Notes on the Growth Mindset

(Photo created by True Makings about the growth mindset on Twitter) 

I have never heard of Carol Dweck, but after watching some of her videos, I feel inspired. In the United States, it's hard to not get caught up in the fixed mindset because we are so focused on individualism and competition. I remember back in elementary school and how usually A's or good scores were awarded. The fixed mindset begins to develop at this time. Once you get to middle school/high school, you begin to experience the Identity/Role confusion conflict as the development theorist, Kohlberg, has described. Adolescents begin creating an identity for themselves. I know I believed that I had to pick one thing to define myself, and so I picked academics. Other kids picked athletics, music, theatre, about anything you can think of. Next time they did badly on an assignment or a test, it's automatically because they were not "naturally smart". Every time someone tells me how smart I am, I correct them and say it's because I "work hard". Hard work, to me, is something that helps you get there. Sure, you can do well in school without trying, but there is bound to be a time where that will stop, and you are forced to either start learning or give up. 

I am an avid believer in the phrase, "Sometimes it's the journey that teaches you a lot about your destination." I can pinpoint moments in my life where I look back and smile at the hard work I did to get to the final ending, and it has always been the hard work that made it memorable rather than the end point. There is just something about accomplishing a hard feat that makes everything worthwhile. 

I really love the idea of the NYET grade in the Chicago school. It motivates students to believe that they will eventually understand it rather than give up because they failed. With systems that put so much pressure on grades and tests being a great proportion of the final grades, no wonder students are resorting to cheating or other ways to get it right rather than learning it. I really appreciate classes where we are given chances to show what we learned or understood in the class, rather one test that supposedly defines it all. It is hard for some classes to change to this kind of ideal, but I am optimistic for change in the classroom.

A final thought about this topic I had is that life is full of challenges. Duh. Life's the climb. Enjoy it and challenge yourself. That is the only way you can grow every day. Last story I promise. I remember in tennis, it was always more fun to lose to a state champion than to win a first-year player. Even though it's never fun to lose, seeing how I played and my skills after gave me the confidence that I needed.

It's okay not to be the best at something. Growth is always the goal.