I've long believed in the idea of "growth mindset" without really knowing the term. It is in me. I was raised to be strong, not to quit, to believe that I could be better than I was and to dream bigger. I don't think I always lived it, but I had it in there. I'm grateful for that, so thanks Mom and Dad.
I've also long taught the idea because I understood that believing you can grow is half the battle in getting there. After reading the book and, even more, discussing it with colleagues, I became very purposeful in my teaching, both of my own boys and also of my students. Last year we celebrated the idea of "YET" regularly . . . it was a way of life and kids often referred to the posted that hung by our clock when they - or their classmates - felt challenged.
"I don't get this . . . yet."
"This doesn't make any sense . . . yet."
This was a permanent reminder that their struggles didn't have to be permanent and that they didn't define them. I'm not exaggerating when I say that kids used this language on their own. It actually took very little "teaching" from me, though I felt great about our conversations and hope that maybe they did really inspire them at least a little.
Fast forward to this summer. I read Wendy Mass's book, Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life. Now, I could do a whole post on why I think you should read this book (and I probably will later), but one of the things that stood out to me was this quote . . .
"A wise man once remarked that we can count how many seeds are in the apple, but not how many apples are in the seed."
It got me thinking. It stuck with me for days actually. I couldn't stop thinking about this truth and how it perfectly complements the idea of growth mindset, that it is usually painfully simple to see who and what we are right now, but absolutely impossible to tell what we could be.
So my students and I did this on Thursday . . .
and while I'm actually a little embarrassed about the handwriting (I promise I can do much better, but seriously, we were ON A ROLL), I could not be more proud of my fifth graders. See, we started with an apple. I'm pretty sure every single one of them thought I had lost my mind when I held it up and asked, "What is this?"
I had them 'turn and talk' about it, the whole nine yards. A couple kiddos managed to see slightly beyond what was right there in front of them, but most did exactly what I predicted, what I'd predict most of us would do when asked the very same question. They answered obviously, as you can see on the top of this less-than-lovely poster. Twenty four kids and they came up with just five unique answers. I get it. They answered my question. They really did.
Next, I cut the apple open. Perfectly, a seed fell out. A couple of kids actually gasped. I'm pretty sure this is when they realized there was MORE. Something so simple, something every single one of them has likely eaten and definitely seen before . . . and there were audible gasps.
So we continued. My next question was, "What else COULD it be?"
They did another 'turn and talk' and boy was it getting loud! They were excited. About an apple. They couldn't stop talking. They made connections, they accessed background knowledge, they thought outside the box, they bounced ideas freely and willingly . . .
I wrote as fast and furiously as I could in a somewhat feeble attempt to capture every one of them. I'm positive I missed some, but check out the bottom part of that poster now. Do you see how much more deeply they dug into that apple? They cited idioms, they quoted their moms, they came up with so many possibilities for that one tiny apple that to that point was simple a "red piece of fruit."
Next, I asked them to set up a piece of notebook paper with their name in place of "apple." At the top, they listed the obvious, the things that they are, the way they see themselves, and the way others probably see them.
This is where it got even better. I asked them "What COULD you be?" and they were off. They are dreamers and thinkers and doers and believers . . . and this group inspired me to want to dig even deeper to push them to achieve these things.
The next day we talked about growth mindset, the idea of "YET," and the power of their belief in themselves. As many teachers do, I cited the multiple uber-famous people who most of us would consider successful and the deep failures that they have experienced . . . Albert Einstein, The Beatles, Steve Jobs, Michael Jordan, Walt Disney, the list goes on. More audible gasps, disbelief even.
And then . . . those dreamers, every single one of them, set to the task of setting goals for themselves. I asked them to set a goal that they will work on in school and invited them to set an "outside of school goal" if they wanted to as well. We talked SMART goals and focused on creating action-oriented plans . . . and they did. They carefully created plans for themselves to grow bigger and better, to dream bigger, and to figure what they COULD be when they look past what they already are.
Most placed these carefully crafted goals into their newly created binders. A few asked for more time and took them home over the weekend to process, craft, and create. We will revisit them often and set new goals when it is time.
As for me, I'm thankful for these inspiring students who push me to be more, for Wendy Mass and her beautifully written story about a boy who wouldn't quit, for Carol Dweck and her research, and for my own parents who pushed me to dig deeper and be more. I'm also pretty smitten with the crew that I live with now that never bats an eye when I talk about my big dreams . . . they know me well.
Here's to believing in ourselves . . . to pushing others to do the same . . . and to all the dreamers and doers of the world.
