This week a group of students and teachers went to visit the
University of Pennsylvania. During that
time Angela Duckworth, founder of character lab (here}, was gracious enough to
talk with us for 45 minutes. Here are
some of her responses to student questions
FEAR
After giving the group some background on her work she
opened the floor for some questions. When
students were hesitant at the start she talked about the importance of getting
over your fears. Angela talked about
recently going to her reunion. Angela and her friend were wondering what made
some of these people more successful than others. They both concluded it was not the smartest
people but the most fearless who became the most successful. She encouraged the students to get over their
fears.
PASSION
Angela defines GRIT as passion and perseverance. That people often think about perseverance as
the hard part but that for many people the passion part is difficult. Her advice was thinking about what you do
with your free time? She also cautioned
that many times you do not know what you like?
That you may need to ask your friends or parents. Then once you figure
out what you like try it. Take an
internship or follow a person who does that type of job. That this type of experience will help you
figure out if you want to continue this path.
SUCCESS
One is the resilience to overcome
failure. That people who are the best in
what they do have often faced many rejections but refuse to quit. That when your passion is so strong that
everything you learn about you bring into your field. So, when one of the best clinical psychologists
learned to dance she brought that into her therapy. Angela used the analogy of when you are
walking on the beach, you do not truly notice everything on the beach. However, once you start building a sand
castle you realize that the sand, sea shells, branches, and water are all
needed to make the castle. So, when you
find your passion you are continually bringing knowledge from different places
into your field.
COLLEGE ADVICE
First these schools
are not looking for the students who spend an extra ten hours trying to get a
95 to a 97. They want students who show their
passion in something else besides school.
Athletics, clubs etc. They are
not looking for resume builders, they do not want a student who is in ten clubs
with little interest nor do they want a student who makes up a club so that he
can be the President. They want students
who have a passion for something and demonstrate that over their high school
career.
SELF REGULATION OF
DEVICES
Angela mentioned how these games were designed to get you
addicted (like crack cocaine) to them.
That if you wanted to reduce your use that you needed to put the devices
out of sight. That the further away you
put the device the less chance you had to reach for them.
Anytime I hear Angela Duckworth talk I learn something
new. I would love to hear what resonated
the most with you.
One thing I have noticed about passion and cultivating interest is that kids often quit on who and what they want to be because they get discouraged early in life. When someone who wants to be a scientist but doesn't think they can do it because they failed a science course early on, it makes them think they are not smart enough and the career is no longer worth pursuing because they won't make it. One impactful thing I have learned from author Barbara Oakley is that the way to truly decide whether or not something is your passion is to first get good at it. Don't judge your ability or level of interest of a subject because you failed a prerequisite early on. I struggled with science courses throughout my life but it is still something I am passionate about and want to pursue. But in order to truly realize that I first had to become competent in the subject. Once that happened and I immersed myself in the subject I was fascinated and knew it was something I wanted to pursue. It is the same for all of those who are struggling to find their passion. First get good at something then see if you want to do it or not. The passion is built through the struggle and challenge of mastering material that may not be inherently easy but is profoundly interesting once you give it a chance.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the regulation of technology. I wrote a college scholarship essay on my belief that it is a flaw in my generation. Too often, kids reach for their devices at any given moment. At social events I have seen kids play on their phones, while an adult tries to have a conversation with them. It is also a pacifier for kids. Parenting styles have changed to adapt to technology which I deem a problem.
ReplyDeleteThe topic that resonates most with me is fear. Fear is what restrains people from reaching their full potential. Fear is caused by societies flaws. Society causes people to fear speaking up and believing what they think is right. You may not know problems that people have due to the fear that exists in them. Without fear in the world, people could be exactly who God created them to be. Humans could specialize in what they want to do instead of what society wants them to do. Overcoming fear in the world would create a society where humans are not afraid to do what they believe in. - Jake snyder
ReplyDeleteI truly agree that you have to stick with a passion despite what others tell you. That usually that passion will enable you to get stronger in the field. Jacob fear does restrain people and we truly need to be more vulnerable so that people speak freely and learn from our disagreements.
ReplyDeleteI agree that finding your passion can be difficult and is not just handed to you. Passion is always something that people think comes naturally for successful people. Someone needs to be inspired to do something in order to find his/her true passion. It takes effort and experimentation to truly learn what you are passionate about.
