Education

Have you discovered the power of ‘yet’?

21 September 2022

At ELC, your children know all about the importance of this word, ‘yet’; it is a word that encourages learning, builds confidence, sustains engagement, and empowers – it is part of the mental architecture for a ‘growth mindset.’ The core growth mindset message is the belief that the ability to learn is not fixed but can change with effort. Effortful learning changes the brain by forming new neural connections and pathways, and when children acknowledge that their brains are growing through their learning experiences they are more likely to: embrace challenges; persevere in the face of failure; learn from criticism, and see effort as the route to accomplishment (Dweck). At ELC we praise wisely for effort, strategy, and the process, we value mistakes and risk taking, and we encourage perseverance. Children with a growth mindset thus continue to want to learn and grow from, and through, challenges, they cultivate what can be called ‘grit’. But what is ‘grit’? Duckworth’s authority on this is compelling: ‘Grit is passion and perseverance for very long term goals. Grit is having stamina. Grit is sticking with your future, day in, day out…Grit is living life like it’s a marathon, not a sprint.’ Courage, conscientiousness, resilience, and excellence (not perfection!) are intrinsic to ‘grit’. A growth mindset thus helps build grit and, conversely, developing grit helps sustain a growth mindset. At ELC, we always strive to provide a space for your children that is filled with the possibilities and potential of ‘yet’.

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