Growth Mindset

Like with my freshman year Intro to Psychology class, watching the videos on Carol Dweck's Growth Mindset was very much a string of 'ah-ha' moments that made me think "oh, so that's what's wrong with me". Growth mindset is a view on teaching, and really life in general, that tells kids to focus on the word 'yet'. Rather than telling kids they failed a class, one Chicago high school would award the grade of 'Not Yet'. As someone who went through the entirety of their secondary education on the 'excellerated' track (one step above honors), I wonder how my life might've been different had the emphasis been put on learning rather than standardized test scores. By Dweck's accounts, children's love for learning would be better nurtured by this method of instruction. I was fortunate enough to have a father that, looking back now, followed that ideology very closely when it came to life skills. Mistakes were okay, as long as I learned from them. This encouraging outlook definitely influenced my continuing curiosity in the real world. I have held many jobs, even more certifications, and to this day stick to the motto "I'll try anything once. Sometimes even twice just to be sure (within reason)". Unfortunately, street smarts and book smarts are not the same thing and I didn't have quite the same experience in the classroom. I was constantly praised over a grade, rather than my effort or actual ability. As Dweck said in her 'Make Challenge the New Comfort Zone' video, "We tell kids they should feel good when things were easy for them and they got everything right; that's a cause for celebration Not in my book. In my book it means you're not learning as much as you could. If it was easy, you probably already knew how to do it." This statement is very much the case in most public schools. As a result, I have yet to develop necessary study habits to survive college. My grades were always good enough, so there was no reason to examine the process, or even know how to. I hope in the coming years- as I get out of my GenEds and into the classes that apply to my field- that I can rediscover my passion for learning that I know still lingers somewhere deep inside and make my college career about the challenge rather than just checking a box.

Growth vs Fixed Mindset
Source: Flickr