The value of effort

Dear reader,

Today was my second day on the Skillful Teacher course. The facilitators spoke of being careful of the language we use during class. For instance, we were urged to praise students for their effort ("I appreciate the time you put into this.") rather than innate abilities ("You're so smart!") The fixed mindset model, was heavily criticised, while the growth mindset model was single-mindedly exulted.

While I agreed in most circumstances, it irked me a little. Was there not some benefit to the fixed mind-set? I remembered an anecdote from The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teenagers (Covey, 1998) on Prince Louis-Charles. As his father King Louis XVI was captured by the rebels, he was brought up by the revolutionaries. Being against the monarchy, the rebels felt that if they could corrupt the boy morally, he would never be good enough to lead the people.

Despite tempting him with coarse language, lewd women and excess food, the rebels discovered they could not sway the boy. When questioned, the youth revealed that he was "born to be king". Prince Louis-Charles had a fixed conviction that he could never participate in such debauchery as he had a destiny to fulfill.

On another issue, I fear encouraging the students excessively might inculcate "worst kind of arrogance" (Gray, 2002). Philosopher John Gray (2002) pointed out that if people attribute all human success to human effort, we would be promoting a self-delusion of limitless exploitation rather than reality of stewardship.

I honestly thought a better way would be to point out to students on things that were in their control (like punctuality) and things that were beyond their control (like bus timings).

Overall, it must have been a good course, because I disagreed so  much with it.

For further reading
Covey, S. (1998) The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teenagers

Gray, J.N. (2000) Straw Dogs: Thoughts On Humans And Other Animals