"That which does not kill us makes us stronger?" Yes, this is what they are talking about...GRIT. As we round the corner into the October MLB Postseason, what a great time to talk about this character trait!
I know you are probably thinking, "How does she have the time to blog about this random stuff?" Well, if you saw the Himalaya-size mountain of laundry sitting on my bed right now, you would understand. Clearly, something (else) has GOT to give...
I wanted to share some interesting article summaries provided in our Ruffing Parent's Digest, a quarterly publication for our school community. It features highlights and summaries of interesting education and parenting related articles, provided through collaboration between John McNamara, (Principal) and Vincent O'Keefe (Parent Resources Coordinator).
I am a self-proclaimed geek when it comes to reading about this stuff. However, I find such topics endlessly fascinating. At the risk of article-information-sharing overload, I wanted to share with other parents who may be interested as well. The following summaries about 'Grit' are particularly insightful...It reminded me of a great quotation by Winston Churchill I discovered and recently shared via FB...
Ultimately, this is an interesting topic, and one I would love to learn more about, in terms of how children learn this skill. I cannot think of anything more helpful for succeeding (if not merely surviving) through life's challenges, from school, sports, career, to relationships, etc., than this core character trait.
Links to full articles are provided at the end of each summary.
II. Grit
SUMMARY: “Failure Makes You a Winner.” By Christine Carter
Christine
Carter explains that recent psychological research has found “grit” to be “one
of the best predictors of elite performance, whether in the classroom or in the
workforce. Defined by researchers as ‘perseverance and passion for long-term
goals,’ grit gives us the strength to cope with a run-of-the-mill bad day (or
week or season) as well as with trauma or crisis.”
Surprisingly,
“grit predicts performance better than IQ or innate talent.” Grit is less a
personality trait and more a “facet of a person’s character that is developed
like any other skill. . . humans develop grit by encountering difficulty and
learning to cope with it.”
Carter
continues that “grandmaster chess players, great athletes, scientific geniuses,
and celebrated artists learn, in part, by losing, making mistakes, and
failing.” She uses a well-known quotation from basketball legend Michael Jordan
to illustrate her point. Jordan, who was actually cut from his high school
basketball team before achieving glory, declares: “I’ve missed more than 9,000
shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I’ve been
trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and
over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”
To read the full text of this blog post dated May 20, 2013,
see http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/raising_happiness/post/failure_winner
Christine Carter is also the author of Raising
Happiness: Science for Joyful Kids and Happier Parents.
* * *
SUMMARY: “Angela Duckworth and the Research on ‘Grit.’” By
Emily Hanford
Angela Duckworth, a psychology
professor at the University of Pennsylvania, has been conducting research on a
personal quality called “grit,” which she defines as “sticking with things over
the very long term until you master them.” She explains that “the gritty
individual approaches achievement as a marathon; his or her advantage is
stamina.”
Duckworth’s research suggests that
“when it comes to high achievement, grit may be as essential as intelligence.”
This is a significant finding because intelligence has long been considered
central to success; that’s why it has been measured so carefully over the
years. A growing area of psychology research, however, is attempting to measure
“what are loosely called ‘noncognitive skills.’ The goal is to identify and
measure the various skills and traits other than intelligence that contribute
to human development and success.”
Research on intelligence has been
inconclusive in many ways. For example, there are many intelligent people “who
aren’t high achievers, and there are people who achieve a lot without having
the highest test scores.” In fact, one of Duckworth’s studies found that
“smarter students actually had less grit that their peers who scored lower on
an intelligence test.” The study suggests that students with lower test scores
“compensate by working harder and with more determination.” And that work paid
off: “The grittiest students--not the smartest ones--had the highest GPAs.”
In a study conducted at West Point,
the elite U. S. military academy, grit was the best predictor of success in its
rigorous summer training program. In fact, “grit mattered more than
intelligence, leadership ability or physical fitness.” At the Scripps National
Spelling Bee, “the grittiest contestants were the most likely to advance to the
finals--at least in part because they studied longer, not because they were
smarter or were better spellers.”
Related to education, Duckworth
believes “grit is something people can probably learn. . . She says every human
quality that has been studied has proven to be affected at least in part by a
person’s environment--even intelligence.”
To read the full text of this article, see http://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/tomorrows-college/grit/angela-duckworth-grit.html
As a follow-up, I wanted to also share links to a few related articles and visuals I discovered on this topic...Enjoy!
