Growth Mindset

Dear families,

I am going to be starting a new unit on my Google classroom page this week that focuses on helping develop a growth mindset.  In these especially difficult times with students and families adapting to change and new obstacles to overcome every day a growth mindset is even more important for all of us.  Students with a growth mindset believe their abilities can improve over time. Families can help by praising the way the student approaches each challenge, not just their effort.  You can also help them develop a growth mindset by talking about learning from failure. Developing the right mindset early on is crucial for a successful, happy life. When kids learn that putting forth effort and using the right strategies can help them get better at things, they feel empowered, and try harder.  When they know their brains are capable of growing, they are more confident, resilient, and are not afraid to fail.   

According to the research that Carol Dweck developed on mindset she states the following; “A “fixed mindset” assumes that our character, intelligence, and creative ability are static givens which we can’t change in any meaningful way, and success is the affirmation of that inherent intelligence, an assessment of how those givens measure up against an equally fixed standard; striving for success and avoiding failure at all costs become a way of maintaining the sense of being smart or skilled. A “growth mindset,” on the other hand, thrives on challenge and sees failure not as evidence of unintelligence but as a heartening springboard for growth and for stretching our existing abilities. Out of these two mindsets, which we manifest from a very early age, springs a great deal of our behavior, our relationship with success and failure in both professional and personal contexts, and ultimately our capacity for happiness.” https://www.brainpickings.org/2014/01/29/carol-dweck-mindset/

Stay tuned in the next couple of weeks for more information, activities, and read alouds that focus on this important topic.  

Sincerely,

Jackie Kleiner

HMS Counselor