I recently came across a couple of articles in The Head’s Letter , a fairly stodgy journal for independent school heads, that further points out the wisdom of the “Do Your Best Always” motto that we “borrowed” from The Olympic Primary School in Kenya at the start of this school year.
The first article alluded to the research of Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck, who has found that students who are praised for working hard and giving things a strong effort are more likely to see setbacks and failure as challenges that can be overcome than students who are praised for being smart. The article led me to order Dweck’s book entitled Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, in which she builds the case that those who believe they can improve through hard work – who possess what she calls “an expandable theory of intelligence” – do better than those who believe in a “fixed theory of intelligence,” thinking that ability is relatively static and innate.
A related article entitled Epiphany told of another Stanford professor’s belief in the importance of sensing personal purpose in the pursuit of achievement. William Damon writes that, “purpose acts a moral north star on the route to excellence: It offers a steady beacon for inspiring and directing students’ best efforts over the long haul, within the classroom and beyond.”
Doing one’s best, believing that one’s efforts can improve one’s abilities, and sensing a useful purpose are some of the educational cornerstones that lead our children to do well. In fact, they are critical underpinnings that Country School teachers emphasize each day.