Mindshifting is recognizing and shifting from the mindsets that hold us back to the mindsets that push us forward. I write about mindsets, Mindshifting, learning, and education, with the hope that these posts give readers more power over their own lives and helps them give others, like their students, more power as well.
Grit with Dr. India White
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Imagine a 16 year old girl who found out she was going to live in a homeless center for the next two years. Now imagine the typical day one 16-year-old girl set for herself after hearing this news:
Now imagine that she then received a full scholarship to the University of Florida, now has a PhD, is a keynote speaker, and writes math textbooks. You would be imagining Dr. India White. Could you guess that the topic of her PhD thesis might be grit? Dr. India White defines grit as a combination of determination, resilience, and time management. For first generation college students who grew up in the lowest financial quartile, grit played a critical role in whether they graduated or not. Grit is not just about working hard; it also involves maintaining a long-term vision and passion for one's goals. This intrinsic motivation fuels students' drive to succeed and helps them build the resilience needed to face and overcome academic and personal challenges. The study suggests several ways to cultivate grit in oneself or in others, particularly for first-generation college students:
Dr. White is an inspiration. You can find out more about her from her TEDx talk and her website. |
Mindshifting Educators
Mindshifting is recognizing and shifting from the mindsets that hold us back to the mindsets that push us forward. I write about mindsets, Mindshifting, learning, and education, with the hope that these posts give readers more power over their own lives and helps them give others, like their students, more power as well.
I was brought up short this week by a post condemning values. Or rather, values statements by organizations. Paul Sweeney, on his Disruption Space blog, used an excerpt from his book Magnetic Nonsense: A Short History of Bullshit at Work and How to Make it Go Away, and gave some thought provoking examples of worthless values statements. Here are three. People who Act with integrity This was Ernst & Young’s number one value at the time the company knew some its auditors were cheating on exams...
The human toll from the 2025 California fires is heartbreaking. In my mind it rivals the damage from Katrina. So many people’s lives have been torn apart. I hope everyone does something, contributes something, to help out those who have been hurt. You can reach out personally. You can support the Red Cross. You can find GoFundMe pages like this one which is a recovery fund for Black residents of Altadena and Pasadena. Every one of us can find a way make a difference for someone. California...
Gurwinder Bhogal published an intriguing list of 25 Useful Ideas for 2025. A list of 25 is too many. Maybe my little brain can remember three. On the other hand, these are all thought-provoking. The 25th is on Sphexishness. Sphexishness is when you blindly follow a rule without checking if the rule works in the present situation. Gurwinder Bhogal has a great example. Ants follow each others’ pheromes which lead them to food and back home. But some ants may start moving in a circle, and all...