Undefeated For Now

There is nothing like the start of the school year in a middle school. Middle school students bring with them an eagerness and excitable energy that is hard to explain, but easy to feel as you walk down the halls, spend a few minutes in the cafeteria or listen to the buzz of conversations in a classroom. A building that was relatively dormant over the summer (with the exception of some major renovations both inside and out), suddenly bursts back to life with nearly 700 adolescents. It should be on your bucket list if you’ve never experienced it!

There are several parallels between the start of the school year and the start of the NFL season. Maybe it’s the timing, maybe it’s the incredible energy, but the thing that I always think about at the start of both is that everyone is undefeated. At the start of the season, every football fan has optimism that this is the year that their team goes all the way to the Superbowl. No wins, no losses – anything is possible! Even if you’re a Browns fan. The same holds true for the school year. The first day of school brings with it the optimism that this is going to be a great year. We are undefeated as well; the schedule works, transportation is seamless, everything is perfect.

Somewhere along the way, and maybe its game 1 for the Browns or Day 2 for us, something isn’t going to go as planned. We are going to have to deal with some adversity. Little bumps in the road are bound to happen even with the greatest scheduling and planning. It isn’t a question of IF something is going to happen, it’s a question of WHEN and then most importantly, HOW are you going to respond. Are you going to be a Tigger or an Eeyore? Will you focus on the positive and find the silver lining even in a negative situation, or will you wallow in misery and find the worst in things. There is much in life that is out of our control, but we all have the power to choose our attitude. Be a Tigger! 

As important as choosing your attitude is the need to embrace a mindset that fosters success. Each summer all middle school staff at West Genesee reads the same book, usually on a topic related to instruction. This summer we broke from our traditional focus and everyone read Mindset by Carol Dweck, Ph.D. Dr. Dweck’s research focuses on motivation and the characteristics of a fixed versus growth mindset. Her conclusions on the inherent benefits of developing a growth mindset in our young people are compelling for both families and schools alike. The book is full of real-life examples about how these mindsets develop in early childhood and what adults can do to build more resilient children. Working with nearly 700 young adolescent student-athletes, students-musicians, and their parents on a daily basis, I can assure you that we need to build more resiliency in our kids.

Dweck’s work aligns closely with our belief that it is about the learning process, not the grade on a report card or a name on an “honor-roll” list that is most important. Are students being challenged? Are they growing? Are they willing to try new things? How do they respond to setbacks? Those are the questions we should be asking and the conversations that we should be having. It is more valuable to build curious students who have a passion for knowledge and are not afraid to make mistakes, than it is to develop students solely focused on grades and content with remaining in their comfort zones. We need to cultivate students who are willing to take risks and find setbacks motivating, not crushing and debilitating.

I encourage you to read this book and share it with your child. I’ll continue to discuss Dweck’s work both through the lens of an educator and as a parent of four. Helping our young people develop and foster a growth mindset might be the most important gift we can share with them.

We are incredibly excited about this school year and we look forward to working with all of our students and their families.

Continued Success,

Steve Dunham

sdunham@westgenesee.org

Twitter: @Sdunhamwgms