Grit
As a small child, my younger sister learned to do everything before me: riding bikes, swimming, cartwheels, even skipping. It was easy for her and I just had to practice more so I could get it down. I got so good at working hard that when I fall, I laugh at my err, get up and try again. I've learned to have grit. Learning has never been easy but what else am I going to do? I love learning new things. I could stay in college forever because I love it that much. I've majored in Business, History, Geology, Social Work, and finally English (I don't recommend changing your major this many times). I've enjoyed all of my classes and they have required me to be gritty.
Perseverance and grit have impacted my life as a learner. I didn't want to be the stupid kid anymore so I studied hard and got good grades in school. I received academic scholarships for college and graduated high school with a year of school already completed. I moved to Spain for 18 months and discovered that Spanish was the first thing to come easy to me.
On the mindset quiz, I scored 25/30. So I have a strong growth mindset. However, I somehow manage to make excuses for some of my failures like snowboarding. I've been snowboarding for 17 years and I'm still not very good at it. My excuse is that I lack coordination and muscle memory and my husband just rolls his eyes but I continue to go up every winter with the attitude that I am still learning. Maybe I should try skiing.
The connection between my mindset and my experience as a learner is that I've never been a natural at good grades. I have worked hard for my grades and have grit. I know a lot of people work hard for their grades but for some reason I have always had that friend who aces a class without reading a thing. It is mind-blowing to me but I have learned to be willing to put in the time and do the work
Steps I am taking to grow my mindset and become the learner that I hope my students will one day be are.....
First, my post-it note on my computer that reads "You can do this". Sometimes I get stressed and discouraged as I say "I can't do this" repeatedly in my head so I use bright post-its to remind me that "I can do this". It's nerdy but it keeps me motivated. I will have a poster at the front and back of my classroom that says "You can do this". The one in front is for the students. The one in back is for me.
Second, there are great websites about growth mindset. 25 Ways to Develop a Growth Mindset is a great one to start with and pin on a self-improvement board on pinterest or your wall. These are great reminders that benefit everyone.
And finally, people/students see mindset in your countenance/attitude. Mindset is contagious. Which mindset do I want to spread?
I love TED Talks and Angela Lee Duckworth gives one of my favorites on Grit! (7 minutes)
Perseverance and grit have impacted my life as a learner. I didn't want to be the stupid kid anymore so I studied hard and got good grades in school. I received academic scholarships for college and graduated high school with a year of school already completed. I moved to Spain for 18 months and discovered that Spanish was the first thing to come easy to me.
On the mindset quiz, I scored 25/30. So I have a strong growth mindset. However, I somehow manage to make excuses for some of my failures like snowboarding. I've been snowboarding for 17 years and I'm still not very good at it. My excuse is that I lack coordination and muscle memory and my husband just rolls his eyes but I continue to go up every winter with the attitude that I am still learning. Maybe I should try skiing.
The connection between my mindset and my experience as a learner is that I've never been a natural at good grades. I have worked hard for my grades and have grit. I know a lot of people work hard for their grades but for some reason I have always had that friend who aces a class without reading a thing. It is mind-blowing to me but I have learned to be willing to put in the time and do the work
Steps I am taking to grow my mindset and become the learner that I hope my students will one day be are.....
First, my post-it note on my computer that reads "You can do this". Sometimes I get stressed and discouraged as I say "I can't do this" repeatedly in my head so I use bright post-its to remind me that "I can do this". It's nerdy but it keeps me motivated. I will have a poster at the front and back of my classroom that says "You can do this". The one in front is for the students. The one in back is for me.
Second, there are great websites about growth mindset. 25 Ways to Develop a Growth Mindset is a great one to start with and pin on a self-improvement board on pinterest or your wall. These are great reminders that benefit everyone.
And finally, people/students see mindset in your countenance/attitude. Mindset is contagious. Which mindset do I want to spread?
I love TED Talks and Angela Lee Duckworth gives one of my favorites on Grit! (7 minutes)
I love TED talks too! Somehow they are always able to get the information across in a way that actually grabs my attention rather than make me fall asleep! When it comes to making excuse for failures, I find myself doing that as well. Usually it is just negative self-talk but sometimes, i debate with myself if it is actually an excuse or not. This always confuses me though because every time I do it, I come to the conclusion that it is an excuse, but I still have the same argument without fail! I think it is also awesome that you love learning new things as much as you do. Yeah, I would want to stay in college forever as well, maybe for a few different reasons though!
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