Initial Thoughts on Growth Mindset

This assignment was the first I'd heard of Carol Dweck, and I found the introduction to her research fascinating. The concept of being trained to pursue accuracy rather than growth really resonated with me, as I often find myself fixating more on what I know rather than what I have the potential to learn. In the U.S.' general academic environment, emphasis is placed on grades and subsequent GPA. A three-hour Differential Equations course has the same impact on a grade-point as a three-hour Experiencing Music elective, and students, when given the choice, will almost always go for the guaranteed A over the difficult unknown. Though more material stands to be learned in a class with which one is utterly unfamiliar, such a class also represents more room in which to fail, as a student must put in more time and effort to achieve the level of knowledge they already possess in the other course.
For me, this concept really hit home as I started to reflect on my mindset as an elementary schooler and how it contrasts with my current mindset. As a kid, I distinctly remember saying that I preferred games presenting challenge to the more boring games I had previously mastered. I didn't feel pressured to perform and as such exceeded expectation, reading voraciously outside of class and participating unabashedly in group activities. In third grade I attended a magnet school where grades were much more emphasized via rubrics and point-based rewards. My growth mindset suffered and I shut down as a student, afraid to color outside of the lines for fear of having an unacceptable picture. I had become conditioned to do work for a grade rather than for growth, and my academic performance declined as a result. As a freshman in college, I definitely tried to choose classes which would allow me to maintain the mandatory 3.25 GPA for my scholarship. Now, as a junior, I am much less concerned with the grade and am focusing more on course material, with better results in terms of comprehension. Even if I end up with a lower grade, I know that I have put the effort in to learn the material better and have allowed myself to view failure as an opportunity for future growth.
I am definitely interested in learning more about the growth mindset this semester, as I believe it is a very healthy way to approach school mentally and additionally can minimize anxiety while offering a kick-start to improving academically.
As a member of the band, I find myself using growth-mindset when memorizing show music and field shows for our half-time performances. If you miss a spot during the show, you can't shut down, regardless of the binary system of success/failure we use to judge every action. To stop or quit only compounds the error, preventing you from fixing the mistake and messing up the rest of your performance to boot. The value of having a growth mindset cannot be overstated, as this type of thinking allows the performer to not only recover, but to enthusiastically consider ways to improve in future performances, giving them the opportunity for a better future in the presence of a more positive past.

Photo Info: Growth Mindset Graphic, Elementary School Style.
Source: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/64035625932347135/