It is interesting that grade 7s focus so much on positive mindset at start of the year. It’s the belief that a “Can Do” mentality can take you far. According to one acclaimed researcher at Stanford University in California, it is actually your mindset more than anything that will define you well into the future. In fact, there seems to be a lot of discussion right now about this topic. Researchers, writers, and journalists flood our media about back-to-school survival every September. This year I have noted a common theme in education literature: the positive benefits of not just intelligence but what some researchers call “grit.”
So what is “grit?” With a healthy dose of challenge—and even failure—come opportunities. Every time we “screw-up,” do we walk away to an easier option or do we bounce back and learn from the difficult experience? That is “grit;” what some call “stick-with-itness,” or more familiar words: “resilience,” or “persistence,” or perseverance.
With the start of the new school year, I have thought about this a lot. We have had a good couple of weeks, but what happens when the sheen of the new wears thin and the homework mounts? How about when you fall or ultimately actually fail at something significant? Do you seek excuses? “The teacher didn’t like me.” ”He’s so boring in class.” ”She doesn’t know how to motivate kids in math.” The possibilities for an “easy out” are endless.
It’s important to reflect on how good you are at managing adversity and failure. Do you bounce back because you are told you must, or because you want to?
I am reminded of the words of Dr. Wayne Halliwell—a sports psychologist and former LCC parent—who reminds us that every time we point at an excuse there are actually three fingers pointing back at us (Try it)!
Dr. Halliwell was personal coach to Canadian Olympic skiers Jen Heil, and Alexandre Thibodeau, and skater Joannie Rochette—all medalists at the Vancouver Olympics. He told me a story when he returned from the Vancouver games in 2010. He was with Joannie’s dad, Mr. Rochette, when they woke Joannie at about 6 am in the Olympic village early in the games to tell her that her mother had died from a sudden heart attack. After the initial shock, they eventually asked Joannie if she still wanted to skate, and she decided to do so in honour of her mom. As you know she had to summon all the resilience she possessed and eventually won a bronze medal, but under the circumstances it was like 10 gold medals with the whole country supporting her. Joannie showed true “grit.” I think we can all learn a lot from her.
We are only a couple of weeks into school. To reach your personal goals this year, all of you will have to work hard, and along the way you will experience success, hardship and disappointment. See all those moments and those sentiments as essential ingredients in your personal development.
Every time a teacher, coach or advisor tells you something isn’t “good enough” or that you “can do better,” realize how powerful that message is. Don’t deny it, or bark back, or point to others for excuses. Accept the critique as something truly constructive in your learning and development.
Along with celebrating your successes, developing grit, resilience and character should be priorities to better handle life as a young adult in a complicated world. —Chris Shannon, Headmaster