http://www.ted.com/talks/angela_lee_duckworth_the_key_to_success_grit?language=enMany years ago I used to read the fable of the Tortoise and the Hare to my boys. Still, I often reference the value of the tortoise’s work ethic of moving ‘slow and steady’ when my children rush through their daily tasks such as homework, chores or piano practice. I would say there are times in my life where I am like the hare. It turns out that the turtle was onto something! This ‘stick-to-it-iveness’ quality of the tortoise is known as GRIT.
I’ve watched young athletes struggle through drills with unfailing perseverance to become top notch athletes and students overcome perceivably unsurmountable obstacles to achieve great success in school. I recently listened to Angela Lee Duckworth’s powerful Ted talk. She calls the ability to sustain passion and commitment in meeting long term goals “grit”. I believe grit contributes to the success these individuals achieve.
In her TED talk, Angela Lee Duckworth refers to grit as living life more like a marathon than a sprint. Angela has shown that IQ is not the only difference between best and worst performing student and answers the question, “Why do some of our most talented students not do as well as they could?” Talent doesn’t make someone 
gritty. It doesn’t help a person stay committed to things.
The idea of grit resonates with me because of its connection to growth mindset, a topic of several recent blogs. A growth mindset is the belief that one can learn with hard work and determination. Angela shares that students with a growth mindset tend to be grittier. By having a growth mindset students are more likely to persist when they fail because they don’t believe failure is permanent.
I believe strongly in a rigorous curriculum, as reflected in many posts about curriculum related topics. But imagine the impact on student learning when academics are combined with motivational factors such as growth-mindset and the grit to sustain and commit to achieving goals!
We know that intelligence is something that can grow. What about motivational characteristics like grit? How do we get students to be determined and to stick with things? Angela Lee Duckworth states that this requires further research. Even so, I already believe that deliberate practice, following your passion and modelling the value of making mistakes can only have a positive impact on student motivation. How do you think grit is instilled?
A link to Angela Lee Duckworth’s TED Talk “The Key to Success? Grit”
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Great insights, Lisa! Grit is one of those words that we are currently connecting with not only academic success but lifelong success.
Here is an article that I stumbled upon last year on the topic of grit ~ http://www.edutopia.org/blog/true-grit-measure-teach-success-vicki-davis One of my take-aways was that, as educators, we need to model grit. Our students need to see us “stick with” something and then subsequently see our results.
I loved the tortoise and hare analogy. Sometimes we get so caught up in getting things done quickly, we don’t value those lessons that can only be truly appreciated when we take our time.