At the last staff meeting we had discussions around educational practice that is geared toward student engagement. I was able to present to the staff regarding my winter residency and the learning that I experienced. It was not just my own learning that I had the chance to reflect on but also the learning I witnessed. During the residency I had the opportunity to witness various students working towards high quality products with character and perseverance. Our last PD day in February was also geared around this same theme of perseverance and hard work. In the book “Mindset” by Carol Dweck, she expounds on the benefits of approaching learning through a growth mindset. It is the idea that through hard work and perseverance that quality work and learning can happen for our students. I think this is important to keep in mind as we are approaching report card season. My parents always said to me that the marks were secondary. What they looked at first was the effort. They looked at this so that they not only knew that I was trying my best but that I was also building in a character trait of perseverance and hard work. I encourage parents to do the same when receiving this term’s progress reports. Look at the report and discuss your children’s work habits. Don’t just praise the achievement, know that the journey to get there is just as, if not more, important. Learning isn’t always easy, embrace the struggle and grow. New learning occurs in the brain when we accept challenges and persist even when something is tough. We want to value learning and growing not just getting it right.
~ Mr. Bouwers
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