Tony thinks..

it’s so very true.

but i am just soooo cynical about the world. There are a lot of dumb people!!! lemmings! lemmings being controlled by people who are closed minded!

that’s my only concern with this article… what about the psycho parents (and teachers) who lay down too strict of a regime for their kids? Questioning authority is healthy! It’s completely screwed up that we’re asked not to do that. they make a good point about nothing being easy, I just think someone needs to DO SOMETHING (somehow) about the hyperinflation of closed-mindedness in higher education, and in power. I guess I’m just trying to say that as a very smart person, I hope THIS lady wins in the education debate. But I feel some empathy for kids with reasonably severe learning disabilities, whose overbearing parents are going to yell at them because if they “JUST TRIED HARDER” they could get strait A’s, too. When maybe that’s just not that true, or at least, maybe strait A’s aren’t _worth it_ for that kid.

Education is a good thing, but so is having fun.

I posted a response to this on my blog called Does Gen Y Have Too Much Self-Esteem?

Wait, so by saying “I must be ’smart.’”, are you now giving yourself harmful praise and turning yourself into a fixed mindset?

@Tony

I think that’s one of the greatest strength of science — nothing is ever proven. Even if a million times out of a million, when you drop a rock, it falls to the ground with an acceleration of 9.8 m/s^2, there might still be that million and first time where the rock goes upwards and explodes into a colorful rainbow. We never say we’re 100% sure about anything, and this forces us to keep our eyes and ears open at all times to new information.

How do you reconcile this opinion with this quote: “Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” -Albert Einstein.

idk, it’s hard not to take that to the “logical” conclusion of “insanity is a good thing”. Right? I’m starting to realize that aiming for sanity might be unreasonable… the trick is just to be insane and functional at the same time.
Thoughts?

@Tony
Also, I think you can parent in a way that encourages questioning authority… but in order to do so you have to trust that your kid has enough morals to figure out what’s right and wrong.
Which, honestly, I think it should be a basic right that everyone is given the benefit of the doubt on their sanity. I think modern medicine is way too quick to condemn differences as a ‘disorder’ which is a silly way to look at them.

idk, I guess I trust _MY_ ability to figure out what substances (illicit or not) work for me and don’t. It seems like you’re giving the psychiatrist a lot of control over my life otherwise, doesn’t it? I think this is an especially easy trap to fall in with children and teens. Maybe my parents should’ve just trusted my ability to not fuck up all of the way. It kind of sucks that parents act as SUCH a safety net all the way up until you move out.
I guess I’m just saying the government, and my parents fear of the government, screwed up my introduction to “drugs”. (I’m actually discussing alcohol more than anything else here… don’t get me wrong, I don’t think my parents should’ve been snorting crack with me or anything.)

What if the machine is wrong… how do you fight against that as a parent, without raising a sociopath?

I completely agree with this article. I think parents now a days place an abundance of unneeded pressure on their children to perform well in not only academics but also athletics. In this day in age, it is no longer good enough to try your best at something. It is expected that you suceed in most everything you do and that is not reasonable for children. You have to remember these kids are only teenagers, not grown adults who can take constructive criticism and run with it. Kids take what people say to heart and really think about the meaning. I think the goals set by parents a lot of the time are unrealistic. A student or athlete should receive praise for giving 110% and everything they have, but nowadays are put down and shunned for not performing at the height of other students. Its not fair to kids who aren’t born with the same genius mind or athletic body as others. Im kind of in the middle on the whole mindset. I don’t really pick a side. I agree with the theory that some kids are born with smarter minds and more athletic. But i also believe in growth because I have seen it before my own eyes.

I love Anna Toneva!
Alex Newell

This article brings up many very interesting points. The idea of being rewarded by being praised and called smart as being considered a negative action all of the time I believe is wrong. Although I do believe that kids should not just be constantly praised for there smarts, but they also need to be given another source of accomplishment rather then always saying, that was a lot of effort you put in. Giving a since of accomplishment by being told, good effort, is a good thing some of the times, because it will help to keep an open mind and not to short yourself of goals that are possible to achieve. With the grade system in schools, kids are sadly pushed to believe that it’s all about the grades and not the learning. At my school we have TCB which stands for, taking care of business, this is a mandatory activity for kids after school for when ones grade sinks below a 70%. The only thing that this program does is to help the student raise their grade out of the D and F range and once that is completed then this after school activity is no longer mandatory for the student. This only assures the students better grades, not more learning. Finally with sports, it is no longer about giving your best effort anymore, but rather about the W, or as the article would say about being the smartest. Obviously nobody wants to lose and if giving your best effort isn’t enough to find that win, well then still you will be harassed by coaches, fans, and maybe even parents. In conclusion for this theory, I do believe that some are born with greater benefits in certain areas then other, but still I do believe in growth, because you can only get better and can’t become worse as long as you try.

I Love Anna Toneva More!!
Adam Chinery

That was HORRIBLE!

