I have read about Dr. Dweck's research in a variety of other books and blogs and have been wanting to read her book for some time. It was full of sticky-note flags by the time I was done with it!
A growth mindset is the belief that:
"...your basic qualities are things you can cultivate through your efforts. Although people may differ in every which way - in their initial talents and aptitudes, interests, or temperaments - everyone can change and grow through application and experience."
People with a growth mindset tend to have more accurate views of their abilities and limitations. Since they believe in their potential to grow and change, they are open to accurate assessments that help them to learn effectively. People with a fixed mindset are less able to handle constructive feedback, because they believe that their skills and abilities are fixed. Those with a fixed mindset "opt for success over growth," so they are always trying to prove they are special or better.
Growth and fixed mindsets also differ in how they explain outcomes. With the fixed mindset - "everything is about the outcome. If you fail - or if you're not the best - it's all been wasted. The growth mindset allows people to value what they're doing regardless of the outcome." Those with a fixed mindset attempt to make themselves feel better after a failure by blaming or making excuses. Those with a growth mindset don't need to make excuses or blame others, because they believe they can always improve.
Dweck writes about people who have succeeded in various fields - athletics, the arts, business, education - because of their growth mindset. She also gives concrete ideas of how we can grow our mindset. It can be as simple as how we talk about and learn from our failures. There are a lot of implications for education and parenting. As Dweck writes, "The great teachers believe in the growth of the intellect and talent, and they are fascinated with the process of learning." She also highlights the importance of how parents talk to their children. Meaningless, insincere or results-only praise can foster the fixed mindset. Praise is better focused on effort, choices and strategies. She discusses how mindset can impact marriages and other adult relationships as well. Her examples are clear and convincing, and her advice is practical. I highly recommend this book.
My favorite quote in the book:
"Just because some people can do something with little or no training, it doesn't mean that others can't do it (and sometimes do it better) with training."
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| I saw this great graphic on Facebook recently. As best I can tell, it was designed by Reid Wilson. |
Dr. Ginsburg gave a few presentations recently to local high school students, teachers and staff; I'm so glad that I attended one of his talks. He's a very dynamic and engaging speaker with an important message. Dr. Ginburg was brought in by a local group, called RedGEN. Part of the group's mission is "to promote balance and resiliency in the lives of our youth and families," and Dr. Ginsburg's message definitely fits. He makes a point, both in his talk and in the book, that we should be looking not to raise kids to be successful 18 year olds. But rather, we should focus on raising our kids to be happy 30 or 35 year olds. The point being that our society (middle class America, at least) is focused on the attainment of achievements and grades at the high school level, with the main goal of getting into a good college. This focus and pressure is very misplaced, Dr. Ginsburg asserts, when in fact choice of college mostly just determines a person's first job. Statistics indicate that college grads today will be in their first jobs for an average of about eighteen months. For every job after that, experience and performance will matter more than college status.
This book is a great resource that covers a lot of ground and summarizes the research of others, which you'll recognize if you've read a few parenting books. (He even writes and speaks about Carol Dweck and Mindset.) But he also sets out some new frameworks. The emphasis on resilience and the challenge to our society's misplaced focus on grades and achievements (to fill college applications) are particularly compelling. I also like how he defines and explores the Seven Crucial Cs of Resilience: competence, confidence, connection, character, contribution, coping and control.
I read Stargirl a couple of years ago. I like this book and its message about the importance of individuality and accepting those who are different. I wasn't quite as "wowed" as most reviewers on Goodreads. (I might rate Spinelli's Loser and Maniac Magee higher, but I read them several years ago and would have to revisit.) My daughter and I listened the audiobook in January in anticipation of seeing a play adapted from the book, put on by our local children's theater group. I thought the play was great. My daughter liked it too, but she thought the book was better. The differences between books and their theater (or movie) adaptations make for great discussions.
A Woman in White really captivated me in December, so I decided to read another Wilkie Collins novel. It took me a bit longer to get into this one, and it wasn't quite as compulsively readable as A Woman in White. I still enjoyed it very much. Moonstone is said to be the first detective novel in the English language and was originally serialized in Charles Dickens' magazine All the Year Round.
*****
P.S. What I'm reading now:
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (with my daughter)
The Untethered Soul by Michael Singer
What are you reading?
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