Why Teaching “Grit” Is Not Necessarily a Good Thing
This is one of those articles that is never dated.
Rose, one of my favorite authors, writes:
In a nutshell, I worry about the limited success of past attempts at character education and the danger in our pendulum-swing society that we will shift our attention from improving subject matter instruction. I also question the easy distinctions made between “cognitive” and “non-cognitive” skills. And I fear that we will sacrifice policies aimed at reducing poverty for interventions to change the way poor people see the world.
In this post, I would like to further explore these concerns—and a few new ones—by focusing on “grit,” for it has so captured the fancy of our policy makers, administrators, and opinion-makers….
Let me repeat here what I’ve written in every other commentary on grit. Of course, perseverance is an important characteristic. I cherish it in my friends and my students.
But at certain ages and certain times in our lives, exploration and testing new waters can also contribute to CONTINUE READING: Mike Rose: Why Teaching “Grit” Is Not Necessarily a Good Thing | Diane Ravitch's blog
