The Parenting Series: Work Hard

In today’s parent forum we explored the idea of work hard through the concept of Grit as proposed by Angela Duckworth in her book Grit.  

We began by briefly discussing, where in our own childhood we had to work hard, before watching and discussing Duckworth’s TED talk linked below.

We then had the opportunity to explore how “work hard” is developed in our classrooms through the areas of PE, Music, Mathematics and study skills in the MYP and DP.  Parents were able to visit the different stations led by our teaching team to practice skills in rhythm, ball control and exploration of mathematical problems.  We discussed how experiencing hard work, failure and disappointment are all important components of developing commitment and resilience.

Next we reviewed some opportunities that we can develop grit in our children through the following ideas:

• Skill acquisition, through repetition, games, practice and recall
• Failures and Mistakes: a growth mindset can empower us to learn by failing
• Relationships: preserving in friendships, staying committed, forgiving and listening
• Commitments: such as After-School Activities, Sports and Hobbies
• At Home: through games, puzzles, taking care of pets, home chores

We also referenced Adam Grant’s new book that was published last month which unpacks the idea that rather than talent - success and potential is really about how much we grow and the character that we build from childhood that really marks out our journey ahead.

We ended the session by reflecting on some of the ways we can support our children in pushing through challenges, staying committed and using failures as opportunities to grow and learn.

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