Growing up, it was always clear to me that “being smart” was not
about coming from a certain family background, a specific side of town or even
being “born with brains.” I couldn't tell you specifically what it is that my
parents said to me that made that knowledge so clear. If I’m being honest with
myself, I'm not entirely sure
that it was something they said. There was no ubiquitous slogan or pop
psychology quote that stylised my upbringing. Actually, “being smart” was
always a multi-faceted concept in our household. My mum has Dyslexia and has
always struggled terribly with writing, spelling and reading. Deciphering her
shopping lists was always (and continues to be) a cryptic and worthwhile
challenge: “ballonas saws,” “sawsajis” and “bride”, otherwise known as
Bolognese, sausages and bread are but a few of my favourites. My brother has
ADHD and has always found mainstream schooling difficult. Few of my family
members have attended sixth form or university (I was the first on my mum’s
side to do either) and ‘intelligence’ is not as a result something I judge by a
person’s qualifications on paper.
Ultimately, my parents put their emphasis on “trying” rather than
“achieving” and it soon became clear that the “being there” was never quite as
important as the “getting there” part. It was all about being, what Duckworth
dubbed, a “gritty learner:” a learner who was resilient and determined. For me,
this meant that growing up, I had one talent. Could I write? No. Was I great at
sport? No. Could I draw or problem solve? No. My talent was determination. I
could write, do sport, draw and problem solve because with determination I knew
I could become proficient in any arena I wanted. I’m not saying that I am
gritty in every aspect of my life and I think a growth mindset is more
multi-dimensional then simply having one, or not. That is to say that you could
have a growth mindset in English but not in Maths, and in the Gym but not in
the Workplace. But certainly, my mindset, wherever it is on the spectrum of
fixed to growth and however this changes in the different arenas of my life,
has left me in a position where I regularly question my actions: “Could this
have been done better? How? What are you going to do next time?” It has made me
reflective.
And so, I’m left
questioning how can I promote a growth mindset in my students when
realistically, I know that I am not a “perfect model” of this thinking (not
that ‘perfection’ is at all what a growth mindset is about), when I cannot
pinpoint the exact origin of my “reflectiveness” and where I know, to a large
extent, this was something fostered by my parents and not my schooling? If
anything, school provided a platform on which to extend my “reflectiveness” not
a host for its formation. Realistically, there is no clear answer.
This is where “cojones”
come in. I know you were all wondering how this Spanish vernacular found its
way into my educational musings. The cojones
of my post title refers to my Lenten challenges.
In trying to foster
“grittier” learners I will (for the duration of lent):
- Ring home. 3 students. Every week. Not to praise success but to praise effort in my lessons. A small step for man…and so on…
- Not complain about work. Find something good to say about my day. Every day. Even the bad ones.
And finally, in trying to
become a more competent and confident crossfitter, I will (for the duration of
lent):
- Use open gym sessions at the weekends to practise kipping.
Let’s face it: it takes
courage to embrace challenge, to be open to criticism and to be “gritty” in the
face of failure. It takes cojones (the metaphoric kind!) to be a good learner!
(This TEDTalk is my inspiration for this post and well worth the watch:)
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