ReplyDeleteThis touches my soul deeply. Passion is hard to understand and comprehend but when you do understand your passion, life is easier
ReplyDelete^ Collin Stewart
ReplyDeleteI play the piano and numerous times throughout the year, there are recitals, competition, and classes I play and take part in. Everyone, wants to do the best, but some end up failing to meet their own expectations. By spending more time in the practice room and discovering your own failures, you can prevent them from happening on stage and build confidence in your own music. Most performers have made countless mistakes, but they do it in their own practice and fix it to make their performances polished and clean. Failing in playing the piano, school, or anything else can be one of the most valuable learning experience if taken advantage of. I have failed many times before and will continue to have failures, but I have learned to accept and learn from them rather than be afraid of them. There is a saying in that says that the master has failed more times than the student has even tried. I have come to realize this from the many successes that have come because of my failures. The part about success and fear really resonate with me because I personally experienced it and seen friends and others around me have similar experiences happening to them as well. - Matthew Tao
ReplyDeleteI believe the topic of fear is an obstacle one must overcome in order to find their purpose/passion. In today’s world people are scared of trying something new because they might be judged or scared of what lies ahead in the future if they choose this road. With this fear, people will not be able to reach their full potential or find their passion. If we were to overcome this fear/anxiety of being judged or of the future, we will be able to find our passion in life and also being able to reach higher to our potential.
ReplyDeleteMatt, I love the quote that the master has failed more than the student has ever tried. I might write a blog next week about how failure actually helps us learn. I also agree that fear holds all of us back. What can teachers do to help students overcome the fear.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I doubt that my grades or test scores had anything to do with me getting into college as I believe that my resume and college essay did most of the heavy lifting. My resume had contacts to five bosses of different jobs I have worked in fields of autobody, landscaping, construction, carpentry and farming which I believe must look very impressive to admissions offices. My college essay also helped as it displayed my passion for my out of the ordinary hobby of “surfboard shaping” which sets me apart from other candidates. When I first started my hobby of shaping, I had no idea what I was doing but I have always had an eye for symmetry and balance, so it came naturally to me and I just worked thru trial and error in the mistakes I made till I finally had success. If I could tell my younger self anything, I would recommend jumping with ought looking more often, you will like will you land and if not, I would still enjoy the learning experience.
ReplyDelete- Henry Jones
Henry, they do look at grades and test scores but I agree with you that your surfboard shaping separates you from other candidates.
ReplyDeleteAs I read this, I found that the last piece about college advise stuck out to me as we had a similar conversation a few weeks ago about being deferred. I was focused on getting all of my 89's up to 90's and you suggested that I describe something that I was passionate about that separates me from all the others that were deferred. As a began to reflect I realized that I spend most of my free time outside of school doing something related to lacrosse whether it is practice after school, workouts before or after school, going to a bible study Monday nights with my club team, or helping coach and lead those bible studies for my younger brothers 8th grade team. I have always been passionate about lacrosse and I believe that this position as a coach/huddle leader can turn this passion into a service opportunity that will help me teach the younger players and will help me grow as a leader and mentor.
ReplyDeleteI know that colleges want students who give back to the community. This type of work is important to colleges but more importantly to helping make the world a better place
ReplyDeleteThis notion that "grit" is the key factor in determining someones likelihood of success has been echoed in my life. I have known many kids who were smart on every test imaginable but, because they did not care about the outcome of there own life and were to scared of breaking the mold of their everyday actions they stayed stagnant, traveling through their life, more like the passenger than the driver. Two things I have learned about failure is that it is inevitable, and you learn more from it than success. Any person who has learned of the great titans of industry such as Rockefeller, Carnegie and Morgan know that they faced many defeats before building something that will last many decades after their deaths. Every single one of those titans of industry had an unquenchable passion for their work, only comparable to the amount of hours they invested in their companies.
ReplyDeleteTo quote Franklin D. Roosevelt, "The Only thing to Fear is Fear itself." That if you allow fear to seep into your heart than you have lost the fight even before it has started. And to quote another great leader of that time, Sir Winston Churchill said, "Fear is a reaction. Courage is a decision." Fear causes a paralytic state, where you don't want to do anything differently because fear of the unknown, but if you take courage and optimism and use them as a shield to protect you from any disheartening failures. Then to say an old idiom, "The world is your oyster"
-Ryan Callahan
I think the main thing I have learned from this class is that it does not matter what number you have, yet the work and character that you build. I can honestly say that this has been a tough class for me, yet time and time again, you help me understand that it is not the grade I should be proud of, yet the character and perseverance I am building up. Therefore, as a result, I believe the values I have learned from this class triumphs the final grade.
ReplyDeleteThe one point that really resonated with me was Passion. As of late, I have lost a lot of the drive I used to have for certain subjects or topics. I have become very apathetic. I have no drive to do my homework or look into my possible career, which I used to be very passionate about. I am in a sort of mental ditch. But I feel like I just need to give myself time to get out of this hole and re-find my passion to drive me to achieve my goals.
ReplyDelete--Will Cook
Will, think about what you like to do with your spare time, what you friends think you like to do. While I love you to have a passion for school the passion with many of you often lies someplace else. Thanks for taking the time to read and respond
ReplyDeleteOn the topic of FEAR and fulfilling your goals:
ReplyDeleteRemembering I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything-- all external expectations, all pride, all FEAR of embarrassment or FEAR of failure-- these things just fall away in the face of death.
Leaving only what is truly important, remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason for you not to follow your heart.
-Steve Jobs
(Stanford Commencement Speech)
thanks adam for the quote
ReplyDelete