In the article Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck she talks about the fixed-mindset and the growth-mindset. She discusses what makes good teachers, coaches, and parents. Throughout the article she gave wonderful examples and I could see those different examples in my life. She is right when she says, “The great teachers believe in the growth of the intellect and talent, and they are fascinated with the process of learning” (Dweck, 2006, p. 188). She talks about how great teachers and parents should set high standards, a nurturing atmosphere, and challenge their children to work hard. It was the same for coaches and their players but she said the difference was their successes and failures are played out in front of crowds, published in the newspapers, and written into the record books. As I read this article I looked back on the teachers I had and how my parent raised me. Carol Dweck is right. The teachers that were/are my favorite (some weren’t at the time) were the teachers that set high standards, had a nurturing atmosphere, and challenged me to work hard. My parents did the same. I loved what she said at the end of the article “As parents, teachers, and coaches, we are entrusted with people’s lives. They are our responsibility and our legacy. We now know that the growth mindset has a key role to play in helping us fulfill our mission and in helping them fulfill their potential” (Dweck, 2006, p. 204)
Frank Pajares discusses how important it is for children to believe in themselves and gives teachers and parent’s examples of how they can help children believe. Pajares himself relates what he is talking about to William James throughout the chapter called Self-Efficacy Beliefs During Adolescence: Implications for Teachers and Parents. As I read this chapter I discovered that I do a pretty good job helping the children I am around believe in themselves. However, I also discovered there are several things I do that could actually be hindering them. Pajares says, “When a young person encounters difficulty in an academic area or task in which a parent also encountered difficulty as a student, a loving parent will often attempt to soothe the child’s frustration with well-meaning statements such as, “Don’t feel bad. This runs in the family. I couldn’t spell to save my life.” Keep in mind that the message the youngster hears is that it is perfectly fine, even admirable, to be incompetent in spelling because the parent was. Too often, they may come to take pride in that incompetence and cease their efforts to improve. Parents must understand that if they were terrible spellers and their child is having difficulty with spelling, they must not commiserate. Instead, parents should challenge their child to improve her own spelling so that she can teach them a thing or two about spelling” (Pajares, 2006, p. 351). I have found myself, on occasion, say to my niece “That’s ok I wasn’t able to do that at your age either.” I didn’t realize that what I was doing could actually be worse than trying to make her feel better. I am going to make a more conscious effort to stay clear of the warnings Pajares gives in this chapter.
Malcolm Gladwell explains the importance of hard work and attitude when it comes to success. He also talks about how people do not have gifts they are given gifts. He believes that circumstances and opportunities also play a role in an individual’s success. Gladwell states, “We are so caught in the myths of the best and the brightest and the self-made that we think outliers spring naturally from the earth…The world could be so much richer than the world we have settled for” (Gladwell, 2008, p. 268). Why are we? Can it be changed?
This was a great way to end the class!! I truly enjoyed this Module and the information I received. I plan to use it in the future not only for my children but the children I encounter. I want the richer world Gladwell talks about in Outliers, which I plan to buy over the holidays.
Thank you, to everyone for making my life richer!!!
References
Bandura, A. (2011). But what about that gigantic elephant in the room? In R. Arkin (Ed.), Most unappreciated : 50 prominent social psychologists talk about hidden gems (pp. 51-59). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. NY: Random House.
Gladwell, M. (2008). Outliers: The story of success. NY: Little, Brown and Company.
KET Videos. Great conversations: Malcolm Gladwell. Interviewed February 15, 2009 by Daniel Pink. Retrieved from http://video.ket.org/video/1287433272
Pajares, F. (2005). Self-efficacy beliefs during adolescence: Implications for teachers and parents. In F. Pajares & T. Urdan (Eds.), Adolescence and education, Vol. 5: Self-efficacy beliefs of adolescents (pp. 339-367). Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing.
YouTube. (2010). Dr. Dweck on the mindsets of successful people. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=4byN4kGVy8E
You Tube. (2010). Carol Dweck: Discovering the importance of mindset. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=2jDVd-nCEYc
