The children will be taught how the Riccall PETS can be employed in the different subjects to advance their learning during their time with us. It would be great if you could seek opportunities at home to develop these characteristics as well.
For example, do you ever let your children see you struggling with something? They need to see that in real-life there are set backs and difficulties to overcome. They need to understand that adults make mistakes and they need to see how we learn from these mistakes, rather than hiding from them or ignoring them. There are lots of celebrity examples of famous failures to show this online but how much more powerful a message would it be for a child to learn first-hand from people they are close to?
Although the theory behind growth mindset is one we can hopefully all agree with, the tricky thing is talking the talk.
If there is one thing you take away from what you’ve read, then please let it be: think before you praise your child. Are you praising the process or the result? If you praise the process, you are encouraging a growth mindset and nurturing a child who will be more likely to believe that effort leads to success. If you praise the result, you’re encouraging a fixed mindset and nurturing a belief that you are only a success as long as you keep winning.
It’s the difference between: ‘I’m so proud of how hard you worked to get that done.’ Growth mindset. And: ‘I’m so proud of you – you’re so clever to have done that.’ Fixed mindset.