Growth Mindsets is a very hot topic in education these days.  Essentially, individuals who believe they have the power to improve their lives, education, skill sets, and relationships have an open/growth mindset.  Something good happens and it the result of good old-fashioned hard work.  It was not luck.  It was not because they are geniuses (although there are some super-bright individuals in the world).  No.  It is because that personally legitimately decided to put in the effort, follow up, and if that did not do the trick, they sought help.  Eventually, the individual knows they can and will succeed.

This is applicable to everything; at this time I am not an excellent drawing artist.  That does not mean I cannot get better.  I can purchase some books, some artistry tools, watch some online tutorials, or even find a mentor.  Will I ever paint or draw a Picasso?  Probably not, but I bet I could become a pretty good artist.

On the other hand, Fixed Mindsets are very common as well.  These individuals believe that to be good, really good at something (sports, academics, finances, etc.), they need to be talented or blessed with God-given gifts.  If a student gets straight A’s it is diminished by those who consider it due to natural ability.  Students work hard, study harder, and have real strategies for doing well in their courses.  Consider for a second, baseball players in the major leagues.  If a person identifies one of the baseball players as just lucky, being in the right place at the right time, it sort of diminishes all of the hard work a baseball career requires, doesn’t it?

Unfortunately, for those that believe you either have it or you don’t, life can be very hard indeed.

Myself, I had a growth mindset before the phrase was even coined.  One of my personal experiences using a growth mindset, without even realizing it, occurred when I was only 15, going into my second semester of my junior year at Westminster High School.  I had moved a lot as a kid, but my parents managed to keep me in the same school district from 7th to 12th grade.  I tested highly in almost everything and was put in the honors/AP tract.  My eighth grade math teacher was not particularly impressed with my math grade in 8th grade.  Of course, I sat in the back, did not wear my glasses, and rarely understood what she was saying.  I did not dwell.  Based on the teacher’s recommendation, I was put in Algebra A, B, C, D.  Each took one semester equivalent to my freshman and sophomore years in High School.  Mind you, all the rest of my classes were honors and AP and I was getting good grades in everything.

When school restarted after Christmas break in my Junior year, many of friends in the honors or AP classes were all lit up about being a “Distinguished Scholar.”  I did not know what this was, and I did not know why I was not in the know.  Being forthright, even then, I went to my academic counselor and asked what was going on with this Distinguished Scholar award, as it was apparently a “big” deal.  I was told I would not and could not graduate with that honor.  You see, only students who took the honors/AP courses AND successfully passed pre-calculus as a Senior could earn the award.  The counselor essentially told me it was an impossibility because as a Junior I was taking Geometry.  As a Senior I would go on to Algebra 2.

I did not even think twice about it.  I asked her to explain exactly what would have to happen for me to earn the award.  She was pretty negative about the idea, but indicated if I took Algebra 2 at the local junior college and passed with an A, and took Trigonometry over the summer at the junior college and passed it with an A, she would agree to put me in Pre-Calculus as a Senior.

That is exactly what I did!  In fact, Algebra 2 at the college was so easy.  I struggled more with Geometry.  Trigonometry was a hoot.  I still remember taking the bus to the beach after my morning class at Goldenwest College.  I brought my Trigonometry book, studied, and successfully passed.  In fact, I passed both of the classes with an “A.”  Pre-calculus was super hard.  My best friend, Mina, tutored me that year and I passed with a C for both semesters, but I passed!  On a side note, because I took those two math classes at a junior college, I did not have to take math in college for my Bachelor’s degree.  Cool, right?