"I just don't get it." Remember in school when you said that sentence to yourself in despair, or to a teacher in hope? As a writer now, I move sideways, try something oblique, bring in new material, start over with gusto. Not getting it means I must be doing original work. The feeling of not getting it is a good sign, not a paralyzing signal.
The feeling of not getting it is like rain for the dry-land farmer -- uncomfortable as you hunch on the tractor seat, but the best thing for the ground. This anxious feeling is the growing place. To be an expert -- assured -- is death to the process that creates expertise. For expertise comes from not knowing -- yet."
Kim Stafford
Carol Dweck, Stanford University Professor of Psychology and author of the book "Mindset" speaks in this short video about the power of the word "yet" in developing a growth mindset.
In order to encourage our young scholars to have a growth mindset instead of a fixed mindset, we must begin with ourselves. Do we embrace that uncomfortable place of not knowing, of being unsure, of making a mistake as an opportunity to grow or as a wall that blocks our path? Eduardo Briceno, a colleague of Carol Dweck, challenges us in this TED talk video to listen to our fixed mindset voice, and when we hear it to talk back with our growth mindset voice. If we hear ourselves saying "I can't do this" add "YET".
Every time we hear a scholar say "I don't get this" or "I can't do this" add "yet" to that voice and then help them see the opportunity for growth so they can do it, so they can understand it, so they begin to change the voice in their heads and say back to themselves..."yet".
For more resources on developing a Growth Mindset, see Larry Ferlazzo's blog post from October 2012
Yet is such a little word with such huge potential.
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