Grit and Growth Mindset

 Welcome Back and May The Odds Be Ever In Your Favor.

As we take time to get to know our new students, this is perfect time of year to reflect on grit and a growth mindset. Not only do we want to foster grit and a growth mindset in our students but we want to make sure we too have grit and a growth mindset.

If you begin to see concerns arise with a student this is the time to have a growth mindset. 

As challenge after challenge arises, this is a the time to have grit.

When you Google grit, you will read that grit is defined as having passion and perseverance for long term goals.

Google goes on to breakdown the two components of grit, passion and perseverance.

Passion is defined as, a deep unwavering commitment and long-term interest in a specific goal or direction.

Perseverance is defined as, working hard and pushing though challenges, setbacks or failures without giving up.

The psychologist Angela Duckworth is one of the leading researchers on grit. She has studied a wide range of ages, backgrounds, and education level. She states that the most powerful and driving force for success if not intelligence, but grit.

We need to have grit when we are presented with a challenging student. 

We need to instill grit to help our students not give up and to choose to try over and over again, even when something is difficult.

The psychologist Carol Dweck has long been the one to turn to regarding growth mindsets. If you watch enough videos of Angela Duckworth she will reference Carlo Dweck and connect grit and growth mindset.

A growth mindset is defined as, the belief that your basic abilities, intelligence, and talents can be developed and improved over time through hard work, effective strategies, and support.

The ability our students come into school with does not have the be the ability they leave with at the end of their time at Fortis.

Grit and Growth Mindset work hand in hand to propel our students forward with confidence. 

I encourage you to take some time this first month of school to think about your own grit and growth mindset. Take some time to consider how you see your students. Do you believe they can succeed? What is your growth mindset for them? Can you show them grit to help them gain grit? 

When I worked doing in-home crisis social work we were always told, you do not know which families are hopeless. This was to instill the mindset that we should never see a family as hopeless. I believe this applies to our students and connects well with grit and growth mindset. Our students are not hopeless, they can gain grit, and everyone has the ability to have a growth mindset.