Culture and Community Circle Workshops

First Discussion:

According to the speaker, what is the definition of “grit’? How does she come to her conclusions? How does grit affect success?

As Duckworth defines it, grit is passion and sustained persistence applied toward long-term achievement, with no particular concern for rewards or recognition along the way. It combines resilience, ambition, and self-control in the pursuit of goals that take months, years, or even decades. Rather, it ensures that an entrepreneur is able to motivate themselves to continue progressing and stick to their goals despite any setbacks and obstacles. It also ensures better mental and emotional well-being.

Describe one time in your life that you had to use grit? What happened? What did you learn from the experience?

When I first came to the US, my English language was not well. And I wanted to get a job, however, I feared that I would have trouble fitting in because I couldn’t speak English. However, I realized that if I went to school I can learn English and do all the things I wanted to. So in this experience, I used grit to get out of my comfort zone and try something new in order to improve myself. My ambition is to get a job at a bank where I can use my language skills.

In connection to First Generation which we watched earlier in the week, give an example of grit or mindset (either fixed or growth) from the documentary? How did these examples of grit or mindset influence that particular student?

Grit refers to a student’s ability to persist after setbacks. Grit is related to mindset in that if one believes that failures are due to their fixed traits, there is no reason to try again. Conversely, individuals with a growth mindset are more likely to be resilient and have more grit.

Duckworth calls out Dweck in her speech, and as we have also read Dweck this week, what connections can you make between Duckworth and Dweck? How do these two sources help your understanding of growth and fixed mindset? How do grit and mindset work together?

Dweck coined the terms fixed mindset and growth mindset to describe the underlying beliefs people have about learning and intelligence. When students believe they can get smarter, they understand that effort makes them stronger. Therefore they put in extra time and effort, and that leads to higher achievement. “Driving the study of student performance conducted by Duckworth was … [her] belief that underachievement isn’t explained by structural factors—social, economic, or even educational. Rather, [she] insisted it should be attributed to the students themselves and their, ‘failure to exercise self-discipline.’

Second Discussion:

1. According to the speaker, what is the definition of “grit’? How does she come to her conclusions? How does grit affect success?

Defines it, grit is passion and sustained persistence applied toward long-term achievement, with no particular concern for rewards or recognition along the way. It combines resilience, ambition, and self-control in the pursuit of goals that take months, years, or even decades.

2.Describe one time in your life that you had to use grit? What happened? What did you learn from the experience?

I will describe the determination that became in my life, and when I came to the United States, I did not speak the English language and I did not know how to speak the English language, and whenever I went in America to any place I did not understand anything because I did not speak the English language. After all this, I was upset about my condition because I did not know the English language in order to communicate with people and I was very upset about my situation. Then an idea with myself and I said I must have determination and will to complete my education and speak the English language, and I had strong determination and determination to complete my education .Yes, now I achieved a little determination, but I have more ambition, which is my arrival to the university to obtain a high degree in study. My experience has taught me that with determination there is no such thing as impossible in life.

1. In connection to First Generation which we watched earlier in the Week, give an example of grit or mindset (either fixed or growth) from the documentary? How did these example of grit or mindset influence the that particular student?

Mindset refers to an individual’s beliefs about their talents. A fixed mindset is a belief that one’s talents are due to inborn traits. For example, someone might believe that they got a good grade because they are good at math. In contrast, a growth mindset refers to the belief that talents are malleable, by whatever means. For example, someone might believe that they got a good grade because they worked hard, sought out extra help, etc. Often a growth mindset is described as being a synonym for hard work or motivation, but that is only one way in which talents might change.

1. Duckworth calls out Dweck in her speech, and as we have also read Dweck this week, what connections can you make between Duckworth and Dweck? How do these two sources help your understanding of growth and fixed mindset? How do grit and mindset work together?

Duckworth and Tough’s, “grit,” ideology refers to a person’s capacity to work toward long term goals and not give in to short term distractions and temptations, thereby building academic and personal stamina, especially when things are challenging for students. Duckworth and Tough declared that grit was the key to student success and should receive overt instruction. “Many students believe that intelligence is fixed, that each person has a certain amount and that’s that. We call this a fixed mindset, and … students with this mindset worry about how much of this fixed intelligence they possess. A fixed mindset makes challenges threatening for students (because they believe that their fixed ability may not be up to the task) and it makes mistakes and failures demoralizing (because they believe that such setbacks reflect badly on their level of fixed intelligence).” Dweck added that growth mindset students see, “confronting challenges, profiting from mistakes, and persevering in the face of setbacks,” as ways to become smarter, and that it is within their control to achieve higher levels of performance. Mindset is related to grit, although they are somewhat different concepts. … Grit is related to mindset in that if one believes that failures are due to their fixed traits, there is no reason to try again. Conversely, individuals with growth mindset are more likely to be resilient and have more grit.