Every day I teach, I encounter two common hindrances to kids' learning. The first is when students think they already know something, they think and even say they already know it, so they stop listening. Then they sometimes miss the new piece of information that comes after the review of what is familiar. "Oh, I know how to multiply already". Oh, you do? So you can multiply this three-digit number by that three digit number instantaneously? I didn't know you were Rain Man.
The second hindrance is kids who have the attitude about themselves that they simply aren't good at something, so they avoid it because it makes them continue to feel stupid, rather than improve at that skill. They tell me, "I don't want to draw because I'm not good at it". Then I have to say, "How do you think that so-and-so good good at drawing? He/she didn't start out being able to draw perfecting, he/she practiced".
Both of these problems lead to a lack of a grown mindset. If there is anything that I think leads to success and happiness later in life for than most other things it's having a growth mindset - an attitude to try to get better at something by working hard. Some people might think it's funny that I am saying this, since I am not exactly the most perfect specimen of a hard worker. I am definitely someone who believes in working smarter and not necessarily harder, when possible. I hate to waste effort on something when I know there won't be a return on my investment. That being said, I have put in my time and effort on skills and knowledge that I value and consider worthwhile in my lifetime, and I do feel as though I've "paid my dues" through my schooling (earlier in life and through postgraduate education) and work experience over the years. I may have quit some activities when I was younger, but once I found some of the ones that spoke to me, like ultimate frisbee, I improved at them over the years until I could say I was proficient and confident enough to help coach others. Anyway, back to growth mindset. It's another case of getting out of something what you put into it.
There are a handful of students I see off and on throughout the week that are really struggling in school (I'm talking reading two grade levels behind and completely unable to troubleshoot minor problems on their own), and they're struggling almost entirely because of their terrible attitudes. They have these terrible attitudes because they completely lack confidence due to the fact that they are bad at most things, have avoided any attempt at improving at those things, and therefore have not improved at those basic skills that they really need to know. Some of them likely have other issues they are dealing with outside of school, at home, that affect their attitudes and perceptions. It is very unfortunate, and I alone cannot solve their problems in the short intervals at which I see them, especially when I also have up to 30 other students that I have to teach at the same time. There are students who struggle for other reasons, for example there are several kids at the school who come from a refugee background and English isn't their first language, and many of their parents are not literate in English, but many of those kids improve vastly after period of transition of a few weeks or months. Those that are refugees often have a great attitude towards learning because they often come from families that are trying to work hard for a better life, and so they also adopt that attitude of trying to do as well as they can.
I suppose my main point in discussing this is to just tell all the many parents, particularly parents of little ones, that instilling a growth mindset at a young age is one of the most important things they can do if they want their kids to feel confident and have more choices and opportunities when they get older. One of the popular ways to do this is that when you are praising a child for something, you emphasize the effort and how hard they worked to achieve something as opposed to how smart they are. You can also model good problem solving techniques and emphasize when you kept trying without giving up. Keep encouraging them to work through frustration, and show them how you have to do it sometimes too. Being frustrated and feeling like you're not perfect at something doesn't necessarily mean it's not worth your time. Over time, the kid(s) will come to learn through trial and error what ends up being worth their time or not, but until they make those first several attempts and develop basic skills, they won't know if something will be or not. Over time, they will get better at assessing their own skills and evaluating whether or not something will be worth their time or not.
This is not just a problem that kids have. I can think of several adults I have come across that do not possess much self-confidence because for various reasons they never developed a growth mindset or the skills to self-asses. These adults have a much harder time "adulting" than those that have such a mindset and understand their own abilities, wants, and needs well. Again, I realize that I am not the perfect example of someone who acts like a perfectly confident adult all the time, so I suppose just take what I say with a grain of salt.
I suppose that's just the disclaimer on everything I say.
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