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| Marva Collins |
Dweck does not mention how well adjusted the teachers like Dweck and Escalante are at home, in dealing with their colleagues, in managing stress. It's possible that these teachers devote so much time and energy to “growing” the students that they constantly fight with their spouses and children or refuse to accept other assignments such as hall duty and committee membership at their jobs or go home and drink excessively because of the high stress. Maybe they display antisocial behavior in other areas and maybe they are completely well-adjusted and broadly-interested citizens. Dweck's book doesn't tell us.
What do you need to know about someone in order to make judgments about their mindset? Is it possible for someone to have a growth mindset in some domains of their life and still be a failure in others?
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In the case of a teacher, I believe that you can only truly judge someone's mindset by observing them both in the classroom and outside of it. Many teachers form opinions of their students within the first few weeks of school without really observing them in other areas of their lives. If they were to do this,they might discover that the students do not display the same fixed mindset that they display in the classroom. For example, a student might have a fixed mindset in math but they might have a growth mindset in an extracurricular activity like music or art. I think it is unfair to base a student's mindset on just one area.
ReplyDeleteOnce a teacher discovers what it is that students have a growth mindset about, they might be able to find different ways of teaching to help all of their students get into a growth mindset about school.
-Kaylee George
I totally agree with you! I believe you cannot judge someones mindset unless you see them in all aspects of heir life because like you said, they may have a fixed mindset in a class at school (i.e. math) but be completely opposite in their extracurriculars. I am curious though, theoretically, how do you think a teacher would go about finding out their students mindsets outside of the classroom? Would they ask their parent to report certain behaviors (at the risk of being told incorrect information) or maybe hold an activity day and have other teachers make observations?
DeleteI agree that you cannot judge someones mindset unless you know them in different surroundings. I know that I have a fixed mindset in some areas in my life but in others I have a growth mindset. I do have a mother that is a teacher and I am also curious on how teachers should, or could, find out about their students lives and mindsets in the other parts of their lives. I am also thinking of becoming a teacher and this information would definitely come in handy when my career starts.
ReplyDeleteI think it is extremely difficult to completely compartmentalize your life so that aspects of work don’t overlap into your home life. As a mom, I find it hard not to correct my co-workers when they are eating with their mouth open, mispronounce a word, or need to tie their shoes. I think this would be the same for Marva Collins. If she was so dedicated to creating a growth minded atmosphere there is no way that she wouldn’t try to create the same atmosphere with her colleagues and at home. Now, I am not saying that there wouldn’t be different levels of success or failure across her life but that she would apply the same concepts across her life.
ReplyDelete-Heather Swan
In order to make a good, solid, and well informed decision about which mindset someone leans towards I believe that one would need to observe the individual in all environments. I know that sounds slightly stalker like, but it is true. There are quite a few people in this world who view all the world as a stage. This means that a lot of their actions and reactions are not a true reflection of who they really are. In order to obtained the information required to make an estimation of their mindset tendency one needs to observe the person in every setting, especially in places where the individual would let their guard down. -Rachel Worth
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