Teaching Students the Importance of Grit – No Grit, No Pearl
Do you know how a pearl is made? When a bit of “grit” (an irritant such as sand) makes its way inside the shell of an oyster, the oyster protects itself by wrapping layers of calcium carbonate around the grit. This process results in the beautiful gem that we celebrate and wear in jewelry. The oyster does not enjoy grit. The grit could do damage to the oyster. However, the oyster uses grit as an opportunity to make something beautiful. As far as the oyster is concerned, no grit, no pearl.
What About People?
But this is a teaching strategies blog. What do oysters have to do with teaching? A lot, actually. Researchers have done a lot of surveys about what predicts success in student performance. What is the “magic factor” that successful students have? Is it IQ? IQ helps but that’s not the definitive factor. Is it EQ (emotional intelligence)? Again, that helps but it’s not the definitive factor. What about good looks, socio-economics, or a supportive teacher? Those factors all help but they are not the defining factor of student success.
Many researchers keep coming back to the same defining characteristic as the best predictor of student success. What is it, you ask? They call it “grit.” Grit is the ability to persevere despite negative circumstances. Someone who has grit may get knocked down, but they won’t stay down long. They get back up and they keep going until they accomplish their goals. It might take a long time to accomplish their goals but that’s ok. A person with grit is nearly guaranteed to succeed eventually because they just keep going. It’s ok if the success takes a long time, pearls aren’t made instantly either. Did you know that it can take 6 months up to several years for an oyster to create a pearl? Yet it all starts with grit. No grit, no pearl.
Angela Lee Duckworth is a former teacher turned psychologist who studies student success. She keeps coming back to grit as the main predictor of student success. I encourage you to watch her Ted Talk here.
Angela Duckworth mentions that grit is especially important for students at risk of dropping out. In my Title 1 school (high poverty), we have a lot of students in this category so it is even more essential that they learn this skill. These students in poverty face many challenges. Life hasn’t been easy for them. If they just float through school never learning how to turn these life irritants into pearls through grit, they will be unable to improve their circumstances.
How to Teach Grit to Students – No Grit No Pearl
Researchers have not yet agreed on one way to teach grit to students. So there’s not one “official” strategy in use to teach students grit. However, I believe my mastery gamification teaching strategy is starting the work of teaching students grit. Many students are not born naturally gritty and if their role models are not particularly gritty either, grit must be intentionally taught. My mastery gamification strategy teaches students to raise their expectations for themselves. They must “master” one unit before going on to the next. They will not simply be passed from unit to unit in my class with minimal effort. In order to succeed in my classroom they must persevere even when it’s hard. Then when they do, they find it rewarding. They put in the grit, they get the pearl.
This goes beyond classroom walls. Our society is constantly changing and our students need to be taught life skills to survive outside of school. One of these most essential skills is grit. While our subject content is important to teach, it seems to me that it’s just as important to teach life skills like grit to students for them to lead fulfilled lives. No grit, no pearl.
Ready to Make a Change?
If you are a teacher who would like to teach students grit, then you’re in good company. I would encourage you to order Angela Duckworth’s book Grit. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Teachers have the desire to see their students succeed but many teachers lack the modern teaching strategies necessary to reach our modern students. This book is a good way to start understanding how to reach our students.
In addition to Angela Duckworth’s book, I’d encourage you to join our Facebook community of educators who are committed to reaching students at their level and helping students realize their potential. If you enjoy reading my blog, I’d love it if you would share it with a friend.
The teacher heart hasn’t changed but the students have. We need to work together to reach our students and help them realize their potential. We have to be gritty.
