From a young age, children are constantly praised for every single achievement they conquer. Despite the good intentions of the complement, it is in fact detrimental to a child’s mindset. As the child grows older, they are more likely to become more self-conscious about their academic achievements and self-worth. Unfortunately, I developed what is known as a fixed mindset, a way of thinking in which an individual obtains the belief that everyone is born with a certain amount of intelligence. Until I read ‘Brainology’ by Carol S. Dweck, it occurred to me how impactful this mindset actually is. This work highlights two mentalities, in particular, fixed and growth. The essay ‘Brainology’ has impacted my perspective on my motivation as a student due to the exposure to my fixed mentality and the patterns that I have developed throughout my academic career.
The article ‘Brainology’, authored by Standard University psychology professor Carol S. Dweck, displayed a research study based on the psychology of mindsets and how these mindsets affect individuals. In Dweck’s article, it is established that students may have one of two types of mindsets, either “...students are afraid of challenges and devastated by setbacks” or “...students relish challenges and are resilient in the face of setbacks”. Otherwise known as a fixed and growth mindset. The author defines the fixed mindset as follows: “Many students believe that intelligence is fixed, that each person has a certain amount and that’s that”. In other words, everyone possesses a certain amount of intellect, and there is no way to improve it. It is emphasized that this mindset is demoralizing to students because it makes them reflect badly on themselves, and increases their need for validation. The growth mindset, on the other hand, illustrates that students “...believe that intelligence is a potential that can be realized through learning”. The difference in this mentality is that individuals welcome challenges, benefit from mistakes, and are more likely to flourish in the face of delays. It is obvious to adopt and utilize this mentality, as implied by Dweck. The growth mindset allows students to be more motivated and eager to learn, while the fixed mentality limits students’ intellectual growth and makes them focus on their academic appearance.
As one furthers their education every year, the concepts become harder and the standards are raised. If the teaching style of an elementary school teacher and a high school teacher were compared, a significant difference would be noticed, as the elementary teacher provides more praise for effort rather than the single letter grade that is given by a high school teacher. I became more aware of this as I transitioned into high school. After each school year, I began to develop a fixed mindset that focused on comparing myself to others, and I took the easy way out of a challenging situation. I did not realize I had this mentality until I read this article in my English 101 class. The scary realization was that every single thing that was observed during Dweck’s research, was things that I did. For example, I no longer feel driven to face my obstacles, or allow myself to accept learning opportunities, in fear that I would be judged by others.
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As a little kid, I became fascinated by the world as I began to understand what certain things meant and accept the world’s offers. I felt incredibly motivated and eager to learn how to do everything. The talents that I have today mostly stemmed from when I was a child, allowing me to this day to still able to enjoy my hobbies. But as I grew older, I noticed as I began picking up new and exciting things, for example, the saxophone, I grew tired of this instrument once the theory got harder and the practices became more intense. I simply became unmotivated to learn anything new and I became discouraged because I was not as good as the rest of my classmates. My consciousness focused on the challenges that seemed too hard to overcome, and it instead focused on how I appeared next to my talented classmates. I believe this is where my growth mindset began to foster itself during my vulnerable preteen years.
Recently, I have been struggling with my ability to become fluent in a language that I should know like the back of my hand. I am my family’s first generation in the United States, and I was never taught Spanish. I started my journey with Spanish in my first year of high school, and I hardly knew anything about the language, which led me to become insecure. It did not help either when I was criticized by my fluent Spanish-speaking friends. Although I grasped the language very quickly for a new speaker, I am still in constant fear of my appearance to my family, friends, and strangers. When I am faced with a challenge to improve my language, I reject it and immediately reside to the easy way out that would maximize my appearance of proficiency. But this mentality that I have is wrong, and I intend to improve it. It has led me to expose my patterns, face intellectual challenges, and help me focus on this new language.
This article led me to do a lot of self-reflection in a short amount of time. I have realized that always doing the bare minimum to seem proficient to others is not the right way of thinking, but rather accepting that I will not be the best in each subject just yet. Although it will be tough to stray away from my habits, a growth mindset can be achieved by believing that the amount of effort that is given, will register to the award that is given. I will ponder more on my academic decisions and provide the effort that is needed in order to grow and overcome my future obstacles.
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