I’ve said “there’s beauty in the struggle” to your students many times already this year. The first time shared it with the class, I saw a few questioning looks and tilted heads, but they are all getting used to it. I make sure to point it out wherever I can (Oh… there’s beauty in that math struggle, isn’t there?). This is my favorite lyric from a singer/songwriter Brandi Carlile. It was a favorite before I transitioned to teaching, but I’ve found it even more applicable in the classroom. The academic struggle our students experience is so incredibly important.
You may have noticed that we are working on growth mindset lessons in our classroom. I’ve asked students to dig deep and evaluate what they do well and what they need to work on. We’ve worked on identifying what we’ve worked hard on each day. Your student may have talked about our philosophy of “not yet” in regard to understanding and learning. It means that we don’t say “I don’t get it.” We say, “I don’t get it, yet.” It changes perspective.
Each student has made their own measurable writing goal for our next writing publication. We’ve also defined mathematical goals. We are working in small group on creating measurable reading goals.
With that backdrop, we’ve been working on celebrating learning. Any time a student notices that they’ve learned something, I’ve asked them to write it on a post it for #youcanlearnanything board. This hashtag is specifically associated with the Khan Academy’s Learnstorm project. Please encourage them to do this at home, too. Each of them can learn anything. Celebrate when they are learning, especially when it is hard.
More information on Growth Mindset is available with a search. I’ve also included an introductory video at the bottom of the post.
Thanks for teaching them that they can do anything!
Ms. B. in Class 