Mathnasium of Parker Improves Grit

What is Grit?
The term “grit” describes a person who puts forth consistent effort and follow-through towards a goal. Angela Duckworth, math educator, psychologist, and author used the term after observing what made a successful algebra student, successful. IQ seemed to have little bearing on success.

As an algebra teacher, she noticed that students’ success in her class had more to do with their habits than any natural math aptitude or brilliance. Successful students in her algebra class had consistent work habits. They didn’t give up when they had a setback. She called this habit “grit.”

In her Ted Talk, Duckworth states “Grit is passion and perseverance for very long term goals. Grit is having stamina. Grit is sticking with your goals, day in, day out, not just for the week, not just for the month, but for years, and working really hard to make that future into a reality.”

Succeeding in algebra, or calculus, or other advanced math courses takes stamina. Even if elementary school children don’t verbalize the goal of wanting to one day take advanced math, that is when preparation for math goals should start. The younger children are when they to develop “gritty” math habits like asking questions, focused study habits, and consistent practice, the more successful they will be. Einstein is attributed with saying “It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer” from Bite-Size Einstein: Quotations on Just About Everything from the Greatest Mind of the Twentieth.

Help Your Child Develop Grit at Mathnasium of Parker
In her bestselling book, Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, Duckworth states “If you want to be grittier, find a gritty culture and join it.”  She explains, it is easier to persistently chase a goal when everyone you see is persistently chasing a similar goal. You may wonder how you can “join a culture.” She isn’t just talking about major cultures like the American culture or the Chinese culture. Even small groups of people, like a team, a family, or a class can have a culture. In our article, Are You Inadvertently Teaching Helplessness? we talked about the family culture and how parents can be role models for a “can do” attitude.

We foster a gritty culture, too, at Mathnasium of Parker. Our model shows that success comes from focused practice, day in and day out. Your children will develop gritty habits with us, and although we are a math-only learning center, the gritty habits kids learn with us often spread to other areas of life. Give us a call today! 303-840-1184

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