Grit
The start of each new school year brings a renewed sense of hope for a better economy, good health, school success, and other positive outcomes, as well as a temptation for educational bloggers to either reflect on the past year or on goals for the new year. Inspiration for this blog entry, however, comes not from the time of year but instead from a movie and a journal article, which I happened to be enjoying in tandem.
Having a husband who loves golf as well as a growing interest in the game myself, it’s not unusual to see the Golf Channel or a golf movie on the television. There’s lots to pick from: The Short Game (2013), The Squeeze (2015), The Greatest Game Ever Played (2005), Happy Gilmore (1996), Caddyshack (1980), and Tin Cup (1996), among others. I sat down to Bagger Vance while concurrently cleaning out a stack of professional journals and magazines. Among the L.L. Bean catalogs and Eating Well magazines was an old issue of Educational Leadership. The issue’s theme was “resilience and learning” and an article by Deborah Perkins-Gough on “The Significance of Grit” caught my eye.
Perkins-Gough defines “grit” as a personal quality of an individual to work hard, despite obstacles. I call this “stick-to-it-iveness.” It is this quality that enables success both in the classroom and in life. The author reports on Angela Duckworth’s research, which involved the use of a scale to measure grit. Items contributing to the scale included those about response to failure or adversity, being a hard worker, and having consistent interests over a long time. A surprise finding of this research is that often, grit and talent can be inversely related.
This finding actually makes sense to me. I often see students who pick up the material quickly spend less time with studying. Unless they are consistently challenged, this contributes to a lower likelihood of developing grit. It may also be the reason my husband plays better golf when he plays with better golfers.
Perkins-Gough also claims, “people who can set long-term goals and stick to them have a leg up on success in school and life.” Recognizing that one can’t succeed if one moves from one unrelated endeavor to another, Duckworth herself chose to inventory her own talents then establish a long-term goal for her career.
Looking up every once in a while to maintain some attention on the movie, I soon saw the relationship between the article and the plot of Bagger Vance. The story depicts a golfing talent, Rannulph Junah, who, at a young age, exhibited a talent for golf. Many thought he would one day be a successful professional golfer, but the advent of World War I interrupted his path to success. Returning from the war a broken man, Junah drifted from job to job rather than returning to his previous life. Years later, challenged to return to the game, a mysterious caddy, Bagger Vance, coaches him to regain the grit he once had.
Consider the dialogue from the movie:
“Rannulph Junuh: I can win Adele… I can beat both of ’em… Look into my eyes and tell me what you see…
Adele Invergordon [love interest of Junah]: Determination… Pure determination…
Rannulph Junuh: Panic, Adele… Pure panic… I’m eight strokes behind two of the greatest golfers in the sport, they’ve never blown a lead in their lives and I’m gonna win… Ya know why?
Adele Invergordon: Panic?
Rannulph Junuh: That’s right…
“Bagger Vance [main character, Junah’s caddy]: You wanna quit Mr. Junuh? You know you can just go ahead and creep off somewhere I’ll tell folk you took sick… Truth be told, ain’t nobody gonna really object… In fact, they’d probably be happy as bugs in a bake shop to see you pack up and go home…
Rannulph Junuh: You know I can’t quit
Bagger Vance: I know… Just makin sure you know it too…
The idea that a mentor or teacher can contribute to one’s development of grit is as important as the belief that a mentor or teacher can contribute to one’s development of talent or learning. Perkins-Gough makes a connection to the research of Carol Dweck on mind-sets. Dweck posits that having a growth mindset – a belief that abilities are developed, rather than inherited, is of utmost importance. Perkins-Gough states, “the attitude ‘I can get better if I try harder’ should help make you a tenacious, determined, hard-working person.
Teachers and parents alike must serve our children as Bagger Vance served Rannulph Junah. If we communicate that success will come with practicing things who can’t yet do and that this work will not be easy, students will stick with the work. Building character is as important as building intellect. More often than not, observers walking into classrooms should witness students engaged in a difficult, exerting, struggle with content. If we also both model and teach long-term goal setting, our students will have a path toward success.
References:
Perkins-Gough, D. (2013). The significance of grit: A conversation with Angela Lee Duckworth. Educational Leadership, 71(1), 14-20.
Legend of Bagger Vance quotes available 1-1-2014 at http://www.great-quotes.com/quotes/movie/The+Legend+of+Bagger+Vance
The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000). Movie directed by Robert Redford based on the 1995 book by Steven Pressfield. DreamWorks, 20th Century Fox, Allied Filmakers.
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