Dear Lower School Families,

 

What a wonderful surprise on Thursday with snow and optimal sledding in the Lower School! This week we jump back into The Formative Five by Tom Hoerr and review the idea of grit.

What is grit? Hoerr shares that “grit is tenacity, perseverance, hanging in, and not ever giving up” and provides an assessment survey for children. In an NPR interview, Angela Duckworth calls grit a “combination of passion and perseverance for very long-term goals.” I encourage you to explore Duckworth’s research and TED Talk about grit and perseverance.

 

The following survey is designed for children, to gather a sense about their feelings about integrity. It is a tool to elicit reflection and discussion, not a scientifically valid instrument.

 

Directions: Place a 1-strongly disagree; 2-disagree; 3-not sure; 4-agree; 5-strongly agree for each item.

 

___ 1. No matter how difficult a task is, I keep trying.

___ 2. I would rather practice something I do well than try to learn something new.

___ 3. I am often distracted when things are hard.

___ 4. Learning in school should be easy.

___ 5. I usually work harder than my classmates.

___ 6. It is important to me that I don’t make mistakes.

___ 7. I would rather get a B in a new area of learning than an A in an area I’m already good at

            studying.

___ 8. Learning needs to be fun.

___ 9. It’s OK if I make a mistake or two while learning.

___10.If something is difficult, I am sure to devote extra time to it.

 

Scoring:

____ (A) Total points for 1, 5, 7, 9, 10

____ (B) Total points for 2, 3, 4, 6, 8

____ (C) Subtract (B) from (A) for your “grit” score

 

If you scored…

 

Sharing examples of how individuals demonstrate grit may be used as teachable moments for children. Hoerr states that “learning grit is like learning anything else: You learn it by doing it.” In exploring stories of grit with your child, it’s also important to discuss how failure (or even multiple failures) play into the aspects of developing grit. In looking at failure as it relates to grit, focus on the good failures and how they may be impactful as a learning opportunity for the future. Using a “gritty vocabulary” allows children to recognize the skill in different contexts. Gritty vocabulary includes tenacity, resilience, stick-to-it-iveness, courage, bravery, resoluteness, and spunk.

 

As children encounter experiences, it is helpful to reflect and compare reactions. This frustration chart can be a useful tool for a child to use in articulating how they are feeling:

 

 

Hoerr says that grit should be a regular topic of discussion at home and school, because it is continually developing throughout life. Practicing grit is necessary. Working through the emotions they are feeling when things are easy and hard allows children to process and apply their gritty experience for future situations. Get gritty this weekend!

 

Kind regards,

Angie Crabtree

LS Principal