Angela Duckworth “literally wrote the book on grit.” Her 2013 Ted Talk Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance has over 15.5 million views and was followed by her 2016 book by the same name, which became a New York Time best seller. Duckworth is a professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, a former MacArthur fellow, and founder of the Character Lab.
So it was with interest that I read a recent interview with Duckworth in the journal Educational Leadership in which she comments on how her work on grit has sometimes been over-simplified or misunderstood. In describing the broader scope of her work, Duckworth uses the term “character,” but notes that many would name it “social emotional learning.”
In the interview, Duckworth describes three “families of character strengths.” These are:
- Strengths of Heart (interpersonal character strengths), such as gratitude, empathy, honesty and social emotional intelligence.
- Strengths of Will (intrapersonal character strengths), including self-control, delay of gratification, grit, optimism and growth mindset.
- Strengths of Mind (intellectual character strengths): such as curiosity, open-mindedness, intellectual humility, imagination and creativity.
Duckworth notes that grit is not about “forcing kids to do tons of practice on hard things they don’t care about.” She suggests we need to find ways for kids to be playful and enjoy things. She cautions that grit should not overshadow other character strengths, noting that “being a ‘good’ person is more important than being ‘great’ at something.”
I have long been interested in how schools and families can teach and promote what are sometimes referred to as “habits of mind.” In their leading-edge work in this area, Art Costa and Bena Kallick identify 16 habits of mind. Their list of habits is similar to Duckworth’s, however, what sets Duckworth’s thinking apart for me is the way she has organized her list around the concepts of heart, mind, and will.
A serendipitous aside: Lexington Superintendent Julie Hackett’s Twitter page (@lexingtonsuper) features a slogan she developed following her opening remarks to staff this year that echoes this thinking about schools: “For every child, a hungry mind and a joyful heart.”
Heart, mind and will. I’d say that about covers what the focus of our work in schools should be. What are your thoughts?
Rick Rogers
Interim Principal
rrogers@lexingtonma.org
