Georgia

English 110

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“The Perils of ‘Growth Mindset’ Education” Blog Assignment

As consistently developing human beings, we are encouraged to embrace the “correct” methods to approach life and its many obstacles. One of the more popular methods of recent times, according to Alfie Kohn, is attaining the “growth” mindset, which generally consists of improving intelligence and abilities through effort. In his article, “The perils of ‘Growth Mindset’ education: Why we’re trying to fix our kids when we should be fixing the system,” Kohn’s central idea is that focusing so strongly on this concept of mindset distracts from larger educational issues that “growth” mindset doesn’t address or resolve. Kohn goes on to acknowledge the faults of the “growth” mindset concept while using data gathered through experimentation and the expert authority of researchers to provide more credibility to his argument.

For example,  Kohn refers to a study that was done in 2010 rather than the study Dweck discusses which he notably acknowledges was done in the 90’s. Not only is this research more up to date, but it contradicts a part of Dweck’s conclusion that those with a growth mindset mostly end up performing better in the long run. Kohn also states, “Social psychologists use the term ‘fundamental attribution error’ to mean paying so much attention to personality and attitudes that we overlook how profoundly the social environment affects what we do and who we are.” When stating this he suggests that those who are considered to be most experienced in this field of work and understanding are basically disagreeing with Dweck’s idea of being so completely focused on one’s self and perspective on the world.

I personally agree with Kohn, however I don’t necessarily find Dweck to be at fault for not mentioning anything about the system or environmental  that we can’t control. I do completely agree with Kohn when he states that we should focus on the larger issues that are being dismissed when we focus solely on our own minds and perspective, but I also believe that it’s important that each individual focuses on being able to grow and prosper so that we may transform and grow as a whole. However, one can’t expect to succeed without acknowledging the world around them and what it consists of, which is why I also agree with Kohn. It’s essential to get feedback and to engage with the rest of the world in order to learn and grow and expand your ability to view things in a different light and also provide new insight or contribute a different standpoint in controversial issues such as Trump being serious about running for president. It’s necessary to be involved and apart of the world in order to improve not only yourself but the environment around you, but also try to contribute to society by growing both with others and individually.

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In your third paragraph, you discussed why you agree with Kohn. You stated “I do completely agree with Kohn when he states that we should focus on the larger issues that are being dismissed when we focus solely on our own minds and perspective, but I also believe that it’s important that each individual focuses on being able to grow and prosper so that we may transform and grow as a whole.” It’s interesting how you believe that individuals need to focus to grow as a whole entity. Kohn somewhat talked about that in the article and how it can apply to education.

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The Perils of ‘Growth Mindset’ Education??

In Alfie Kohn’s article named “The Perils of Growth Mindset”, Kohn emphasizes that research psychologist Carol Dweck’s idea of growth mindset is a phenomenon that educators picked up and are using incorrectly. Kohn himself writes, “The problem with sweeping, generic claims about the power of attitudes or beliefs isn’t just a risk of overstating the benefits but also a tendency to divert attention from the nature of the tasks themselves: How valuable are they, and who gets to decide whether they must be done?” He then later discusses how the growth mindset didn’t seem to help students when they face the idea of failure. According to Kohn, when students adopted a growth mindset, they “...were even more likely to give themselves an excuse for screwing up- a strategy known as ‘Self-handicapping’- as compared to those with dreaded fixed mindset.” He concludes his article by offering a suggestion about using an alternative to the strict guidelines of the growth mindset. Kohn’s point is that “...The real alternative to that isn’t a different attitude about oneself; it’s a willingness to go beyond individual attitudes, to realize that no mindset is a magic elixir that can dissolve the toxicity of structural agreements.”

Alfie Kohn mainly uses statistical evidence and cites experts when providing evidence. After reading his article, the evidence seems vague in my opinion. The one piece of evidence that seems credible is when Kohn talks about a study that was conducted in 2010. Kohn states “ A 2010 study found that when students whose self-worth hinges on their performance face the prospect of failure, it doesn’t help for them to adopt a growth mindset.” This is the only statistical evidence he uses throughout the entire article. He refers back to Carol Dweck quite a few times but fails to provide any other source of expertise. One example of this is “Social psychologists use the term ‘fundamental attribution error to mean paying do much attention to personality and attitudes that we overlook how profoundly the social environment affects what we do and who we are.” He talks about the social psychologists but does not give credit to one.

Kohn asserts that "fixing students mindsets diverts attention to other societal factors that influence learning such as sexism, poverty, economic, or political barriers." Although I agree with Kohn up to a point, I cannot agree with his assumption that these mindsets divert attention away from most factors. I would say that growth mindset ignores negative thoughts such as failure or disappointment in one self. It doesn't shy away from real societal issues that he stated. The growth mindset can give you insight into this topics from a different point of view.

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What it takes to be great?

The article, “What it takes to be great” by Geoffrey Colvin, published in Fortune Magazine on october 19, 2006, discusses the research on natural talent,success hard work and the path to  greatness.Colvin notes that many researchers were curious on why certain people were able to improve their abilities. This observation that the researchers made was led to study multi billionaire Warren Buffett. While many believe that greatness is natural, the researchers and Colvin conclude that greatness is achieved through deliberate practice. Deliberate practice involves high levels of repetition, continually observing results, practicing for hours, and dedication.Colvin shares that most professionals take 20-30 years to master their skill. He says this information helps us master the path to greatness. Later Colvin, shows this information to professionals so they could understand all the amazing skills that can help someone improve no matter the task might be.

