Preliminary Ideas:
Dweck:
-Fixed Minded: Do not engage with error, believe intelligence/talent is dormant and unchanging, you are either talented or not. Not being able to see the world through eyes other than your own
-Growth Minded: Want to learn, believe through practice they can do better, seek challenges to make them better
-Trying hard/ working hard for a goal is NOT failing
-Believing everything is done one way is FALSE
Lukianoff/Haidt:
-All the struggles the world has today are because of difficulty with creating agreements.
-Shunning people on social media cancels them for the rest of their career (fixed mindset)
-Critically thinking is looking for evidence and thinking for yourself what you believe. Not reacting based on how adults think you will react.
-Education systems avoid controversial topics because they are hard to discuss.
-This teaches students to be scared of and avoid challenges
EXPLAINATION:
I tired to create a table, but it was unsuccessful, so I had to settle for this format. These two lists highlight the main points of each article that are interrelated with one another.
Barclays Formula:
Both Dweck and Lukianoff/ Haidt discuss the flaws within education systems today, and the affects they are having on students. Carol Dweck introduces the fixed and growth mindsets in her TedTalk titled “The Power of Yet.” She explains how having a fixed mindset-one that believes intelligence, talent and life is unchanging and uncontrollable- is detrimental to ones life. Dweck discusses the thoughts of students with a fixed mindset when giving a slightly too hard problems to 10-year-olds. When faced with this challenge, they believed “…they failed. Instead of luxuriating in the power of yet, they were gripping in the tyranny of now” (Dweck para. 2). These children were so afraid of challenge, and were so unaccustomed of how to handle a tough situation. This is interrelated to the topics discussed by Lukianoff and Haidt. In the article, “The Coddling of the American Mind”, they discuss college and university campus students demanding for “protection from words and ideas they don’t like” (Lukianoff/ Haidt para.1). “The ultimate aim, it seems, is to turn campuses into ‘safe spaces’ where young adults are shielded from words and ideas that make them uncomfortable…It is creating a culture in which everyone must think twice before speaking up, lest they face charges of insensitivity, aggression or worse” (Lukianoff/ Haidt para. 6). Though many advances have been made to protect marginalized groups from unfair and unequal circumstances, this movement has moved far past that goal. Professors are scared to bring up important topics of their class because they do not want to be fired for insensitivity. This type of education system, where students are not taught to discuss challenging topics, they are being taught a fixed mindset. Teachers and education systems AVOID hard conversations in order to not offend anyone. This thought process is only hurting students and needs to be changed immediately. Students are being brought up with a fixed mindset, and once let out into the real world, no compromises are going to be made. While education systems still need to be conscious of creating an equal and safe environment for all students, blocking them from any discomfort is going to create a disaster in the education system and students mental health.
3. Lukianoff and Haidt state “Attempts to shield students from words, ideas, and people that may cause them emotional discomfort are bad for the students” (Lukianoff/Haidt para. 57). This is related to what Dweck discusses about the ideas of fixed mindset students. They do not want a challenge, they think it needs to be easy to be successful. Teaching students a growth mindset (Dweck) while showing critical thinking skills (Lukianoff/Haidt), our students will be stronger, more intelligent and independent.
