My Thoughts on the Growth Mindset

 I had heard of the growth mindset in high school, but it was not referred to by any name when my math teacher told us about it. At least, I do not remember her saying a name for it. She just told us to use "yet" when speaking about our struggles with topics. For example, saying "I don't know how to do this yet," instead of "I don't know how to do this." Of course, that is a somewhat reductive description of it, and I would like to learn more about it in the future. 

I think the growth mindset works best in situations outside of the primary school system, such as in college or in other pursuits outside of academia. I think given the current educational system, the criticisms of it hold some validity. Alfie Kohn made a point that especially resonated with me that complimenting a child for their effort can come off as insulting to the child. I know if I had been given such a compliment as a child I definitely would have taken it as a sign that I personally failed, especially since I was a child who was constantly told how smart I was. Now, I am not saying that sort of praise is good. In fact, it made me feel like I could not be proud of my academic accomplishments, because I was "smart" so doing well was just doing as expected. I think for the growth mindset to work properly, the whole system would need to be reworked to create an environment where learning is rewarded for learning's sake; perhaps by moving away from the competitive nature of tests. 

(Growth Mindset Meme from the Mindset Cats blog)

I agree with this quote. Our capacity to learn is what makes us human. We are so helpless as infants because so much of our brain is devoted to learning rather than instincts. It is an incredible thing and I will forever resent the current school system for convincing so many that the pursuit of knowledge is something to dread and despise. 
-A.


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