   Colvin presents research suggesting that it gets done by hard work, dedication and long hours of practice. This research finding does apply to because in order for myself to get better at something I need to do what Colvin and researchers concluded that needs to get done for someone to be great at something. You need to put a lot of extra time and dedication to achieve a task that you want to be great at. Like that cliche saying  “practice makes perfect” that is so true. The author states that “ more deliberate practice  equals better performance” (pg.29) I agree with the author hundred percent. For example before I got great at dancing hula I needed long hours of practice and dedication to be able to learn how to be smooth and graceful when I dance. Colvin also states that “consistency is crucial” (pg.29) I remember I was very consistent I would go to practice every Friday afternoon to practice my routine, no matter how tired I was I would always put in my all and try to get better. Just like how Colvin’s describes what to do in order for someone to get where they want to be.

    Lastly, although she does not say so directly I honestly believe that Carol S. Dweck would approve of my calendar. Due to the fact that I have everything organized, I try to make time for everything. To making time to do homework after work and also having some time for myself and for my friends as well. I feel that everyone should have a balance of everything because its always so helpful. Having everything under control and dong things with moderation also helps people I feel to be great. Dweck in her article “Brainology” says, “why many bright students top working when school becomes challenging” (pg.21)? Having a clear understanding of what she was trying to say I came to a conclusion that I have fixed midst when comes to studies. Sometimes when a topic in class I may be taking becomes challenging for me I don’t make effort to understand and I just give up. Through out time i realized that I need to change my study habits and not give up and keep on pushing.

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I totally agree with the cliche saying. It's also really cool that you do hula dancing!

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Calendar Assignment

The central focus of Geoffrey Colvin’s article “What it Takes to be Great” published in Fortune Magazine is research on what it takes to be successful in today’s standard of living. Colvin notes that researchers were first curious when looking at successful people, they noted that serious amounts of demanding practice and hard work were the key and that led them to study that showed a lack of natural talent is irrelevant to great success. While many believe that you are born with your natural talent, the researchers and Colvin concluded that greatness comes from deliberate practice. According to Colvin, deliberate practice involves going above and beyond what you would normally practice for the best results, hours and hours of dedicated time, and have consistency with your results. To support his argument, Colvin shares examples of successful individuals like Warren Buffet, Winston Churchill, and Michael Jordan to prove how much deliberate practice they had to face in order to become highly successful individuals. Ultimately, Colvin presents this information to business people and CEO’s, so that they can learn a lesson on how to become successful at what they do or even improve upon themselves.

Colvin presents research suggesting that deliberate practice is the key to success. This research finding does apply to me because this technique was something that I used to do when I swam in high school. I practiced 5 days a week and would swim for 3 hours. In that time, on average, I would swim about 5000 yards in a 3 hour session which is the equivalent to almost 3 miles. I would be so physically and emotionally exhausted by the time I dragged myself out of the pool, but my personal swimming times went down about 30 seconds by the end of the season. Whenever I would swim in a meet, the most I would swim would be an equivalent of 5 minutes tops. The payoff was immensely great, I didn’t mind putting in all the long hours. Colvin used the example of different sport stars to show how much deliberate practice they did in order to be successful. In paragraph 21, Colvin stated “In football, all-time great receiver Jerry Rice- passed up by 15 team players because they considered him too slow- practiced so hard that other players would get sick trying to keep up.”

Although she doesn’t say so directly, Dweck would likely approve of my calendar because she values that importance of study time. I put in about 20 hours of study time in my week. Dweck stated that “…the idea that the harder you work, the more your ability to grow and that even geniuses have had to work hard for the accomplishments.”

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First blog assignment

Hi! My name is Georgia Thompson. I’m 18 and I attend Grossmont Community College. This is my first year of college. So far I have found it very different compared to high school. I like all the new changes and opportunities that have been presented to me. High school was a very different experience because it seemed like your instructors didn’t really care about how well you did in their class, they just wanted to get all the material out of the way. Taking the Project Success classes seem to be very beneficial even though this is just the start of week 2 .

Something I enjoy to do in my free time is meditate. Being a typical anxiety ridden teenager, this is something that relaxes me and re-centers my focus. I started doing this about a year ago when a friend showed me a meditation podcast off of Itunes. She told me that it works wonders and it will help you get through a bad moment. I downloaded the podcast and I found myself listening to it on a regular basis. I eventually learned how to do self guided meditation and now its something I do on a daily basis. I find myself doing it driving to school, whenever I get a break, or I’ll set aside time during a busy day to do it. Working up to the self guided meditation was not easy. It’s something that requires a lot of patience and self discipline. Something I’ve learned is that I have a very active mind. When you “clear your head”, it can take me at least 5 minutes to get into the right mind set. 

When I read Eduardo Briceno’s article on making mistakes, the thing that I could relate meditation with is his “Aha-Moment” mistakes. When you meditate, it can be a time for self reflection. It allows you to focus on positive energy but sometimes your mind can wander and you find yourself reflecting on mistakes that you have made. For a personal example, If I have done something during that felt like a mistake, I use the meditation time to reflect on the situation using positive energy and come to self conclusion on it. This could be described as a “Aha Moment”. 

Here is the link! This is something that I found that would be beneficial for someone who wants to start meditating and incorporate with studying. It’s an amazing thing!