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TED Talks, Angela Lee Duckworth: The key to success? Grit

Angela Lee Duckworth: The key to success? Grit

When I was 27 years old, I left a very demanding job in management consulting for a job that was even more demanding: teaching.

I went to teach seventh graders math in the New York City public schools. And like any teacher, I made quizzes and tests. I gave out homework assignments. When the work came back, I calculated grades.

What struck me was that I.Q. was not the only difference between my best and my worst students. Some of my strongest performers did not have stratospheric I.Q. scores. Some of my smartest kids weren't doing so well. And that got me thinking. The kinds of things you need to learn in seventh grade math, sure, they're hard: ratios, decimals, the area of a parallelogram. But these concepts are not impossible, and I was firmly convinced that every one of my students could learn the material if they worked hard and long enough.

After several more years of teaching, I came to the conclusion that what we need in education is a much better understanding of students and learning from a motivational perspective, from a psychological perspective. In education, the one thing we know how to measure best is I.Q., but what if doing well in school and in life depends on much more than your ability to learn quickly and easily?

So I left the classroom, and I went to graduate school to become a psychologist. I started studying kids and adults in all kinds of super challenging settings, and in every study my question was, who is successful here and why? My research team and I went to West Point Military Academy. We tried to predict which cadets would stay in military training and which would drop out. We went to the National Spelling Bee and tried to predict which children would advance farthest in competition. We studied rookie teachers working in really tough neighborhoods, asking which teachers are still going to be here in teaching by the end of the school year, and of those, who will be the most effective at improving learning outcomes for their students? We partnered with private companies, asking, which of these salespeople is going to keep their jobs? And who's going to earn the most money? In all those very different contexts, one characteristic emerged as a significant predictor of success. And it wasn't social intelligence. It wasn't good looks, physical health, and it wasn't I.Q. It was grit.

Grit is passion and perseverance for very long-term goals. Grit is having stamina. Grit is sticking with your future, day in, day out, not just for the week, not just for the month, but for years, and working really hard to make that future a reality. Grit is living life like it's a marathon, not a sprint. A few years ago, I started studying grit in the Chicago public schools. I asked thousands of high school juniors to take grit questionnaires, and then waited around more than a year to see who would graduate. Turns out that grittier kids were significantly more likely to graduate, even when I matched them on every characteristic I could measure, things like family income, standardized achievement test scores, even how safe kids felt when they were at school. So it's not just at West Point or the National Spelling Bee that grit matters. It's also in school, especially for kids at risk for dropping out. To me, the most shocking thing about grit is how little we know, how little science knows, about building it. Every day, parents and teachers ask me, "How do I build grit in kids? What do I do to teach kids a solid work ethic? How do I keep them motivated for the long run?" The honest answer is, I don't know. (Laughter) What I do know is that talent doesn't make you gritty. Our data show very clearly that there are many talented individuals who simply do not follow through on their commitments. In fact, in our data, grit is usually unrelated or even inversely related to measures of talent.

So far, the best idea I've heard about building grit in kids is something called "growth mindset." This is an idea developed at Stanford University by Carol Dweck, and it is the belief that the ability to learn is not fixed, that it can change with your effort. Dr. Dweck has shown that when kids read and learn about the brain and how it changes and grows in response to challenge, they're much more likely to persevere when they fail, because they don't believe that failure is a permanent condition. So growth mindset is a great idea for building grit. But we need more. And that's where I'm going to end my remarks, because that's where we are. That's the work that stands before us. We need to take our best ideas, our strongest intuitions, and we need to test them. We need to measure whether we've been successful, and we have to be willing to fail, to be wrong, to start over again with lessons learned. In other words, we need to be gritty about getting our kids grittier.

Thank you.

(Applause)

Angela Lee Duckworth: The key to success? Grit Angela Lee Duckworth: ¿La clave del éxito? Grit アンジェラ・リー・ダックワース成功への鍵は?グリット Angela Lee Duckworth: A chave para o sucesso? A coragem Анджела Ли Дакворт: Ключ к успеху? Grit 安吉拉-李-达克沃斯成功的关键?勇气

When I was 27 years old, I left a very demanding job in management consulting for a job that was even more demanding: teaching. Quando eu tinha 27 anos, deixei um trabalho muito exigente em consultoria de gestão para um trabalho ainda mais exigente: o ensino.

I went to teach seventh graders math in the New York City public schools. Fui ensinar matemática da sétima série nas escolas públicas da cidade de Nova York. And like any teacher, I made quizzes and tests. E, como qualquer professor, fiz testes e testes. I gave out homework assignments. Eu dei tarefas de casa. When the work came back, I calculated grades. Quando o trabalho voltou, calculei notas.

What struck me was that I.Q. O que me impressionou foi que o QI was not the only difference between my best and my worst students. não era a única diferença entre meus melhores e piores alunos. Some of my strongest performers did not have stratospheric I.Q. Alguns dos meus artistas mais fortes não tiveram QI estratosférico scores. Some of my smartest kids weren't doing so well. And that got me thinking. The kinds of things you need to learn in seventh grade math, sure, they're hard: ratios, decimals, the area of a parallelogram. But these concepts are not impossible, and I was firmly convinced that every one of my students could learn the material if they worked hard and long enough. Mas esses conceitos não são impossíveis e eu estava firmemente convencido de que todos os meus alunos poderiam aprender o material se trabalhassem duro e por tempo suficiente.

After several more years of teaching, I came to the conclusion that what we need in education is a much better understanding of students and learning from a motivational perspective, from a psychological perspective. In education, the one thing we know how to measure best is I.Q., but what if doing well in school and in life depends on much more than your ability to learn quickly and easily? Na educação, a única coisa que sabemos como medir melhor é o QI, mas e se o desempenho na escola e na vida depender de muito mais do que sua capacidade de aprender de forma rápida e fácil?

