Education
Building Capacity Not Dependency in Children "It's not what you do for your children, but what you have taught them to do for themselves, that will make them successful human beings." Ann Landers.
Brisbane Schools & Education 18
hand, and experience and learning on the other, has shifted. We have become more concerned at the ‘destination’; the good marks and the social standing, rather than the journey. Have we as a consequence become overwhelmed by fear of failure? Have we ultimately given up experience and long-term learning, for short-term achievement and a place on the podium?
It is symptomatic of our modern society that parents are increasingly taking on responsibility for their children’s actions. Not only does this result in a lack of resilience and self-reliance in young people, but there is also a growing body of research linking the relationship between parental control and lack of deep learning. This natural nurturing of the young by adults has become, in some cases, overprotection and it limits and stifles their growth, independence and creativity. So, how can something so central to parenting have come to this?
Good parenting, like good education, provides for a caring, ‘secure base’ and a ‘safe haven’ from which children can grow; as well as opportunities that may mean facing risks and disappointments. It involves allowing young people the time to move from being a novice to becoming an expert. In allowing this we encourage our children to make mistakes, put these mistakes into perspective, and try something different next time. It’s what psychologist Angela Duckworth calls “Grit”, and is fundamental to learning and growth.
It seems that the balance between performance and achievement on the one
Duckworth based her idea on Mattie Ross, the 14-year-old protagonist of True Grit, the
Your Local Families Magazine – Brisbane Issue 5 - August/September 2014
1968 novel by Charles Portis, and the film True Grit, with John Wayne. Duckworth explains “It is really about this young girl, who against all odds, pursues a very long-term, almost impossible goal and eventually, eventually - with the emphasis on “eventually” - succeeds in that goal”. Duckworth’s research connects non-cognitive skills, like self-control, to school success. “Grit” captures something educators recognise, but had not named or tried to teach. She has developed the Grit Scale for children, which identifies qualities like diligence, hard work, sustained effort, and the ability to focus on a goal without getting discouraged by setbacks. “Grit”, though, is context specific. “By definition, you cannot be gritty at everything.” says Duckworth. You can take the “Grit” test at www.sas.upenn.edu/~duckwort/ Another researcher and writer, Dr Carol Dweck, has applied this idea to learning. In