Lately, as I work on keeping a growth mindset, I’ve been wondering how fine the line is between persevering and being foolishly stubborn.
As I was preparing for our Parent/Teacher meeting tonight during which we will be discussing Mindset, by Carol Dweck, I came across a video clip on Larry Ferlazzo’s blog that reminded me that the line may be a fine one – but it’s usually much further away then I imagine.
I’m not a huge football fan, and I’m not particularly fond of people yelling at me as a method of encouragement. But this scene made me wish I could have a coach that would push me past my imagined limits with as much love and determination as the man in Facing Giants.
It also made me wish I had a script writer who could help me create inspiring dialogue for my classroom 😉
When people say, “Begin with the end in mind,” I tend to take that suggestion to the extreme. I picture a chaotic world where I have just given my life in a failed attempted to save our planet, and people mourning over a tombstone hastily erected in my honor that says, “She cared.”
What would be the ones that you would want to stand out the most? That should guide you through your year as you make choices about how to present the curriculum to your students.
Here is a word cloud my 2nd grade GT students made about our class at the end of last school year. (We made a class word cloud, and then they inserted it into a Pic Collage with photos of their favorite memories of the year.)
I loved that “challenging,” “create,” and “imagine” were included. I thought it was amusing “sudoku” was a favorite activity, and slightly surprised that “grit” made it in there (one of those things I emphasized so much that I thought they were just tuning me out).
For a motivational video from Dave Burgess himself regarding this great way to “begin with the end in mind,” head on over to this link. “Passion” should definitely be one of the words in his cloud!
As graduation season rolls around once again, I thought I would compile a list of videos that I’ve found over the years that eloquently describe the hopes and dreams I have for my students in the future. I’ve placed the length of each video beside it. Not all of these are graduation speeches, but they all give one or more of the following messages: Be Kind, Work Hard, and Make the Most of Your Time and Abilities. Most of these videos (and many more) can be found on my “Inspirational Videos for Students” Pinterest Board. As always, please preview any video before you show it to your students.
“Keep Going” is a good video to show that encourages the Growth Mindset. It is filmed in Lego stop-motion, although adults are the target audience. Students in 3rd grade and up will understand the message, particularly if you have already been talking about mindsets in class. I also like that it fits in nicely with the maker ed mantra from Sylvia Libow-Martinez and Gary Stager of, “Think, Make, Improve.”
If you have ever thought about “the terrible gap between what you wanted to do and what you’ve actually done,” then this video will speak to you. It applies to any attempts we make to achieve a vision, whether as a student, a worker, a spouse, a parent, or any other role in which we have some creative control over the outcome. We should take any opportunity we receive to revise our first draft instead of walking away in defeat.
Here are some more inspirational videos for teachers and for students. I also have a Growth Mindset Pinterest board here.
