On page 442-443 of Chapter 11, there was a "point/counterpoint" section that asked the question, "Are 'Grittier' Students More Successful?" It stated that, "Grit is essential for student success, and teachers should therefore promote it" (Woolfolk, p.442, 2019). This subject was attractive to me, because I see buzzwords like this all the time in corporate America.
The ever popular buzzword we're using right now at my company is "courage." What I personally hate about buzzwords, is the intent behind them is usually positive initially, but they quickly become overused or the meaning of them becomes twisted to something not so positive. The buzzword where I work is currently "courage" as we've all been encouraged to use more courage in the workplace and say what's on our mind, even if our idea isn't popular. Though the intent of this was positive, we've twisted it to say something like, "I'm going to use courage to speak up here," as an employee then proceeds to tear another employee's idea to shreds. It's become a word that we're using to defend our bad actions.
I agree with the text's counterpoint on page 443 which states grit appears to be a new buzzword for other words used heavily in the past, like persistence, resilience or willpower. I do believe these words are important to a student's success. Students need to have determination to succeed. I can agree that if a student has more determination, grit or passion toward their goal, that they will most likely be met with more success. But, having determination or grit is not everything when it comes to a student's success. Unfortunately, socioeconomic status, family upbringing, and family support plays a huge factor in all of this.
Personally, I don't believe I've ever used the word grit to describe myself. I would also say I've never heard a coworker, manager, or teacher use the word grit to characterize me either, yet I've been successful in both school and at work. If this was something teachers or managers decided to promote at school or in the workplace, I would immediately feel disadvantaged, similarly to how I felt when our company announced "courage" would be one of our new ways of working. I consider myself a very hard worker, but someone courageous? Probably not. I think measuring students on soft skills like these can be almost another way to separate one another, and put them into groups, rather than focusing on bringing everyone together.
The ever popular buzzword we're using right now at my company is "courage." What I personally hate about buzzwords, is the intent behind them is usually positive initially, but they quickly become overused or the meaning of them becomes twisted to something not so positive. The buzzword where I work is currently "courage" as we've all been encouraged to use more courage in the workplace and say what's on our mind, even if our idea isn't popular. Though the intent of this was positive, we've twisted it to say something like, "I'm going to use courage to speak up here," as an employee then proceeds to tear another employee's idea to shreds. It's become a word that we're using to defend our bad actions.
I agree with the text's counterpoint on page 443 which states grit appears to be a new buzzword for other words used heavily in the past, like persistence, resilience or willpower. I do believe these words are important to a student's success. Students need to have determination to succeed. I can agree that if a student has more determination, grit or passion toward their goal, that they will most likely be met with more success. But, having determination or grit is not everything when it comes to a student's success. Unfortunately, socioeconomic status, family upbringing, and family support plays a huge factor in all of this.
Personally, I don't believe I've ever used the word grit to describe myself. I would also say I've never heard a coworker, manager, or teacher use the word grit to characterize me either, yet I've been successful in both school and at work. If this was something teachers or managers decided to promote at school or in the workplace, I would immediately feel disadvantaged, similarly to how I felt when our company announced "courage" would be one of our new ways of working. I consider myself a very hard worker, but someone courageous? Probably not. I think measuring students on soft skills like these can be almost another way to separate one another, and put them into groups, rather than focusing on bringing everyone together.
Hey Ashley,
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing! I really enjoyed how you expressed grit. I agree that creating such categories of students there becomes a distinct way of separating students at a time in society where we really need to focus on being one. I even see this in my own school. I am a preschool para and we are very carful when discussing students learning and behavioral impacts when outside of the classroom because we are in the same hallway as the kindergarten rooms. I say this because when they hear the learning types of the students they place unnecessary labels on the students before they even start with them the next year. I would say that these teachers would be better off understanding these needs and looking for new teaching strategies for learner environments than writing off these students and separating them according to these prejudices.
-Ashley Neven
Hi Ashley,
ReplyDeleteThank you for bringing up such a valid point about buzzwords and the use of the word "grit" to determine a students' success. I do not think grit is the right word to describe how successful a student will be based on their wiliness and courage to succeed.I agree that their are other environmental, social, and cognitive factors that attribute to a students' learning abilities. I do not think "grit" is what got me where I am today with taking my last college course for the year before I officially graduate. I think hard work, motivation,compassion and understanding from my professors, and encouragement from my family friends is what helped get me where I am today.