,'We all have our own mindset, everyone thinks in their own ways some similar but never exactly the same. But if you sum us all up, everyone takes up on one of the two main mindsets. A fixed mindset or a growth mindset. A fixed mindset is the thought that our learning ability has a limit. That our knowledge is fixed. A growth mindset is the belief that the brain is like a muscle and we can continue learn with no end.
In the article " The power of believing you can improve", Carol Dweck says "power in believing you can improve" This quote is representing growth mindset. It basically says that with believing you can do something, you can accomplish it. Dweck said that if we just change the way we grade our students and teach them we can improve their education. Instead of getting a failing grade on a test being told that your just not smart enough, students would receive "not yet" on their test. Not yet meaning you did not fail your just not quite there yet. There has been some testing done on this theory of " growth mindset". For example kindergartenders in New York came to school not even knowing how to hold a pencil and by the end of it, they scored in the 90 percentile. I agree with this theory. Encouraging and pushing students to keep going leaves some room for motivation, instead of giving up on yourself. I believe that expanding your mind and being open to new knowledge is a great way to live and will help you learn so much more than you could imagine. With the growth mindset you can do just that. This mindset helps kids feel like they are good enough and encourages them to give more effort. Hearing "that was good, just keep working on it" is a lot better than hearing "sorry your hard work just wasn't enough". Ever since I was young my mom always encouraged me to try/learn new things. Not only with learning experiences such as school, but with food, new places, views on life, religion and so on. I remember at 6 years old trying things most kids my age didn't, like oysters and gizerts...disgusting if I do say so myself. My mom raised me Catholic, but still encouraged me to learn about other religions. Because of my mom I am very open minded. Which in a small way I think is sorta like a growth mindset. I am not set in my ways I'm always up for learning something new and expanding my mind. There are always new things in this world we can learn, there is always a different view on a situation. Our minds will never stop expanding if you continue to want to learn. Never settle for what you know now, always strive to learn more. WHO: During this writing assignment I worked with myself, I can not work with others on anything that has to do with writing. So I guess it was a good approach.
WHAT: The most difficult part was hands down getting started and knowing what exactly I wanted to say. Like anything else I write getting started always leaves me stuck. But I worked through it. WHEN: I wrote this project ...honestly last minute. This was not a good approach because I couldn't really put my full effort into it. WHERE: I wrote this in the comfort of my own bed of course. WHY: I chose to write about growth mindset because I believe it is the best mindset to have. HOW: I will improve my writing process by giving myself more time and really focusing on what I am writing about. I believe in encouraging someone, not belittling them just because they do not understand the same things you do. Growing up I can remember my sisters as well as some people in my life telling me I was dumb, o making fun of me if I did not understand. Adults would always say "oh their just kids they don't know any better". This to me is not an excuse. Because of the things said to me I never talked much I was a very quiet kid who stayed glued to my mom's side. I later got held back in first grade due to lack of confidence to ask questions, or explain to my teacher that I did not understand something. I missed out on getting the help I needed. I instead just did not do my work and that caused me to get held back.
So from a very young age I believe we should teach our children that just because someone does not understand that does not mean they are dumb or less than you. We should simply inform them and teach them. Enlighten them, don't belittle. Out of the four mindsets I would have to pick Growth mindset as the most important mindset. Being a student here I believe that you need to Have that mindset so you don’t give up. If you don’t believe that you CAN learn more you can do better, than you will just say forget it and give up.With a growth mindset you will have no limits. You can work your brain and make it stronger like a muscle. The things you learn in one class can carry over to another class, which can really help throughout college. Without the belief that you can expand your knowledge, you will not go fa because at some point you will just say “that's it, that's the best I can do”. This is why the growth mindset is the most important as a college student. We are either born with a growth mindset or a fixed mindset. A growth mindset, is believing that we can take what we know or our current skill and we can expand that. There are no limitations to our knowledge. A fixed mindset, is a mindset that believes that our ability to learn is limited. There is only so much you can know or be good at.
