Students at Farley Elementary have been learning all about having a growth mindset. We all exhibit traits of a growth mindset or a fixed mindset at different times, depending on what we're facing and what we're doing. Our goal is to have a growth mindset most often. Having a growth mindset means learning from mistakes, not being afraid of failure, and taking risks in an effort to get better. This is important for our students to learn for academics, athletics, and life in general. Having a growth mindset focuses on effort, rather than natural ability because all students will eventually be faced with something difficult. Students learn to face challenges with a solutions-based approach and the belief that, "If I don't get it the first time, I'll keep trying."
To promote a growth mindset at home, when you talk to your child about their day you can ask questions like, "What went well today?" "Why do you think that went so well?" "What didn't go well?" "How did you handle that/face that challenge?" It's also important to say things like, "We all make mistakes, but what's important is that we learn from them," or "You might not understand/be able to do that, YET, but I like how you're working hard at getting better." As parents, sometimes we want to step in and prevent our children from failing, but allowing students to make mistakes and then try again is a great life skill that they can carry with them into the future. We all know that life is full of challenges; our goal is to get our kids ready to face those challenges with a growth mindset!
For more information about Growth Mindset, check out this video, "Growth Mindset Introduction: What it is, How it Works, and Why it Matters" on YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75GFzikmRY0