The year has started off with a lot of busyness and fun. Getting to know one another in 3B has been great, and we are excited about what the rest of term has in stall for us.
In Health this term, we are focussing on developing resilience; learning how to ‘bounce back’ from experiences that might leave us feeling ‘knocked down’. One of the ways we are doing this is by discovering that we can develop ‘Growth Mindsets’ instead of adopting ‘Fixed Mindsets’. Dr Carol Dweck, who coined these terms, believes that students with a growth mindset understand that abilities and intelligence can be developed, and that time, effort and attitude sets the framework for future success. One of the differences between these two mindsets is how they perceive and react to failures or setbacks. A fixed mindset might see challenges and mistakes as obstacles that prevent them from succeeding. A growth mindset might see mistakes as opportunities for learning, and challenges as opportunities for growth. As Albert Einstein said, “Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.”
In class, we have read stories, such as Giraffes Can’t Dance by Giles Andreae, which reminded us that we are all unique, that the idea of success is different from person to person, and that the way in which we go about obtaining success is different for everyone. The important thing to remember is that we should never give up. “Continuous effort- not strength or intelligence is the key to unlocking our potential” – Winston Churchill.
We’ve also watched video clips, sung songs and had discussions to help us better understand how we can develop our thinking to that which reflects a growth mindset. One of the things that we have learnt is how powerful the word ‘yet’ is. Rather than saying that we can’t do something, we can instead say that we can’t do it YET. “There is a difference between not knowing and not knowing yet.”- Sheila Tobias. Using this small 3-lettered word can have a big impact on the way that we perceive our ability to do something and can better set us up for success in this area.
To summarise, developing a growth mindset helps students develop strategies that enhance their resilience to life’s challenges. Over the course of the term, and for the rest of our lives, it is our hope that we continually endeavour to persevere through struggles and to be life-long learners. “If parents want to give their children a gift, the best thing they can do is to teach their children to love challenges, be intrigued by mistakes, enjoy effort and keep on learning.” – Carol Dweck
We are so excited about our upcoming assembly on March 16th; where we will tell you more about the Power of Yet. If you would like to learn more before then, I would recommend that you watch Carol Dweck’s TED talk: The Power of believing that you can improve. It’s very enlightening!
