2 - reflection on Khan article

The article "Why I'll Never Tell My Son He's Smart" communicates the importance of praising children for struggling to learn things. Apparently, the brain grows more through working through difficult problems than it does with comfortable learning exercises. This is not surprising at all, since it is in fact a muscle that needs to be stretched and pushed to grow.

The message of the article is simple enough. Children should be praised for struggling, not for innate intelligence. Putting into practice this type of praise encourages children to work hard at things outside their comfort zones, promoting a stronger willingness to learn difficult things for the rest of their lives. With this mindset, people are much more willing to struggle through particularly tough subjects or problems whereas with an innate intelligence mindset people are more willing to give up because they think they just aren't smart enough.

In my classroom, I will strive to impart this growth mindset to my students. I will actively praise students for struggling with problems and sticking it out to the end. I will encourage students to work through problems as if they are a puzzle, making tough subjects seem like a game that is to be fought for and accomplished. I will try to instil a sense of pride in students who work hard to learn new and difficult things. All the while, I will not belittle children to which subjects come easily, but instead I will encourage them to go deeper into these subjects to areas to the point where they have to struggle to succeed. Praise is such an important tool for children; I will try my best to use it appropriately to encourage growth, not stagnation, of the minds of my students.