Slow chat, indeed. It took me a week to materialize this answer. It came in the form of spontaneous action research. Apex Friendship and other North Carolina high schools assess students on what they have learned in the form of 100 question multiple choice tests. The classroom instructor is not meant to administer their own exam. Teachers rotate to different classes and administer those tests to students who they have may only seen in the halls, but not had in class. I help 11 and 12 grade students learn the intricacies of starting of their own venture. The learners I had the pleasure of meeting for the first time this week were 9 and 10 grade students in introductory classes. I decided to ask them, the first thought that came to mind when they hear the words, Grit, Mindset, Tests and Determination. Given this is the #manyvoicesofgrits, we shall focus on it, Grit.
Three different classes, 25, or so, interestingly enough, most answered some sort of breakfast food or sandpaper. Very few equated the word Grit with what many of us older souls think of as determination, reflection and resiliency. Our learners responses on determination, however, illustrated a keen sense of the effort required to make progress in their life. I was in my room this afternoon with three learners, one working independently on a plan, and a team of two, working together for the second year in a row. This time was different in that they did not have a class together, nor with me. They run together. They’re making another run to the international stage in Orlando. Last year they fell short; that has not deterred them, they are more determined than ever. That is Grit! The 11 grade learner of this dynamic duo received a text while working and shrieked, “I got an A in Calculus!” “What is so strange about that, given how much you love math?” “You don’t understand, I had a 72 after the first quarter, my 92 on the final exam earned me an A.” I pointed it out, “What do you call bouncing back and earning that A in calculus?” The learner did not have an answer. I let on it was a four letter word. Nothing. “That is Grit, and you’ve got it.” We have to be conscious of putting labels on our perspectives. We may call it Grit; for others it might be work ethic, and for still others, determination, or whatever. For as long as they possess the characteristic that drives their progress, does it matter what we call it? Leave a Reply. |
Author: Dan Jackson
Experienced Reflective Learner and Strategic Thinker with an ongoing track record of of innovative, adaptive leadership in education and business management. Archives
December 2019
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