Parent Education

There are several pedagogical ideas that we, as a staff, firmly believe in and work to practice with our students.  The concept of Mindset is one of them.  Once you read about the idea, is seems so logical that it makes you wonder why everyone doesn’t put it into practice right away.  The reality is that practice is much harder to maintain due to the fact that we need to wade through our own upbringing, the immediate urgencies, and lack of time that our day to day existence puts us under.


However, if every parent and teacher actually practiced facilitating growth mindset with our students, I believe their academic and personal possibilities would be guaranteed to grow. Mindset is a simple idea discovered by world-renowned Stanford University psychologist Carol Dweck in decades of research on achievement and success—a simple idea that makes all the difference. Teaching a growth mindset creates motivation and productivity in the worlds of business, education, and sports.”

‘Mindset’ explains:


  • Why brains and talent don’t bring success

  • How they can stand in the way of it

  • Why praising brains and talent doesn’t foster self-esteem and accomplishment, but jeopardizes them

  • How teaching a simple idea about the brain raises grades and productivity


In a fixed mindset, people believe their basic qualities, like their intelligence or talent, are simply fixed traits. They spend their time documenting their intelligence or talent instead of developing them. They also believe that talent alone creates success—without effort. They’re wrong.

In a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work—brains and talent are just the starting point. This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment. Virtually all great people have had these qualities.”  http://mindsetonline.com/


I encourage you to review this concept with mindful attention.  We believe it can make a difference.  And like Mindfulness, it takes time and practice for most of us to build it into a practice that can make a true difference with our students.


This link will take you to a simple animation video explaining the difference between fixed and growth mindset.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_oqghnxBmY


The link below shows another video that explains the research that supports Carol Dweck’s theory of Mindset.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pN34FNbOKXc


Please take the time to review some of the Mindset resources mentioned here. A student’s confidence and ability is built from effort. We praise their efforts, helping to build their growth mindset, not a fixed talent.  

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