Meh.

“The Perils of “Growth Mindset” education: Why we’re trying to fix our kids when we should be fixing the system” an article by Alfie Kohn, the problems with fixed mindsets in our school system today. Kohn talks about how our schooling system is pushing our kids into a forced mindset by rewarding “intelligence” with extrinsic rewards and not recognizing our students for their struggles. Essentially our kids are brought up in the school system being self-handicap with praise and worrying about the final outcome of their tasks, ignoring the way they get there. Along with this, many kids are also exposed to the stress of tests, studying, and not focusing on soaking up the knowledge given to them. It’s even come to the point where kids start believing what the media and society says and not believing in themselves anymore, because of their gender, or even political status.

Kohn talks about a lot of problems that are involved with the “Growth Mindset” system of education, but the leading piece of evidence I found was with praise itself, and how it’s hurting them in the long run. In Kohn’s article, he talks about how praise is a form of “manipulation.” In other words he sees praise as a form of verbal reward. Research has been done proving that kids become less interested in what they are doing if praise or reward is involved. Now isn’t this just another form of manipulation. “Praise communicated that our acceptance of a child comes with strings attached” Kids should deserve our full support, if there are always strings attached, wouldn’t that just be us trying to “force” our kids into a certain mindset, instead of a growth one?

I completely agree with Kohn in his argument, fixing students mindsets diverts attention to other societal factors that influence education. Think about it, if you grow up thinking that you can’t do certain things because you are a girl, or that you have to be good at something because of your race, doesn’t that sort of contradict the healthy learning style. Not only does this influence sexism, poverty. Economic, or political barriers, it limits the students’ potential. For example. When I first started cheer leading my junior year of high school, I was my usual position as a back spot. I wasn’t the strongest of all of the back spots, mostly because the rest of them were guys who were quite a bit bigger than me. Over the summer we all were practicing one man stunts. This is when I realized I was clearly a lot weaker than my fellow back spots when I struggled a lot more holding my person then they did.  This could have easily taken me down a road of a fixed mindset, thinking that I couldn’t do what the others could because of my naturally smaller build of a woman, but it didn’t. Nobody praised my efforts but instead supported me while I practiced to build up my muscle. Sure enough I was right there with the guys that August at the football games with a person in my hands like the rest of them. Just as Kohn says, “What kids actually need from us, along with nonjudgmental feedback and guidance’s unconditional support” This is what my team was for me. Honestly, no reward or praise could have gotten me when I was, all I needed was support, and that’s what our kids need in school today.