Tag Archives: fixed mindset

Don’t give up!

Inspirational, Journals, , ,

Another of my favorite journal quotes, submitted by some random author that likely did not realize how inspirational their words would be to future individuals, students and adults alike.

The growth mindset is certainly not just for children to understand and foster within themselves, but there is a tide of working force adults out in the world, working themselves to death, feeling far away from their dreams, feeling perhaps they should just give up.  It would seem easier.  But, that is where this idea really gets its magical properties because everyone loves the underdog, everyone knows the big win is just around the corner, and everyone knows someone that did not quit and got it right!

For some, it could be giving up on finding the “one.”  For others, it could be giving up on their dream of going to college, getting a graduate degree, or even buying a house.  Apparently, we have differing levels of growth mindset for different parts of our lives.  Hard to imagine, right?

Yet, my best girlfriend, Sunny, is and has been an amazing RN for over 20 years.  It just seemed she always getting a new nursing position.  She did not like this about that job, one clinic closed, another clinic changed specialties, one employer was building a new healthcare clinic, but after a year they still could not give her enough hours, on and on.  I thought it a little odd so I did a little spelunking on the Internet and it turns out the turnover rate for RNs is pretty steep.  One study indicated approximately 17.5% of newly licensed RNs leave their jobs within one year, and worse, up to 33.5% within two.  What was truly mind-boggling is Sunny’s ultimate confidence in her abilities as a nurse.  She KNOWS she is a great nurse.  Every time she needed her resume updated I would help her and be worried for her.  She would tell me over and over, she was not worried, she would find another job because she was THAT good!  She has always been right.

This same woman, a woman I might add with such loyal and bonded girlfriends that we get together across time and space to spend at least one day a year together, was fearful she would not ever find love.  I would question her belief, again, knowing myself how much she has to offer.  She is beautiful, kind, gentle, great at negotiations, can sing like an angel, has many great friends, and a heart for Christ.  But, between her family upbringing and being divorced twice, she had a hard time believing in herself as prime love material. Spoiler alert:  Sunny is currently in a committed, mutually loving romantic relationship with a great guy, someone she has known since high school.  

Then, there is me.  I also work in an industry (teaching) with a known high turnover rate ranging from approximately 17% in the first three years to 30% at five years to greater than 50% by ten years (Long, 2015; Strauss, 2015; Westervelt, 2016).  I also KNOW I am a good teacher.  My students learn to think critically – for themselves, my students respect me, are caring towards me, and the most obvious indicator is they try harder to do better.  It goes without saying, I am the die-hard type that keeps going, professional development, one masters, another on the way.  But, leaving a position is scary for me.  Even knowing what I know AND being a growth-minded person, there is still fear in the back of my mind, in the the pit of my belly.  It is ironic, my growth mindset philosophy is so strong when it comes to my students.  I tell them all the time, “you CAN do it.”  You can BE whoever you want to be.  You can do whatever you put your mind to do.  Your mind and effort in sync will get the job done – you just need to be “all in.”  I am so passionate about my belief for my students that when they catch themselves saying, “I can’t” they quickly add “yet.”  

On the other hand, between my family upbringing and divorce record you would think I would be a little shaken about matrimony and my romantic possibilities.  Instead, after the second divorce I said “never again.”  I just had a blast doing things had never done in my 20’s because I was married.  I learned how to country line dance.  I found my faith.  I found “myself.”  That lasted about six months (not the finding “myself” part, the “never again” part) when I met my current husband of 17 years!  It just was not overly concerned about being alone.  I was not worried I would not find the “one” and my life would be over.  I was confident my life was on track and would be fine, husband or not.

It would appear that the growth-mindset concept is another ongoing process in figuring out our human psyche – growth, motivation, effort = success??  Perhaps, that is where friends, colleagues, and mentors play a role.  When Sunny felt down about romance, I was there to perk her up and remind her of all she has to offer the world.  Vice versa, when I feel job concerns, she reminds me of everything I have to offer the students.  My husband tells me too, but does he really count?  I’ve heard the saying, “Happy Wife, Happy Life.”   So, how much is truth and how much is the mantra looping through his head?

Works Cited

Long, C. (2015, June 06). Teacher Turnover Is Much Lower Than You Probably Think. Retrieved March 27, 2017, from http://neatoday.org/2015/05/13/teacher-turnover-is-much-lower-than-you-probably-think/

One in Five Nurses Leave First Job Within a Year. (2017, February 09). Retrieved March 27, 2017, from http://www.rwjf.org/en/library/articles-and-news/2014/09/nearly-one-in-five-new-nurses-leave-first-job-within-a-year–acc.html

Strauss, V. (2015, June 12). Why so many teachers leave — and how to get them to stay. Retrieved March 27, 2017, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2015/06/12/why-so-many-teachers-leave-and-how-to-get-them-to-stay/?utm_term=.2c39f4806d08#comments

Westervelt, E. (2016, September 15). Frustration. Burnout. Attrition. It’s Time To Address The National Teacher Shortage. Retrieved March 27, 2017, from http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/09/15/493808213/frustration-burnout-attrition-its-time-to-address-the-national-teacher-shortage

Growth Mindsets

Anatomy & Physiology, Biology, Day to Day, Science, , , , , ,

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?