So I left the classroom, and I went to graduate school to become a psychologist. I started studying kids and adults in all kinds of super challenging settings, and in every study my question was, who is successful here and why? Comecei a estudar crianças e adultos em todos os tipos de ambientes super desafiadores, e em todos os estudos minha pergunta era: quem é bem-sucedido aqui e por quê? My research team and I went to West Point Military Academy. We tried to predict which cadets would stay in military training and which would drop out. Tentamos prever quais cadetes permaneceriam em treinamento militar e quais desistiriam. We went to the National Spelling Bee and tried to predict which children would advance farthest in competition. Fomos ao National Spelling Bee e tentamos prever quais crianças avançariam mais na competição. We studied rookie teachers working in really tough neighborhoods, asking which teachers are still going to be here in teaching by the end of the school year, and of those, who will be the most effective at improving learning outcomes for their students? Estudamos professores novatos trabalhando em bairros realmente difíceis, perguntando quais professores ainda estarão aqui no ensino até o final do ano letivo e quais serão os mais eficazes para melhorar os resultados de aprendizagem de seus alunos? We partnered with private companies, asking, which of these salespeople is going to keep their jobs? And who's going to earn the most money? In all those very different contexts, one characteristic emerged as a significant predictor of success. In all those very different contexts, one characteristic emerged as a significant predictor of success. And it wasn't social intelligence. It wasn't good looks, physical health, and it wasn't I.Q. It was grit. Foi areia.

Grit is passion and perseverance for very long-term goals. Grit is having stamina. Grit está tendo resistência. Grit is sticking with your future, day in, day out, not just for the week, not just for the month, but for years, and working really hard to make that future a reality. O Grit está aderindo ao seu futuro, dia após dia, não apenas por uma semana, não apenas por um mês, mas por anos, e trabalhando muito duro para tornar esse futuro realidade. Grit is living life like it's a marathon, not a sprint. Grit é viver a vida como se fosse uma maratona, não uma corrida. A few years ago, I started studying grit in the Chicago public schools. Alguns anos atrás, comecei a estudar areia nas escolas públicas de Chicago. I asked thousands of high school juniors to take grit questionnaires, and then waited around more than a year to see who would graduate. Pedi a milhares de alunos do ensino médio que respondessem a questionários e esperei mais de um ano para ver quem se formaria. Turns out that grittier kids were significantly more likely to graduate, even when I matched them on every characteristic I could measure, things like family income, standardized achievement test scores, even how safe kids felt when they were at school. Acontece que as crianças mais tristes tinham uma probabilidade significativamente maior de se formar, mesmo quando eu as correspondia a todas as características que pude medir, coisas como renda familiar, pontuação padronizada nos testes de desempenho, até o quão seguras as crianças se sentiam quando estavam na escola. So it's not just at West Point or the National Spelling Bee that grit matters. Portanto, não é apenas em West Point ou na National Spelling Bee que o grão importa. It's also in school, especially for kids at risk for dropping out. Também está na escola, especialmente para crianças em risco de desistir. To me, the most shocking thing about grit is how little we know, how little science knows, about building it. Para mim, a coisa mais chocante sobre o grão é o quão pouco sabemos, o quão pouca ciência sabe, sobre construí-lo. Every day, parents and teachers ask me, "How do I build grit in kids? What do I do to teach kids a solid work ethic? How do I keep them motivated for the long run?" Como os mantenho motivados a longo prazo? " The honest answer is, I don't know. A resposta honesta é: eu não sei. (Laughter) What I do know is that talent doesn't make you gritty. (Risos) O que eu sei é que o talento não deixa você corajoso. Our data show very clearly that there are many talented individuals who simply do not follow through on their commitments. Nossos dados mostram muito claramente que existem muitos indivíduos talentosos que simplesmente não cumprem seus compromissos. In fact, in our data, grit is usually unrelated or even inversely related to measures of talent. De fato, em nossos dados, o grão geralmente não está relacionado ou até inversamente relacionado a medidas de talento.

So far, the best idea I've heard about building grit in kids is something called "growth mindset." Até o momento, a melhor idéia que ouvi sobre criar areia em crianças é algo chamado "mentalidade de crescimento". This is an idea developed at Stanford University by Carol Dweck, and it is the belief that the ability to learn is not fixed, that it can change with your effort. Essa é uma idéia desenvolvida na Universidade de Stanford por Carol Dweck, e é a crença de que a capacidade de aprender não é fixa, que pode mudar com o seu esforço. Dr. Dweck has shown that when kids read and learn about the brain and how it changes and grows in response to challenge, they're much more likely to persevere when they fail, because they don't believe that failure is a permanent condition. Dweck mostrou que, quando as crianças leem e aprendem sobre o cérebro e como ele muda e cresce em resposta ao desafio, é muito mais provável que persista quando falha, porque não acredita que a falha seja uma condição permanente. So growth mindset is a great idea for building grit. Portanto, a mentalidade de crescimento é uma ótima idéia para a criação de grãos. But we need more. And that's where I'm going to end my remarks, because that's where we are. E é aí que vou terminar minhas observações, porque é onde estamos. That's the work that stands before us. That's the work that stands before us. We need to take our best ideas, our strongest intuitions, and we need to test them. We need to take our best ideas, our strongest intuitions, and we need to test them. We need to measure whether we've been successful, and we have to be willing to fail, to be wrong, to start over again with lessons learned. Precisamos avaliar se fomos bem-sucedidos e precisamos estar dispostos a fracassar, estar errados e começar de novo com as lições aprendidas. In other words, we need to be gritty about getting our kids grittier. Em outras palavras, precisamos ter coragem de deixar nossos filhos mais irritados.

Thank you.

(Applause)