In the article ‘Teachers, Parents Often Misuse Growth Mindset Research, Carol Dweck Says’ Carol Dweck is a Stanford University psychology professor and works with kids to see which mindset they have. Dweck notices that a lot of children believe they can not learn more than they already know. That their intelligence is limited. Parents should be praising their kids and their learning process. In the article ‘The perils of “Growth Mindset” it is talked about how we should fix the way we teach. School is entirely based off of test, quiz, homework and competing with each other. Kids do not actually focus on really learning anything. In my own opinion this is a huge part of why we come back the following year or next semester and don’t seem to know a thing. I consider myself to have a growth mindset. I believe I can keep expanding my knowledge and there are no limitations. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pE2NndO4TAk This video is an example of a Hiraeth because it tells a a story of a boy who Loved and lost. The video shows him going through the memories, reflecting and yearning for something that once was and isn't anymore. He hurts so bad he wants to end his life, he wants back what he lost. I held her in my arms one time and one time only. I remember staring at her for as long as I could, attempting to imprint her face in my memory. Those blue eyes, that thin blonde hair sorta like mine when I was little. I wondered if she would have fine hair like me growing up or long thick and curly like my dad. The tears just streaming down my cheeks, dipping onto the blanket she was wrapped in. I just kept repeating the words I love you over and over hoping she would remember them. I don't think I ever cried more than I did that day. Having to say goodbye to my sister, knowing this is the first and last day I will ever see her, it was something I didn't understand, something I couldn’t accept. Growing up, I lived with my mom my dad and my four sisters. At this time, I was ten years old. My sisters and I fought a lot being that there was so many girls in the house. I shared a room with two of my sisters, Courtney and Melissa. My two oldest sisters shared another room. My mom is one of those people who wants to help everybody. She was always taking in friends who needed to get back on their feet. She could not turn away from a sick, or stray animal. She must have thought we were an animal shelter. Always nursing kittens and puppies back to health. She would give her last dollar to someone in need. We didn’t have a lot of money, but we always managed to get by. One day when I was coming in from playing outside, I noticed my moms stomach was getting big. I asked her why her belly was so round and she told me I was gonna be a big sister. I got so excited that I started jumping up and down smiling. I could tell by her face that she wasn’t very happy. My mom then began to explain to me that she didn’t plan for this to happen. She told me that we couldn’t keep her, she couldn’t live with us. At this time I was only ten years old. I didn’t understand why we couldn’t have her. I had four other sisters, what is wrong with one more. She tried to make me understand that we just could not afford to raise another child at this time. She wanted her to have a better life. The next few months I watched her belly grow. I didn’t think about what was gonna happen when she was born. I just wanted to meet her and see if she looked like me. One night at dinner my mom sat us all down. I then found out who my baby sister was going to live with. My mom was giving her to a distant old friend. Her friend could not have children, after years of trying she decided to adopt. My mom thought who else better then someone she knows and trust. My moms friend agreed to an open adoption. This meaning that we would receive pictures every year and letters letting us know how she is doing. As hard as it must have been for her, this was her best option. The day finally came, my mom went into labor. I was picked up from school and got to the hospital after she gave birth. The whole time walking to her room, I was so anxious. When i got to the room, everybody was already there. I saw my mom laying in the bed. My dad hovering over her, my sisters and a few other family members. I walked up to the bed and looked at my little sister and could not stop smiling. My mom asked if I wanted to hold her. She placed her in my arms and tears just started streaming down my face. I didn’t wanna let her go and at this time I was too young to understand. We stayed with her for a few days until it was time to give her to her new home. The last day was the hardest for us all. I know my mom took it the hardest. I have never seen her cry so much in my entire life. For the first four years we got pictures and received letters telling us how she is doing. She is a spitting image of me and my younger sister when we were little. After the fourth year we stopped getting pictures and hearing from her. Her adopted mother said she thinks meeting her right now would be confusing for her. Her name is Kira and she is eleven right now. We are supposed to meet her in a few years, when she is older. Looking back on it now, I understand why mom did what she did. I still think about her from time to time and wonder what she is like. I wonder what personality traits she got from our mom and dad. I wonder if she knows she is adopted, or if her adopted mom will ever tell her she has five sisters out there. I still think about her everyday hoping to meet her all over again. I love her, even though I don’t even know her I have this yearning to see her, to hear her voice. I just want to talk to her and tell her i’m sorry she didn’t grow up with us. I want her to know we love her and think about her everyday, we wanted her everyday. When I first saw the word I honestly had no clue, but that is where google comes in handy. So now to my understanding a Hiraeth is this sense of home, this place you want to go back to that is not there anymore or never really exsisted to begin with. A Hiraeth is this happy place a place of comfort something you catch a glimpse of that you feel for a moment and want to hold onto. I think of it as a dream you may have, this false reality you wish actually exsisted. but we all have to wake up and face reality, see whats really infront of us. Having this understanding, I know exaclty what I will write about for my Hiraeth. I will talk about my baby sister and the day she was born. In these two articles, How Can You Create Fiction When Reality Comes to Call (Carolyn Chute) and 6 Ways to Be a Hemingway-Level Productive Badass (Drake Baer) Both of these pieces have to do with time. Writing is such a concentrated almost isolated task. You see time does not stop, so with the real world buzzing in your ear around you, I can imagine the difficulty they must face. To sum up these two articles, I would say that their biggest challenge is finding the time. As a college student, it is very easy to become distracted, which can result in an overload pile of homework. For me personally, one of the hands down hardest assignments to remain focused on, is a paper. When I sit down to write and attempt my introduction, which for me is the most challenging part of the whole thing. I sometimes draw a blank in my mind. Drawing this blank causes me to pick up my phone, or look up stuff in my browser. The biggest distraction I face is my own thoughts. When I am writing something that I am not passionate about, my mind tends to wander. Now I don’t consider myself a good writer and frankly, I believe the talent of a brilliant writer is something you are born with. Yes, I can improve my grammar, my punctuation and even enhance my vocabulary, but that still does not make me a great writer. Those effortless flow of words, the way someone can weave together such a stimulating sentence to grab your attention so intently, now that is a natural talent I do not believe can be taught. With all of this being said, I do believe as I mentioned that I can improve how I write. So here are six steps I can take to become a more efficient writer. First: I need absolute silence. When I am writing, any type of noise distracts my mind enough to block my thoughts. Second: I love to be comfy. The times that I feel the freest are in a large t-shirt, no pants, and warm socks. When I am at ease like like this, my thoughts expand the most. Third: I need the lights off. When everything is black around me and all I can see is the screen, there is something about it that focuses my mind completely. Fourth: I have to have a full stomach or snacks nearby. A full stomach is essential, or food is all I will think about. Fifth: There is no better place to write than in my own bed. The comfort I feel in my bed, that security opens up my mind and expands my thought process. Sixth: finally, I need my phone on silent. Just hearing a notification can break my concentration and get me off track. |
AuthorI'm 21 years old, my hearts too big for my chest & milk is actually life. I like to consider myself a fighter. There is nothing in the world I can't get past. I love hiking, climbing, kick boxing, canoeing, working out & basically anything that gets my heart racing & keeps my overthinking to a minimum. Welcome to my blog. Categories
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