Hannah Emmanuele
The ‘grit’ phenomenon has captivated the nation since Angela Duckworth’s impressive ‘TedTalk Education’ last September. Josie Holford posts a serious challenge to this notion for not only the growing population of disadvantaged students, but also for rich kids. Here’s an excerpt. (A link to the Psychology Today article is provided below– it’s worth a read.)
The culture of achievement doesn’t only impact those who have little; it also eats away at those who seem to have it all as they get caught up in the competitive achievement race. Some who work in independent and high achieving schools know kids like this and it’s not a pretty sight. And while these kids have the slack of wealth and privilege they also often suffer from the grit of competition and corrosive demands to succeed and win. They do indeed have it all. (Read this article (Psychology Today) for all the gory details of rich kids and their – and our – very real problems with character, substance abuse, criminality, cheating and self-harm .)
Our system of school is complicit in nurturing these problems. While many wealthy communities undertake vital supports and preventative measures, significant inroads into the drivers of unhealthy behaviors will not be made until schools shift away from batch, standardized processing and toward a more personalized, relevant and meaningful learning environment. Parents need support as well to evolve in their new role as facilitators of modern learning since we’re still trying to figure out how to raise children of the digital age.
Bottom line, until schools personalize learning for each child in a relevant and meaningful way, the Race to Nowhere and the unfortunate consequences of ‘grit’ will continue in full force.
