“Grit” has become a common term used by students and staff
across our district. Anyone who has
watched a youtube video on growth mindset or grit understands that developing
grit in our students is vital in preparing them for the future regardless of
where life takes them. Thomas Hoerr,
author of The Formative Five states it well: “Grit gives us the courage
to take risks and to fail because we know that failure is a necessary
ingredient in ultimate success.” (119)
As I work with students across K-5 in reading, it is fairly
easy to observe grit in students as they tackle complex texts. There are also countless opportunities to
support students with their development of grit as they read things that are
challenging for them in that moment. I
started to ask myself, what specifically are teachers doing to help develop
grit in their students. What concrete
things can teachers do to foster this growth?
I uncovered some ideas in talking with a kindergarten teacher and in
reading chapter 6 entitled, “Grit” of The Formative Five.
Jen Koziolek, kindergarten teacher, talked about how
important it was to establish a classroom of trust in each other before
focusing on developing grit with students.
They celebrate mistakes so that they will feel comfortable trying
something even if it ends up being a mistake.
Once this culture is created, Jen introduces reading strategies that
students use when tackling words they don’t know. Students learn how to “get their lips ready
like Lips the fish” and to “use their eagle eye for picture clues.” As they learn these strategies, she
purposefully chooses books for groups that will stretch them just enough to
need to use these strategies. They know
that they will have to work hard each day when they come to the table for
guided group, and they are praised when they use their strategies (not when
they effortlessly read words correctly).
These kindergarteners even encourage each other to “have grit” when
things are tricky.
The work that this kindergarten classroom has done, aligns
with Hoerr’s six steps to developing grit (Hoerr p. 123):
1.
Establishing the environment (physical and
psychological)
2.
Setting the expectations (everyone, including
teachers, needs to step outside your comfort zone and work through difficulty)
3.
Teaching the vocabulary (words like tenacity,
guts, courage, reliance and perseverance help students to identify and
understand grit)
4.
Creating frustration (facilitate experiences
that will push them)
5.
Monitoring the experience (teach about grit at
the moment of frustration)
6.
Reflecting and learning (after an experience,
reflect on feelings and reactions)
There are many staff and students that are perpetuating the
spread of grit across education. It’s
exciting to think about what these students will accomplish throughout their
education and life because of the grit that they have developed at a young
age. Behind the solutions in society’s
future will be the faces of these gritty kids powering through failure to solve
the most challenging problems.