A major emphasis for learning in Mounds View schools is the development of grit proficient students, or what Tough (2012) would define as students with a passionate commitment to a single mission, and an unswerving dedication to achieve that mission. In her Ted Talk entitled The Key to Success? Grit, Angela Duckworth asks "What if doing well in school and in life depends on much more than your ability to learn fast and easily?" There is ample evidence to support Duckworth's query. Despite knowing colleges are increasingly interested in measuring applicants' performance character, and that Fortune 500 companies like Google view grit as the it-factor, neither we, nor science, know much about fostering academic grit in students. With luck (and by luck I mean sustained effort, resilience and grit), we'll one day be able to measure grit as well as we measure IQ. Until then, what follows are seven things teachers should consider when helping their students become determined and irrepressible learners.
1. Learn students' stories.
Disadvantaged students rarely view their unwillingness to succumb to the obstacles in their life as a potential school strength. They're often too busy thinking intelligence is fixed. To develop resilient learners, we have to illuminate the ways in which our students are already grit proficient. The kids that challenge us most are puzzles, not problems. They often arrive to school immersed in struggles far greater than anything teachers have experienced. When educators work to intentionally discover what gives students their edge, they can then validate their personal experiences of hardship and grit, with the goal of building an important bridge to academic perseverance. Student grit further develops as a result of authentic teacher-student relationships. We have to learn about our students' lives in order to recognize and build upon examples of their performance character.
