Just because some people can do something with little or no training, it doesn't mean that others can't do it (and sometimes do it even better) with training.
Carol S. DweckRead
Praise your child explicitly for how capable they are of learning rather than telling them how smart they are.
Interpretation
Focus on a child's ability to learn rather than labeling them as 'smart'.
This quote emphasizes the importance of encouraging children by praising their effort and capacity to learn instead of simply labeling them as 'smart'. This approach nurtures a growth mindset, helping children to understand that their abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work, which fosters resilience and a love for learning.
In practice
During a parent-teacher conference to discuss a child's progress.
Just because some people can do something with little or no training, it doesn't mean that others can't do it (and sometimes do it even better) with training.
Some students start thinking of their intelligence as something fixed, as carved in stone. They worry about, 'Do I have enough? Don't I have enough?'
In one world, effort is a bad thing. It, like failure, means you're not smart or talented. If you were, you wouldn't need effort. In the other world, effort is what makes you smart or talented.
Our message to parents is to focus on the process the child engages in, such as trying hard or focusing on the task - what specific things they're doing rather than, 'You're so smart. You're so good at this.' Although it's never too late to change, what you do early matters.
Picture your brain forming new connections as you meet the challenge and learn. Keep on going.
I loved everything. I loved sciences and I loved humanities. But ultimately, I felt that in the humanities, you know, you're writing about things that already exist. But in the sciences, you're discovering things that no one has known before. Ultimately I chose psychology because it seemed to combine science with things that I liked to think about.
When one reads hurriedly and nervously, having in mind written tests and examinations, one's brain becomes encumbered with a lot of bric-a-brac for which there seems to be little use.
The most influential of all educational factors is the conversation in a child's home.
We, as we read, must become Greeks, Romans, Turks, priest and king, martyr and executioner; must fasten these images to some reality in our secret experience, or we shall learn nothing rightly.
The usual way the people are taught to think in amerika is that each subject is in a little compartment and has no relation to any other subject. For the most part, we receive fragments of unrelated knowledge, and our education follows no logical format or pattern. It is exactly this kind of education that produces people who donβt have the ability to think for themselves and who are easily manipulated.
I am an earnest advocate of manual training and trade teaching for black boys, and for white boys, too.
You can never learn anything that you did not already know
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