Have you ever heard the term ‘grit‘? If not, please keep reading. If you’ve heard it but do not know much about the term, below we will talk about what grit is and try to answer this question: ‘Can grit be taught?’. We’ll try to answer this question, especially in terms of our children.
What is Grit?
Angela Lee Duckworth’s Ted Talk on grit has reached over 30 million views and gone “viral” on many social media platforms. Duckworth, a former educator, conducted graduate level research in various settings analyzing which individuals would find success, and what characteristics they possessed that set them up for that success.
In her talk, Duckworth is quoted saying, “Grit is passion and perseverance for very long-term goals. Grit is having stamina. Grit is sticking with your future. Grit is living life like a marathon, not a sprint.”
Grit in Children
In recent years, grit has become a buzzword in the world of education. Administrators and teachers brainstorm and think of ways that they can develop grit in their students, and how they can make coursework more “gritty”.
It is no secret that all educators want their students to be successful, and some believe that teaching their students grit might be the key. And yet –generally speaking – it seems like with each passing year, and by Duckworth’s definition, students seem to have less grit than ever before.
They lack passion and perseverance in learning. Students mostly don’t have long-term goals. They view school and individual classes as “sprints” that they need to finish to be done. There are, and will always be, students who have grit – and statistics show that this is a high indicator for success, both in school and beyond.
Can grit be taught?
Duckworth addresses the question ‘Can grit be taught?‘ in her Ted Talk with a very direct, “I don’t know.” She ends her remarks with a challenge to those listening by saying, “We need to bring our best ideas. In other words, we need to be gritty about getting our kids grittier.”
Humans crave affirmation and acknowledgement by nature. This is also true for students – they crave and thrive in environments where their interests and passions are highlighted and celebrated.
When a student feels “seen”, they develop intrinsic motivation to develop and work towards short and long term goals. Similarly, many successful individuals can identify influences and mentors who helped them on their journey.
Humans are relational, and we can leverage those relationships to help us develop grit, especially when we encounter challenges and hard times in our personal and professional lives.
How Does Global Town School Address Grit?
Most adults can look back on mentors who helped them develop lifelong characteristics – such as grit; how can we ensure that the students and children today have these mentors in their lives? This is how Global Town School, as an online private school, is aiming to develop grit in our students.
Comprehensive and individualized coaching is an integral part of our educational model. Students are matched with a coach who is trained to push, drive and encourage them in their educational pursuits and beyond.
Coaches help students develop attributes and habits today that will help them far into the future, and in all aspects of their life, even beyond their education.
At Global Town School, we believe grit can be taught through consistent practice. Grit is not something you can gain through reading about or studying it. It is like driving or swimming. You can read books, watch videos, and study various aspects of driving or swimming. That does not mean you can drive or swim. Like driving or swimming, you need to implement, practice, develop, and perfect the skill.
Global Town Students do exactly that through our coaching program. They set up short and long-term goals, develop strategies, fail, and learn from their failure, develop stamina, perseverance, and the achiever mindset.
Parents, students and educators all want the same thing – they want their children to be successful in life. Grit is a vital skill to succeed in life and it can be taught through practice and our children can run more life marathons, if they can build more grit.
