronger sense of grit?
Let's go back to the 6 virtues and 24 character strengths and start working on a growth mindset:
• Honesty is required to face up to both our successes (modesty, while a beautiful thing, shouldn't affect recognizing that something is good) and our shortfalls. Let's not tell ourselves, or others, we are doing a "great job" when it falls far short of our potential.
• Humility and modesty come into play when we succeed and achieve the desired outcome but don't carried away with the idea of having reached the summit of our abilities. There is always one more step; one more challenge; more to learn. However, we still have every right to celebrate our winnings.
• Critical Thinking/Judgement while on the list of 21st century skills, this strength is needed for self reflection and acceptance of feedback and the opinion of others.
• Being brave to submit work for criticism and being open to the feedback that comes with it, rather than "hoping it will do" can be a difficult strength to develop. After all, nobody likes repeating themselves or doing something more than once. However, growth is a never-ending process, not a "one trick pony" or a "flash in the pan" fluke.
• An appreciation of beauty and excellence is something that I personally try and exercise everyday, and it certainly helps with the realization that in the larger scale of things we are "not all that".
Ultimately, if we can identify the need for these "strengths" from the outset we can visualize an endless potential for opportunities to learn, study, understand, develop, strengthen, and grow. As we apply these strengths in all that we do, our mindset shifts to one that fosters, nurtures, and supports ongoing growth.
Developing GRIT through character strengths:
• The obvious synonym here is perseverance and it speaks for itself, but there are other strengths at play.
• Hope and humor are vital components of grit. Without hope why would we bother? Setting realistic goals and knowing that the outset is achievable delivers constant hope. Having the ability to laugh or smile at a setback (maybe because you realized an obvious error that you should have avoided) make humor a valuable asset. The journey may be long but there is nothing wrong with having some giggles during the detours (it's definitely better than the alternative).
• Zest is one of my favorite words and having that enthusiasm and desire to do what it is we are doing, makes a huge difference in getting us across the finish line.
• Bravery again comes up in the achievement stakes. Whether we are thinking about it (mindset) or doing it, there are times when we are going to be uncomfortable and challenged. If your mindset is right, what's the harm in taking the leap?
• Creativity is often overlooked in the hard, dark, gritty world of "getting things out of the door" but problem solving provide answers and creative, divergent, and synthetic thinking play a huge part in cracking the lock.
So with that, when do we get the time to teach and develop all of these strengths and mindsets and gritty constitutions, to our kids. More so, how do we assess that they have learned them? And how in heaven's name do with give them a grade?
Firstly, the teaching part is the easiest simply because it is the most feasible. As mentioned in earlier posts, character strengths can be slickly taught through subject content, advisory & team meetings, and the most straightforward way (like most concepts) is when it is modeled by the teacher.
The assessing and "grading" of character strength? Why would we want to?
The development of character helps students achieve success through their school years. The investment we make as teachers helping students invest in themselves to become "better people" is synonymous with giving a student a glass of water because they are thirsty. They need something, we give it to them. We don't assess how well or quickly they drink it. We just give them what they need to thrive. Unfortunately, we may never even get to see the reaping of the benefits, as it may well be high school or college by the time grit and growth mindsets have completely manifested themselves in the hearts and minds of our former darlings.
Very often in middle school, we just sow the seeds!