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Grit is for Sandpaper

11/30/2015

6 Comments

 
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Last week we held our fall term parent/teacher/tutor interviews. The school was buzzing with animated conversations and positive exchanges between our staff and the families of the students whom we serve. As the day progressed, as usual I had a number of parents drop in to share stories and ask questions. However, this time there was one comment that really gave me pause. One of our new parents said to me that her interview had been a revelation. It turns out, she told me, that her daughter had been working hard for years to overcome her learning challenges with little apparent success - while all of this time, her family assumed that her failures were due to the fact that she was simply "lazy"!

She told me that at her last school, her teachers had told her that she lacked "grit", that she didn't persevere hard enough to be successful and that with greater effort she could do just fine. One teacher went so far as to tell her that she had a "fixed mindset" that she couldn't do things and that was what was getting in her way. What was the sub-text? Basically that it was not her teachers' fault that she wasn't succeeding at school, it was hers.

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The American educational philosopher Neil Postman once commented that hearing a teacher say: "I taught that concept, the student just didn't learn it." was akin listening to a car salesperson say: "I sold that car, the customer just didn't buy it." Teaching and learning (like selling and buying) is a symbiotic process, neither can live in isolation from the other. The teacher who "teaches" something that nobody learns, hasn't taught anything at all. 

My concern is that recently - and perhaps this is the result of the pressures brought on by high stakes testing, or regional/international examinations (Provincial, IB, AP, etc.) - educators have scrambled to place the onus for success or failure squarely on the shoulders of the student. Complaints about "class composition" or a lack of grit, or a fixed mindset all point to the child as the source of the problem, not the school or classroom or teacher. 

So what can we do to change this seemingly "fixed mindset" in ourselves as educators? To begin with, we have to understand what the terms really mean, and where they come from. A glib turn of phrase should not replace the need to delve deeply into the individual challenges of each student. Low self-esteem, a product of repeated effort and failure, does not show a lack of resilience, it shows a need for support and understanding. A preconceived notion that a particular task is hopeless is not a product of a "mindset" but a hard-earned realization that comes from completing painstaking work that has reaped little or no reward. 

It is our job, as parents and educators, not just to recognize that a student is "stuck", but also to help them to back away from a seemingly impossible challenge and find a different pathway around it. That is not a lack of grit, it is just common sense!

6 Comments
Andrea link
11/30/2015 12:41:47 pm

Yes! I had a bad taste in my mouth when I myself as a student was told and also heard from our daughter's pre-KGMS teacher that the teacher needed to see more focus and that we had "potential"....These words for our future glasses in academic endeavours will be big red flags that there isn't enough support for our children's learning in this or that setting. Stay alert and never be afraid to make either big or small changes. 😀

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Mark Brown
12/1/2015 08:03:48 am

Interesting post Jim (as usual).

You know I agree 100% with you that a concept is not taught until it is learned; and that I too wince when I hear teachers going on about how they 'taught this and that' but the students just didn't learn it.

With that said, I think there is some relevance to the grit argument.

I have noticed that school, as its culture and delivery exists today, has trained our students in to being answer seekers versus problem solvers. Teachers have, often times, taken the role of teaching students the quickest way to find an answer and have, in the process, also cleared away any obstacles in the students' path. The problem with this is that no problem in real life is simple, that most real problems have multiple answers and viewpoints, and that the path to "the answer" is never clear or devoid of obstacles.

Thus, when a child doesn't immediately find an answer, or if the path is clear, they can often demonstrate the lack of 'grit' that some commentators are speaking of. Trained to find the obvious, they shut down when it isn't so obvious.

The argument for 'grit' does not in any way absolve teachers of ensuring that every child is met with appropriate challenges and that they are fully supported, whatever their learning needs. It is, however, a relevant consideration for how most schools (surely not KGMS) currently 'deliver' their curriculum (rather than inspiring learning).

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Mark Brown
12/1/2015 08:10:10 am

Above message should read 'when the path is NOT' clear, in the fifth paragraph... apologies!

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Tina Outerbridge
12/4/2015 07:43:52 am

This is precisely why it is critical that educators learn how to reflect –on-action and navigate many different paths in order to reach the bench marks/standards. If students are in our classrooms at different learning points, then shouldn’t our classrooms “LOOK” different?
Why is it that some teachers begin a new year with a new set of students and become upset when everyone is not at the same starting point? And then use the lack of “grit” as the means to an end.
While it may be true that students lack grit, one must also consider that educators lack the rigor it takes to take all children from “their” starting point and guide them on a journey of reaching their fullest potential.

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Angela
2/5/2016 05:06:12 pm

I attended your Ed Talk on Feb 4th regarding this topic. I just wanted to say a big thank you for your passionate advocacy for students with learning disabilities. It was all I could do to not stand up and cheer loudly at the end of your talk (perhaps I should have!). Thank you for your voice. You inspired me to act "loco parentis" for this group of valuable, worthy, teachable and highly capable students.

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Jim
2/6/2016 07:29:36 am

Thanks Angela! Every student needs advocates who help them to navigate their learning journey. As you obviously believe, they deserve everything that we can do to enable them to unlock their own personal gifts. Thanks for being that kind of educator!

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    Dr. Jim Christopher is recently retired Head of Kenneth Gordon Maplewood School and Maplewood Alternative High School in North Vancouver. A parent, author and long-time teacher, and educational administrator across Canada, he has been actively involved in the drive to differentiate learning experiences to meet the needs of all learners.

    View my profile on LinkedIn

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