“Turn off your phone! You are supposed to be on vacation for the next several days.” This was the edict I received this past Friday directly from Almond as I kept sending last minute reminders for the day. Begrudgingly, I followed orders.
While waiting at the airport, I perused the Hudson bookstore, a favorite pastime from my few years of weekly travel. A book by Dan Harris, co-anchor of Nightline and weekend editions of Good Morning America, caught my attention. It was titled, “10% Happier”. Who doesn’t want to be just a little bit happier? The first paragraph of his preface hooked me and I devoured the first half before landing from our first flight.
On the ascent to 10,000 feet on our second flight towards our final destination of New Orleans, I needed a mental break. Putting on my headphones, I decided to go for some light reading and picture perusing in Southwest’s airline magazine. Oh, oh! I knew I was in trouble when I saw the cover picturing a young girl with over a dozen medals around her neck and a caption that read, “Enough already! Praise gets heavy. So why can’t we stop?”
I found my way to the feature article, and there it was - GROWTH MINDSET. Miles away from LASD, education and learning still found me. The title of the article itself was, “In criticism of praise: reckoning with failure is a key to kids’ growth, but they’re buried in a mountain of flattery. How did we get here? And why can’t we stop?” In the pages that ensued, Carol Dweck’s work was referenced, and the argument for providing balanced, specific feedback rather than undeserved empty praises, resounded.
Upon finishing the article, I cracked open my laptop and stole a glance at my husband. Yup, there it was - a smirk of exasperation as he floated into vacation bliss while watching me type away in an effort to free the ideas that were running rampant in my head. Rest assured though, once my thoughts were in written form, much fun was had in the incredible city of NOLA.
The topic of a growth vs. fixed mindset, is not new to LASD and Almond. In fact, we frequently discuss as an education team the necessity to nurture the idea that intelligence and traits are not innate, but instead have the capacity to grow and develop. As such, we value process as much as we do the outcome. We encourage explicit, direct feedback to children, rather than generic, broad statements. Students partake in projects like the 4th grade STEM robot construction to put their resilience to the test. Students have to solder, precisely attach different components together and use a magnifying glass to gain better visibility. This pushes their endurance and commitment when failure arises…and it always does.
In the article, Ashley Merryman, co-author of NurtureShock, responds to a parent’s insistence that she will not stop telling her child how amazing she is. Her response is, “Tell them you love them. Don’t tell them they’re geniuses.” I’ve reflected a great deal on this myself as a parent. My daughters know they are loved; I tell them often and shower them with kisses and hugs as much as they’ll let me. There are times when they amaze me and I can’t help but verbalize to how remarkable they are. I have been very conscious in the last few years to explain what amazes me; their effort, their patience, their thoughtfulness, their humor, etc… I have transitioned my praise to compliments that tie back to their actions and choices.
I am proud to be part of a district and school that creates opportunities for students and staff to reflect and grow. Let’s keep pushing ourselves to grow into the best versions of ourselves!