I have seen the posters. I have sat the assemblies. I have watched the ads telling us about growth mindsets and how to develop one, and I'm sure you have too. But what we don't do is apply it to ourselves to help benefit our lives, however, there is no reason to blame yourself.
The growth mindset is a deep topic that has many layers to it and is extremely important to have today. While we might blame other things on our weaknesses, it all links back to one thing – our mindset. To benefit our school every boy must acquire a growth mindset.
I'm not saying that boys aren’t getting told how to apply a growth mindset. It is that we do not understand how to efficiently apply it to ourselves using specific skills to achieve them. The growth mindset is crucial to a developing brain.
Many students at Toowoomba Grammar School are not applying a growth mindset with affects nearly everything in their school life from curricular to co-curricular. This is because at school we are not spending effective amounts of time learning how to achieve a growth mindset. While researching for this article I have asked many peers how to apply a growth mindset. Every single time I have gotten the same answer "I don’t know". This should not be the case. After all these assemblies, what has been the outcome?
There are many studies supporting the research on growth mindsets, and it is extremely important to developing minds. A study from Bernhard Schroeder showed that “People with a growth mindset will view challenges not as bad things but rather opportunities to benefit their learning”. Schroeder's research also showed that “With a growth mindset boys will learn from failing. For example, if you don’t reach a goal, you haven’t failed, you have learned”.
A growth mindset is a crucial element of modern life. We must apply better measures to ensure that students have a growth mindset.
How can we unlock the key to flourishing within our school? The solution is to spend more time on students’ knowledge of growth mindset and how to gain one.
This would be possible if the well-being subject expanded to all grades. A growth mindset would also be an important topic, having many lessons on it over the course of the year. Learning the facts and, using real-life examples of people who have used them in their life will help students apply them in their life.
There is significant evidence of other schools implementing growth mindsets and benefiting from it. A report from Dr Dweck said, "Researchers started noticing that teacher practice has a big impact on student mindset,-choose a challenge and increase achievement." This strategy must be used within our school.
Moving forwards our School must bring in more specific learning time during school about gaining growth mindsets. It would also be beneficial if parents learnt more about the topic to teach their children. This change needs to be made as it will greatly benefit our school. As it will allow our students to learn from challenges and learn from failure.
We must teach our students about growth mindsets, we must create a good learning environment to teach us growth mindsets, and we must allow the school’s students to flourish. Parents and staff must guide our boys to a growth mindset.
- By Patrick Hoare - Year 9 TGS Student
Bibliography:
Schroeder, B. (2019, July 12). 12 Advantages of a Growth Mindset That Accelerate Your Career. Forbes. 12 Advantages Of A Growth Mindset That Could Accelerate Your Career (forbes.com)
Dweck, C. (2017). Dr. Dweck’s Research into Growth Mindset Changed Education Forever. Mindset Works. The Growth Mindset - What is Growth Mindset - Mindset Works
Latest Blog
Creating a Learning Environment that Boys Enjoy
Creating an environment for students to access and engage in learning is the educational philosophy of the new Toowoomba Grammar School Head of Junior School, Mr Ken Raven. “This requires a supportive an inclusive learning environment across the school where everyone feels they can make a positive contribution,” Mr Raven stated. “I encourage evidence-informed, explicit teaching of curriculum that sparks curiosity and interest for students to engage and explore.” Parental interaction and…
Introducing our new Deputy Head of Junior School (Teaching and Learning), Mrs Chantelle Bauer
Toowoomba Grammar School is excited to welcome our new Deputy Head of Junior School (Teaching and Learning), Mrs Chantelle Bauer. Mrs Bauer brings a wealth of experience and passion to her new role, having lived and worked in the Darling Downs and Southwest Queensland region her entire life. She was born and bred in St George, attended university in Toowoomba and took her first teaching role in Roma. She has worked in various roles across the region, including Year Level Coordinator, Head of…
You can't know a student without knowing where they come from
Boarding at Toowoomba Grammar School can be described as many things such as evolving identity, growing personally and developing character in your second home, but it is also about growing your family. Head of Boyce House boarding, Mr Michael Hall and his family, certainly enjoyed that opportunity over January. Catching up with a beautiful collection of current families from Boyce House was a privilege and has helped to build the relationships of trust and care that are essential in a…
DNF (Did Not Finish)
- Dan CrookHead of Library and Information Services I was talking books with a friend the other day; an avid reader, she had been looking for some light reads in new genre for the holidays, and so had sought out the wisdom of the internet. After watching a few BookToks (Tiktok book recommendations) she’d settled on some titles and begun to read. However after investing a good amount of her time and getting half way through the first and most highly recommended book, she asked herself, and then…
TGS Boarding - A Safe, Welcoming and Joyous Community
“From a boarding perspective, enabling young boys to flourish is only achieved within a community that is safe, welcoming, and joyous. These three aspects are at the core of my boarding philosophy and are closely aligned with my fundamental values as a boarding Head of House – acceptance, resilience, and fun,” explains Mr Henry White, Head of Corfe House. Corfe House serves as the entry point for Toowoomba Grammar School’s youngest boarders (Years 5 to 7) and the skills, relationships, and…
Transitioning to Year 7 at TGS
Can you remember your first day in secondary school? It can be a time of mixed feelings - very exciting, but also quite daunting and challenging. Irrespective of whether your son is joining us from the TGS Junior School, or if they are just starting at Toowoomba Grammar School, it can appear to be the start of a long journey. It is a rite of passage in many respects but with this comes increased emotions in response to transition. The boys have a lot to digest with a new, possibly larger campus…
The Boarding Journey
Every parent will have a unique journey with their son whilst he is boarding at Toowoomba Grammar School. I’m Kym Wright, mother of Clancy, who is in Year 12 and this is my journey…. From my very first experience with Toowoomba Grammar School Boarding ten years ago, I had a good feeling straight away that TGS would be the perfect fit for my son. I was picking up my nephew for lunch. He had started boarding at TGS just six weeks prior. It was pouring rain and there were boys enthusiastically…
Building Self-Confidence and Resilience in Year 7s
As your child enters the new and unknown world of secondary school, it is a very important time to nurture the confidence and self-esteem of your son. Adolescence can also be a time of bewildering physical changes and strong emotions, opinions and increasing independence. Nurturing their confidence, self-esteem and assertiveness will go a long way to helping them to have the self-belief to tackle difficult new academic challenges, to developing new friendships and social skills, and…
Introducing our new Head of Year 7 - Jodi Blades
My family moved from Brisbane to Toowoomba when I was ten years of age. I’ve lived here for most of my life, other than to study and begin my teaching career in Brisbane. I lived and worked in London for 18 months before returning to Toowoomba in 2001. With over 20 years’ experience teaching and leading pastoral care programs within independent day and boarding schools, I am dedicated to developing students holistically; the academic, social, emotional, cultural, and physical development of…