Never giving up! Never backing down! Never saying die! Many of these quips can be attributed not only to 1980s pop-culture, but also the mindset of those who possess what, MacArthur grant recipient and University of Pennsylvania professor, Angela Duckworth, calls grit.
What is grit? Do I have grit? Is my grit because I am not flossing as much as dentist would like? I took a web quiz to see the level of my own grit. As a stay at home father and full time student I imagine I would have a decent amount of grit to stick to and accomplish the tasks that stand in my path!
Nope.
Yikes, what does this mean, 30th percentile, not what I was hoping. Maybe we should better define grit I can find out why I scored so low. From an NPR article Angela discussed two halfs of the grit equation, perseverance and, “an abiding interest and passion for a singular pursuit.”
Perseverance is what keeps someone going regardless of adversity and difficulty. The second part is the interesting morsel though. A singular pursuit, I cannot remember the last time I had the opportunity to focus on a singular pursuit. This takes some analysis though, how broad sweeping can this pursuit be, a single goal, a collection or culmination of goals?
One of my current goals is to complete my undergraduate degree; however, this goal is multifaceted. If I take one course per semester I may have a better time focusing on this singular pursuit, but this is inefficient not only for myself but for my family. With that, I must divvy up my time, allocating certain days for certain assignments, but I cannot stop my brain from thinking about not only my other assignments, but my non-academic responsibilities as well.
This quiz is likely a rough gauge, as it is merely an online quiz. With questions like, “New ideas and projects sometimes distract me from previous ones,” it is very difficult not to answer this affirmatively. It almost feels like it would be a luxury to only have to focus on one task without others springing up! If I did solely focus on my most important task during the day, raising my daughter, then there would be a very messy house with many chores left over for my wife to do!
When it comes to the time for my school work though, I feel that Duckworth’s idea of grit is essential. Even more so with the type of course structure, or seemingly at times lack thereof, that I am faced with! It is on me to meet deadlines, and for some classes it is even on me to glean the appropriate information without a teacher’s assistance.
NPR went on to interview a critic of Angela’s, Marcus Credé, a professor of psychology at Iowa State University, and his biggest criticism of her findings reside in the fact that grit is simply a new label for conscientiousness. Conscientiousness is one of the 5 personality dimensions, the others being: extraversion, agreeableness, emotional stability, and intellect. In the case of these, “Big 5,” conscientiousness, according to Psychology Today, “influences whether people set and keep long-range goals, deliberate over choices or behave impulsively, and take seriously obligations to others.”
He goes on to state that educators should not try to influence the personality traits of the students. The way he says it though is worthy of a direct quote from his interview with NPR: “I think as a parent I would feel uncomfortable if my daughter came home and said, 'My school is changing my personality,' “ This is where his argument loses its wheels.
Personality development at a young age is ongoing, there is not a moment when a seemingly benign occurrence could leave a lasting mark on a child’s development or personality. When a parent introduces a child to public schooling, they are making a choice that will undoubtedly and assuredly lead to changes in that child’s personality. A choice will always have an outcome, and if it wasn’t the school changing Credé’s daughter’s personality it would be her homeschooling changing her personality.
As for the argument that grit is a mere rephrasing of conscientiousness, that may be true. However grit is certainly an easier term to wrap one’s head around than conscientiousness. When approached by a young student, would it be wise to assure them that their goals are achievable, and that they need to be more conscientious, or they need to be more gritty. One word instills a feeling of thoughtfulness, while the other gives an aura of toughness.
When faced with a task that requires thought, thoughtfulness might be the most redundant advice one could hear. It seems wise to ensure a young learner, or a seasoned professional that their goals can be achieved by clenching their teeth, lowering their head, and powering through.
No comments:
Post a Comment