The popular Bear Grylls meme format.
While used for TFW type memes, I'm using it here un-ironically.
I had yet to come across the idea of the "Growth Mindset" before Dr. Gibbs provided me with links to listen to the lectures and read the articles about Carol Dweck's ideas and research (see what I did there) For anyone reading who does not get the subtle reference I made within the first few words of this post, here are those links. Initially, I completely agreed with her. Her idea of challenging a student while praising effort and rewarding progress instead of simply judging a student's capability, or incapability, based on the results of a single task, resulting in the student developing a "fixed mindset" appeared to be the ideal middle ground between the ideas of "pull yourself up by your own bootstraps" and, to quote Yoda, "do, or do not, there is no try." Furthermore, I always find that to better understand an idea, it is useful to hear the critics of that idea with an open, and ideally unbiased, mindset. So, I also read the counterpoints to the "Growth Mindset." After reading the points made by a few of Dweck's critics, I found that the argument made by Alfie Kohn to be quite convincing and completely agreed with him as well. Kohn notes that Dweck focuses on how children are learning, not what they are learning. By doing so, she unintentionally presents the idea that students must be fixed to overcome an immutable, or fixed, obstacle. Believing that both Dweck and Kohn are right, I thought that there could be a missing link that would account for both the challenger and the challenge. Before I continue, I would like to note that this is my opinion and in no way is proven by my own or another's research, as far as I know. Knowing that every student learns and approaches tasks differently, a major challenge for every teacher and one of the main reasons I wish to dedicate my life to teaching, this is based on my personal, idealistic philosophy and observations. I think the links are the intangible human traits: creativity and imagination. By applying one's creativity/imagination, one can have the mindset to accept a challenge and then attempt to approach it from different angles, finding the best way to overcome the obstacle. To provide a metaphor, a student must approach a problem much the same way a rock climber climbs an "immutable" cliff, using creativity to plan an optimal route and sound technique to execute it. Because I hold this idea, I am a strong advocate for an eclectic and comprehensive education, especially in lower levels of schooling. I believe the arts: music, theater, and poetry, and history are just as important as math and science, but these subjects are typically disproportionately esteemed and glorified. From my own background in history, I know that the ancient philosophers, who are still studied today, considered all aspects of life when deriving their philosophies about life, itself. Most remarkably, the great thinkers of the Renaissance best demonstrate my point. They developed profound mathematical theories and revolutionary inventions that are still revered today. At the same time, the same men exceptionally revolutionized artistic expression. Rather than single-mindedly specializing in a single discipline and closing themselves off from out-of-the-box thinking, they sought to become proficient in a multifarious skills, across various different disciplines, in order to effectively, ingeniously, and creatively utilize them to innovate. Disciplines, if viewed as a see-saw, with the arts on one side and math/science on the other, history can be placed in the middle to balance it. History can be a useful tool, used to learn from past mistakes, improve upon past successes, and inspire new ideas. Those same Renaissance innovators where inspired by those same ancient philosophers. And I am inspired by those Renaissance innovators. I'm unsure if my father realizes how much he impacted my life by giving me two simple pieces of advice. He encouraged me to become as well-rounded of a man as possible, always telling me, "know a little bit about a lot of things," and that to succeed, all I need is the "attitude, effort, and ability, in that order," to overcome any obstacle I face. Not only did he outright give me this advice, he demonstrated it to me in everything he did. I took his advice and have always striven to become adept in various principles and postulates, acquiring skills like a craftsman collects tools. Tools to be used, along with a "never surrender" attitude, a whole-hearted and dedicated effort, and the ability gained from experience, to conquer any obstacle that stands in the way of progress. To conclude, the ability to cerebrate and to creatively solve problems are humans' true instincts. Those instincts are not able to be taught as they already lie within us. Instead, they must be uncovered and coaxed out from deep within us. Teachers have the near impossible task of doing this for a class of 20+ children during a relatively small portion of time, each child needing unique measures and special attention to allow them to reach their true potential. Parents are the child's most important teacher. Perhaps, I will leave that loaded topic for a later post, but for now, I feel I have rambled far enough. If you made it this far, thank you for reading. Feel free to leave comments giving me feedback and letting me know your take on the matter.
A climber must combine technique and creativity to put
themselves in the best position to reach the top.
Source: Wikimedia Commons
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