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Anna North writes in the NYT that self-control, curiosity, and “grit” may seem more personal than academic, but at some schools, they’re now part of the regular curriculum. Some researchers say personality could be even more important than intelligence when it comes to students’ success in school. “We probably need to start rethinking our emphasis on intelligence,” says Arthur E. Poropat citing research that shows that both conscientiousness and openness are more highly correlated with student performance than intelligence. “This isn’t to say that we should throw intelligence out, but we need to pull back on thinking that this is the only game in town.” The KIPP network of charter schools emphasizes grit along with six other “character strengths,” including self-control and curiosity. “We talk a lot about them as being skills or strengths, not necessarily traits, because it’s not innate," says Leyla Bravo-Willey. “If a child happens to be very gritty but has trouble participating in class, we still want them to develop that part of themselves.”
But the focus on character has encountered criticism. “To begin with, not everything is worth doing, let alone doing for extended periods, and not everyone who works hard is pursuing something worthwhile” says Alfie Kohn. "On closer inspection, the concept of grit turns out to be dubious, as does the evidence cited to support it. Persistence can actually backfire and distract from more important goals." There’s other evidence that grit isn’t always desirable. Gritty people sometimes exhibit what psychologists call “nonproductive persistence”: They try, try again, says Dean MacFarlin though the result may be either unremitting failure or “a costly or inefficient success that could have been easily surpassed by alternative courses of action,”
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 12 2015, @02:53PM
or another example, stereotypical college educated white boy talking smack about black inner city kids playing basketball for endless hours, as if he has anything useful to say about it thats not culturally invalid.
Yet 1 sentence before you deride that very behavior...
go ahead and try to convince someone into prayer that they're talking to themselves and wasting valuable time.
Perhaps *you* find it a waste of time. Many find it a good way to clear their mind and get things in order.
Perhaps you are just being a bigot. But at least you toss out a shout to the 'inner city youth'. You are what you accuse everyone else to be but just in a different way.
What many people miss is that one size does not fit all. For example me... I am a good case for rote learning. I am very poor at staying focused. You may think 'wha you need a different way'. Not really. I need it repeated over and over to get the point. Doing it a different way just distracts from doing it at all. Even though I am usually way ahead on everyone and very smart. Focus takes work and repetition for me. Now some people work very well with different styles of learning. But rote learning is very boring and will make you want to hurt someone. It has its place. Sometimes learning is boring. For some reason people have fallen in love with learning should be fun. It can be and its great when it is. But most of the time you are learning something you do not care much for and no amount of 'fun ways to do it' will make it less boring.
Intelligence is good and all. I have known many who are dumb as bricks end up with very sweet fulfilled lives. I have also known some *very* smart people who have 0 motivation to do anything (because it is all easy) who live very unfulfilled lives. Do something with it or who cares... In life you will have to work for what you want. That is the way of most of the world. There is a tiny tiny tiny tiny fraction of the world that does not work that way. Do not worry about them. Worry about what you are going to do to make it better. A good place is to set aside your bigotry. Maybe both groups have something to offer? Just because you are smart does not mean you know 'the right way'. It just means you are smart, and nothing more.
(Score: 2) by Yog-Yogguth on Monday January 12 2015, @04:26PM
A friendly nudge to point out that someone ran out of reading comprehension mid-paragraph.
He didn't say what you say he did. Sure you read it that way but he still didn't write what you read into it. You two seem to actually agree on those things you're both talking about.
Don't worry too much about it, we all do it.
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