Tutor Spotlight: Brandon Glover

Carol Dweck’s book Mindset lays out some interesting ideas about the way we perceive success and failure. She says that we can have either a fixed mindset or a growth mindset. In a fixed mindset, when we fail at something, it means that we ourselves are failures. Clearly this idea is not conducive to learning and performing at a high level. In a growth mindset, however, failure is simply an opportunity to learn, grow, and be better in the future.

I’m tutoring a 9^th grader right now in executive functioning, incorporating Dweck’s Mindset principles. Since beginning work on the Mindset curriculum, my student has made great strides in preparing for tests, advocating for himself and asking for help from teachers and other students. He now knows that when he succeeds, he should celebrate his success and move on to the next challenge. When he fails, he knows now to dissociate himself from the failure so that he may objectively examine his mistakes and correct them in the future. After all, did Michael Jordan make every shot he took? Of course not! He had to fail in order to learn from his mistakes and correct them. 

Basketball has been a really great access point for my student to absorb the Mindset principles. He loves basketball, and his favorite team is the North Carolina Tar Heels. I asked if he thought he could get there, and though he replied yes, I could sense some doubt on his part. We then proceeded to draw a sort of goal tree. At the top of the tree was the goal of making the team at North Carolina. We then drew branches to show what he would need to do to get there: which skills and sub-skills he would have to develop both academically and athletically. Completing that exercise helped him break down a larger goal into more manageable tasks. It’s no longer a matter of being good enough to make the team – it’s about working as hard as possible to achieve a goal.

The Mindset curriculum is an excellent tool for students because it shows them that what they do wrong does not define them. They can change their opinions and propel themselves forward in school and in life if they equip themselves with the proper mindset.

NW Values: Pursue Growth and Learning

What does "Pursue Growth and Learning" mean to you?

To me, to pursue growth and learning means to seek out resources, to consult the experts as well as those in the trenches, to question and to listen and to attempt and to reflect. It means to be open to making mistakes and learning from them. Pursuing growth and learning means avoiding complacency and embracing change.

-Erin Doyle

I believe this means to make yourself better.  People should want to better themselves and learn- like in Mindset :) It is way of thinking. I think forcing yourself to pursue or look to change for improvement will not only make a person feel better, but also be a team player. Kids should not be the only people who need to grow and change, adults should too.  Learning is never ending as long as you let it.

-Jeanne

Pursue Growth and Learning means that you never have all the answers and there is always more to learn. It is important to always be interested in learning new things that might be out of your comfort zone or something you have always been interested in but never had the time to devote to it. It is important to always face a challenge head on and realize that no matter what happens, you will come out of it a better person. Being open to change and new things is an important trait to have.

-Lauren

Why Doesn't My Smart Child Try Harder?

By Amanda Vogel

“Bright.” “Gifted.” “Quick learner.” “Exceptional.” “Smart.” What parents wouldn’t want to hear these words about their child? When your child is described this way, the elementary years cruise by easily. In the blink of an eye, picture books are replaced with chapter books, grades are strong, and there’s plenty of time for life outside of school.

Show us a child who was like this in elementary school and we'll show you a student who has likely become a “specialist” by junior high. These students do well on tests and bring home great grades, but not everything is rosy: they have begun to shy away from certain subjects. You’ll hear things like “I’m not good at math,” or “I don’t really like science,” or “Mr. Davis just doesn’t like me.”

For parents this is beyond puzzling. You may find yourself wondering, how did my bright, exceptional kid just decide that she couldn’t learn geometry or chemistry? You may even toy with the idea that your child really isn’t a “math person” and should instead focus on her amazing strengths in writing.

The Consequences of “Smart”
With the best intentions, parents, teachers, and loved ones are quick to give children positive labels. But these labels produce unexpected consequences. Carol Dweck, a researcher in cognitive science, has shown that we may damage our children’s motivation towards schoolwork by sticking them with positive labels. Her book, Mindset, is one that we strongly recommend.

In Mindset, Dweck explains that when we label children as “smart” or “exceptional” early on, these same children will later feel that they’re “just bad at math” or “klutzy at sports.” These children place themselves into categories: Smart vs. Not Smart. Talented vs. Hopeless.

They learn that being smart means being able to do things without effort. They actually become afraid of taking on challenges and exerting effort for fear that they will no longer look smart. Over time, these children focus more on areas where they feel “talented,” and shy away from areas where they feel that they do not have an natural gift. Even worse, these kids start to see mistakes as something to hide rather than an opportunity to learn: they come to see learning as an outcome, not a process.

What to do about it:
1) Read Mindset. This book is worth it. You’ll be amazed at how much the phenomenon of labeling affects all of us on a daily basis - not just in school but also at work, in sports, and even in relationships.

2) Praise your child for effort. When your son hits a home run, rather than calling him a “natural” at baseball, try, “Wow, your practice is really paying off!” When your daughter brings home a report card full of A’s, say, “I’m so impressed with the effort you’ve been putting into your schoolwork!” rather than praising her for being “smart.” Instead of praising for things that come easily and quickly, focus on your child’s hard work and perseverance towards a goal.

3) Mindset for the New School Year: You can help your child move from a “fixed” mindset to a “growth” mindset. Nurturing Wisdom is offering a short, five session tutoring program to prepare your child for the new school year. In this program, we spend some time helping students get organized and set up routines for the year, but our main emphasis is on reading excerpts from Mindset. We’ll teach students to understand the difference between a “fixed” mindset (you’re either smart or you’re not smart) and a “growth” mindset (if I work hard, I’ll improve). We’ll help students recognize their own mindsets, and help them set goals for the year ahead. Contact us to learn more!