• Growth Mindset

     In a growth mindset students understand that their talents and abilities can be developed through effort, good teaching and persistence. They don’t necessarily think everyone’s the same or anyone can be Einstein, but they believe everyone can get smarter if they work at it.
     Growth Mindset
     
     
     
     
     
    GRIT

    West Wing School will be working to include the development of behavioral qualities. The qualities are:

    Optimism - the expectation that the future holds positive possibilities and the confidence that, with effort, these possibilities become likelihoods. 

    Being optimistic means:

    Believing that effort will improve your future
    When bad things happen, thinking about what you could do to avoid similar bad outcomes in the future
    Staying motivated, even when things don’t go well
     
    Zest - sometimes referred to as vitality, is an approach to life filled with excitement and energy.

    Being full of Zest means:

    Full of life and energy
    Approach setbacks with enthusiasm
    Energize people around you
     
    Self-control - the capacity to regulate thoughts, feelings, or behaviors when they conflict with valued goals.

    Demonstrating self-control at school looks like:

    Coming to office/class with everything needed to get to work
    Remembering and following directions rather than needing to be reminded
    Getting to work right away rather than procrastinating
    Paying attention rather than getting distracted

    Interpersonally:

    Remaining calm even when criticized or otherwise provoked, rather than losing one’s temper
    Allowing others to speak rather than interrupting
    Being polite to all, as opposed to speaking harshly
    Self-control
    Curiosity - the search for information for its own sake. Active open-mindedness means exploring a wide range of relevant information when trying to draw a conclusion, including information that challenges our own initial assumptions.

    Being curious means:

    Eagerness to explore new things
    Asking questions to deepen understanding
    Taking an active interest in learning
     
    Gratitude - appreciation for the benefits we receive from others and the desire to reciprocate with our own positive actions.

    Displaying gratitude looks like:

    Recognizing what other people do for you
    Showing appreciation for opportunities
    Expressing appreciation by saying thank you
    Doing nice things for people as a way of saying thank you
     
    Social intelligence -  refers to awareness of other people’s motives and feelings as well as using this understanding to navigate social situations appropriately.

    Being Socially Intelligent looks like:

    Finding solutions during conflicts with others
    Demonstrating respect for the feelings of others
    Adapting to different social situations
     

    Learn more about grit at Angela Duckworth’s University of Pennsylvania site, you can take a test to figure out your own or your child’s “grit” score.