Carol Dweck wrote the very popular book Mindset. This book is about the mindset of successful people across many fields. One of the fields that Dr. Dweck examines is sports. In the book, she tells the above story about Jackie Joyner-Kersee. I read this book over the summer and while reading this chapter, I took pictures of what I was reading. I encourage you to take a look at it. Share it with students if you would like. You are also encouraged to read the book. I have a copy if you would like to read it.
Questions To Consider:
1. What good book have you read lately? If you don't have an answer...you may want to pick up a book. Reading is a great stress release.
2. How might you be able to use this story as an example in class?
3. How does Joyner-Kersee's mindset reflect a growth mindset?
1. I read "Coach Wooden and Me" over the summer.
ReplyDelete2. It's a great example of the mental game we play with ourselves in life. Every decision we make is a response to a voice in your head telling you to do something or not to do something. When you don't feel like doing your homework because the voice in your head says it's going to be long and painful, respond with "I'll work for 5 minutes and then decide if I want to stop."
3. The growth mindset says that you can learn, get better, and take steps to improve in certain areas. The fixed mindset says that you are either smart or you are not and there's nothing you can do to change that. I think the example of the growth mindset occurred over the course of her career and not necessarily at this one moment in time. Early in her career she could have said, "Some people can run and some people can't." But she probably said, "If I work hard and don't give up, I can improve my run times." Because this particular race was difficult due to the circumstances, and she told herself to not give up and to keep going, that is an important skill in a growth mindset.
Thanks for responding Scott. I hope it was useful. I am adding your book recommendation to my reading list.
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