Interesting article that reminded me of mindset

I was reading in a sports illustrated recently about an NBA franchise that just recently was the best team in the regular season, Golden State Warriors for those basketball fans.  Well last year they were also good for the first time in forever, think Buffalo Bills of basketball.  Well a curious thing happened in the off season, they fired their coach that had just made them relevant again and at time I couldn't see why they would do something like that.  After reading this recent story I found out.  Apparently even though the coach was successful he also had a fixed mindset.  He was afraid to hired successful assistant coaches because he didn't want to seem inferior.  He also had a practice of pitting players against each other to gain their loyalty to him.  It seemed like it was right out of a chapter of the book.  Meanwhile it talked about the new coach this year that hired the best defensive assistant and another well known offensive minded assistant and guess what he impowered them to make his team better instead of being nervous about not being the sole reason for success.  He also asked for player feedback and met individually with players to become better at his craft.  In the end the team had the best regular season record this year and is favored to win the title this year.  So even though they were successful last year someone must have had the vision to see that the previous coach was fixed and eventually would implode.  Very cool article and gives me a team to root for in the playoffs this year!  Go Steve Kerr and the Warriors!  Maybe I will bring it to class if anyone is interested.

Chapter 7

Sorry for the delay in posting...I blinked and April was almost over! 

"No parent [or teacher] thinks, 'I wonder what I can do today to undermine my children, subvert their efforts, turn them off learning, and limit their achievement'" (Dweck 173).  This is the opening sentence of chapter 7, and I loved it!  I made me realize that none of us intentionally sets out to crush or squelch our students' passion for learning, we all try to be and do the best we can.   As I read this chapter I felt a range of emotions.  From:  "Yes, I got this!" when I use a growth mindset when dealing with students...To: "Oh no! I do that...I have a fixed mindset, I have destroyed my students' self worth!"  when I saw myself in a not so flattering scenario.  I realize this range of emotions was okay.  As I reflect back on this chapter, and my practices as a teacher, I am hoping that I can go forward and try to be in the "growth mindset" frame more and more. I want to be better, as I am sure we all do. One of the benefits of this book group, I feel, was to make me more aware of how I can modify my thinking and become more open to a growth mindset.

Through our discussions I hear that some people are somewhat frustrated that Dweck does not provide more "how to" information to foster a growth mindset.  And, I agree with this to a degree.  I felt her "list" on page 177 that demonstrates the kind of praise that focuses on effort and choices to be very helpful, and fulfilled my need for examples of best practices.  Did anyone else?  I almost feel as if I should post this somewhere handy so I can pull from the list when I need it, to avoid praising intelligence or talent.

Also, as I read this chapter, I was struck by how many students I come across that just don't seem to care about their work. Dweck talks about these students in this chapter.  I worry that we are lowering the standards for them, just to get them through the system.  Is this right? Or am I not reading the situation correctly?  Are we as a district heading in the right direction?   I connected with the quotes on page 193 and 195, " Lowering standards just leads to poorly educated students who feel entitled to easy work and lavish praise."  "If you don't give anything, don't expect anything. Success is not coming to you, you must come to it."  Curious to see what you all think?

  

Chapter 7

While reading chapter 7, I was struck by the anecdote about Miss DeLay. When they talk about “challenge and nurture” on page 198 and describe how she pushes the students to do their best, I found that to be a very good way to frame and view how I should interact with my students. The section that says, “That is part of Miss DeLay’s genius- to put people in the frame of mind where they can do their best….Very few teachers can actually get you to your ultimate potential. Miss DeLay has that gift. She challenges you at the same time that you feel you are being nurtured.” I look at this quote as something that I need to keep in mind as I push my students and always remember that there are two parts of my job. I also see this as a very difficult balancing act to accomplish. After reading this I have kept it in mind while working with my students and it can be difficult to know how far to push them and still setting the bar high enough for them to reach their full potential. I think that this will always be something that as a teacher I will need to keep working on and pushing myself to learn each child to know how to support them in multiple ways so that they can realize their own potential.

Chapter 7 - Every word and action...a message to a child

After reading this book thus far, and especially this chapter, have you noticed yourself changing the way you are praising the children in your classroom?  What about the ways you are reacting to the children in your classroom?

Are you messages more about judging their permanent traits or are your messages conveying an interest in their development of processes, strategies, effort and choices?

Page 211 - Growth mindset has  a key role to play in helping us fulfill our mission and in helping them fulfill their potential.