The Anatomy Of Grit: Preach It, Pitch It, And Teach It

By Oskar Cymerman | @focus2achieve | BAM! Radio Network & Teaching Channel Blogger

Grit...

New buzzword in education for sure.

What is grit exactly?

Is it a legit thing or just a new fad?

Can it help me? Can it help others?

And, can it be taught? Developed? Practiced?

Let's find out!

Too many students give up too quickly, before giving themselves a chance to be successful at learning a tough concept. Grit can help. It's a skill that helps in acquiring other skills. Let's teach it in school. Feel free to use the infographic above. Or you can get a high resolution version here for $0.99.

Thanks for looking and remember:

You have the power to change the world. Use it often.

Oskar

Best. Day. Ever.

By Oskar Cymerman | @focus2achieve | BAM! Radio Network & Teaching Channel Blogger

I dropped him off at 7 in the morning today.

He doesn't cry anymore. He just has a hard time letting me go. I started calling it a "hand off," football like, because he will not let me put him down on the ground and only reluctantly lets me hand him off to the morning teacher.

As usual, I handed Adam to one of the morning caretakers and rushed out to work.

Most of the time I assume he takes a little time and gets engaged somehow, so the next hour passes quickly and he has some fun before he gets to go up to his regular room.

You see, my son likes his room. It's called the Nature Room and he has a lot of fun there. Unfortunately, the Nature Room teachers don't get there till 8, so for Adam spends the 45 minutes to an hour downstairs. I hope he is okay...

There is a big window that looks down into this basement room. Today, I looked down. I left him a minute ago and he was already standing there alone. Standing and staring. Standing, not crying, but looking kind of sad. Alone.

I kneeled and looked for a couple of minutes. He just stood there and I was missing him so much already. He was there, me 20 feet up and away. It felt so far away. He felt so alone. I wanted to be there to hold him. Comfort him. Play with him. Stay with him.

And then I had to leave...

And I don't know how long it took my son to shake it off. He is a resilient kid. He is strong willed and has his temper tantrum times too. Mostly though, he's a happy, playful, and sweet child.

It was hard seeing him so emotionless. So numb.

What did it mean?

I didn't know. I knew that I wanted to get back to him as soon as possible. I wanted to be with him. And I wanted to be present.

It was a good day of classes today, but that image of Adam standing alone kept coming back to me. I knew that he was okay, but I still couldn't get there fast enough.

He was playing with trains when I got there. Immersed in his own world composed of tracks, bridges, tunnels, engines, and imagination. He gave me a big smile when I got there and yelled: daddy! I hugged him and told him how much I missed and loved him. Then I asked if I can play with him. He nodded enthusiastically. In that moment, I was the happiest almost 40 year old in the Universe...

You see... I'm a good dad. But I lose myself at times. I'm always busy. If I'm not doing something with my hands, the hard drive is always spinning in my head, and the software is always updating. Often, I don't take the time to shut the computer down and just be.

This post is a reminder. If not for anyone else, then for myself.

Be present. Completely. Unconditionally. Happily.

I couldn't get there fast enough, because I wanted to be with him. I wanted to make up for all the times I was there but not really present. Times when I would be there with Adam, but busy on my phone, or getting the mail, or washing dishes so I can have more time to write in the evening. Wasting the precious minutes of our time together on things that can wait. Things that don't really matter.

He matters.

I can't make up for all the lost time. And maybe I don't have to. But I can make whatever time we have count. I know that we have a lot of time, but rather than take it for granted, I want to slow down and just live in each moment. And, I want to experience as many such moments as possible. Moments such as the one today that help me realize what truly matters in life.

Relationships. Love. Being together. Enjoying each others' company. Not killing time, but fully immersing ourselves in each and every moment. Living today. Making it count. Not rushing. Filling our lungs with air and knowing it, if only from time to time.

It's hard work. But it's worth it.

Oskar

PS. So this evening was a blast. We ran circles in our basement. We played with trains and tracks and tunnels. We were panting like dogs with our tongues hanging out. We made a birthday cake out of wooden sprockets and blocks. We hoisted a fire truck by its axle with a bigger crane truck and we fixed it by hitting it with a wooden hammer. We ate magnet ice cream. We read 6 Thomas the Train books in a row. Twice.

Best. Day. Ever.

Teach Them How To Learn So They Can Own The Future

By Oskar Cymerman | @focus2achieve | BAM! Radio Network & Teaching Channel Blogger

I love this quote by David Geurin, a Missouri high school principal. Check out David's blog for more progressive and game changing teaching and leading ideas.

Here's another quote I love and wholeheartedly agree with.

“Our job as teachers is not to “prepare” kids for something; our job is to help kids learn to prepare themselves for anything.”

— A.J. Juliani

What I take away from David and A.J.'s words is that the future is uncertain. The jobs of today will not exist tomorrow, but individuals who will possess the skills to learn anything, be able to reflect, creatively problem solve, take risks, stay persistent, and bring innovative solutions to the marketplace, will indeed be successful, regardless of what the future brings.

They will own the future.

Out job descriptions don't say it, but this is our job. HELP OUR STUDENTS OWN THE FUTURE.

My theme for this year is helping my students focus on building life and work skills and self reflection. I teach chemistry and engineering; important subjects, but no more important than all other subjects, and definitely less important than skills that help students be successful in whatever they endeavor in.

So what am I doing differently?

For the first time, my students blog and reflect on life and learning. I challenge them to ask and answer tough questions regarding their motivation, persistence, and thinking.

I teach my subjects, but I intentionally stress Learning How To Learn.

I explain the physical processes that occur in the brain as we learn. Understanding how neural connections are made, how our brain uses information, and how to make sure concepts are understood and stored in long term memory provides students with the why that is necessary for intrinsic motivation. "Why am I learning this stuff?" and "How am I ever going to use it?" are valid questions not to be dismissed with "Because the standards say so."

We discuss how to become more creative. We work collaboratively, and use design thinking.

We talk about spaced repetition, recall, crushing tests, and mixing up how, when, and where we learn and study. I don't just tell students to do it. I explain how to do it and why it leads to deep learning.

We talk about focus and procrastination and we do pomodoro.

We reflect on our habits, such as sleep and why it is crucial to learning effectively, learn how to rewire our brains, and set goals to do so.

We learn actively.

So how am I doing it all?

I created a series of Brain Based Learning Infographics. I use them with my students in a digital form and I print them and post them in my room so students have constant reminders of the most effective ways to learn, study, understand, and acquire lifelong learning, productivity, and social skills.

And now, I created high resolution versions of many of them. Each one is a highly visual, easy to absorb and understand, PDF poster anyone can use to teach students skills they will need to be successful in the future. You can get almost all of them for FREE on my Products Page HERE.

“Students may be 20% of our population, but they are 100% of our future. ”

— Prince Ea

Teach Them How To Learn So They Can Own It.

Oskar

You have the power to change the world. Use it often.