I believe that this article is correct for the most part, but not entirely. I think everybody wants to look smart to other people regardless of if they have been told they are smart or not. I agree that people who think they are naturally smart tend to be lazier and not work as hard. A person who is told they are smart from the beginning does not have to try as hard in their early years, but once they get to higher levels of education they will have to try as hard as everyone else, and this could pose a problem for some people. I think the article is focusing on younger kids to much though rather than older kids. Older kids realize that to be successful they will have to work hard, but younger kids do not see anything to work for and therefore just rely on their god given ability to succeed. Also, on cheating, i think most people cheat because they have to much pressure on them to do well. If they were not expected to perform so highly they would not cheat and would be a smarter person. Parents sometimes have to high of expectations for kids and that is sometimes the cause of cheating and lieing. I also believe that sports and academics are very closely related because in both there are high expectations to do well.

Best wishes,
Alan Kidd

I agree with this article in the sense that people that are praised from a young age tend to lack motivation and drive in their work. This however is not always the case, most people that have a gifted mind without working for it come off as lazier because sometimes they come across things they dont know. Teachers or their parents say they obviously arent working hard enough because they know their smart but the grade they got does not reflect it. From my experience, when someone tells me this it does not motivate me to do better but makes things worse because it makes me believe i know what i am doing without doing homework or paying attention in class. And about the cheating, the reason students cheat is not always about the fact they cant do it but because they CAN and it is a lot less stressful than working out the problem. It makes sense that kids that were praised at a young age tend to lack the motivation because in life the more you are told your good at something the more you believe what you are doing is enough and dont need to work any harder.

I actually found a problem (in my eyes) right off the bat. the article says that there are 2 mindsets, fixed, and… the second one. But I have a different viewpoint than either of those. I think that by your genetic makeup, people are born with a certain IQ. This in essence means that the higher a child’s IQ, the better chance they have in becoming “Smart” or “dumb.” Well, I have met people who are “gifted” and “dumb” at the same time. I have also met some people with a lot of knowledge that are actually not amazing thinkers. I beleive that you are born with a “ceiling.” To a certain degree… But I agree with the rest.

There’s this little boy who’s my backyard neighbor. His name is Grant. He’s, no joke, a horrible child who is lazy and self-centered and mean to the other neighbor-kids. Grant has parents like the article said. Whether he brings home a good score on a spelling test or he tells them about his catch-the-flag expertise, they immediately begin showering him with praise about how smart, how athletic, how *good* he is. I’ve already believed the parents who coddle their kids like this are not preparing them for a harsh world made more out of failures than successes, but this article opened my eyes to a new fact. It’s not just the coddling that hurts the kid, it’s the praise. Which makes me glad for my parents. I’m not sure how fixed/growing I am, but my parents have always (or almost always) said, “Good job,” if I do well, but in the same breath they say if I’d studied a bit longer or done a couple of extra assignments my grade would be a tad higher. Which, up until now, has only made me very, very angry. But if this article is right (and it’s from Stanford, so it’s hard to doubt its validity), then my frusterating parents have done me more good than I’d ever realized. I’m sure when I’m in a psychiatrist’s office in 60 years I won’t remember this fact, but it’s a nice thought for now.

–Jaida

I believe that it is a combonation, that is some people are born more intelligent, as seen in iq tests. Yet at the same time , as the article states, if one does not continue to hone intellect than that person will begin to slip in the rankings. I mainly believe this because of a combonation of my parents parental style and that I have always had distinct personality traits. My parents massivley push me to educationally strive for the better, though in a very passive agresive mannor. They ‘highly advise’ me to do certain things but when I choose not to do that given thing, I lose privlages. My main personallity traits are intelligent, curious, intuitive, and perfectionism, and, not to begrudge the point, but I can back all of those up. Thus, when you combine all of those traits you get someone that is very adimate about learning and continually facinated with becoming smarter, though I also think that if I don’t understand things easily that I am stupid so I, thanks to my parents and my own will, study more to understand. I don’t stop telling myself that I am stupid until I do understand the material.
I strongly agree with the article but I must say that I wouldn’t even be amoung the 20% that says it is true, I would say both sides are, at the same time, true.

This article has brought up a lot of interesting points i have never thought about before. One of the major things i have noticed is that when my parents do not praise me i tend to try harder in the subject and i try to study more , i guess this proves the point of praising someone’s ability. I have thought about it and every time my parents d congratulate me on achievements i think that i don’t have to try harder in that subject anymore because i have achieved what i wanted – my parents praise. Then i begin to get lazier and lazier and notice that my grades drop and that my parents no longer are happy with them that is why i start trying. I’m not saying that this is my parents fault, my dad actually tells me that as long as i put a hundred percent effort in it i am capable of achieving what i want. This article explains some of my behavior, but i have realized that now its because of my parents try , its because of my own self satisfaction and future. granted that when you are younger you are focused on looking smarter and leasing your parents so they can brag about you, but once you get older you tend to realize that you actually have to try harder for yourself and its not your parents who are going to be living your future its you. So although this article does prove many points like how younger ones are impacted by praise, it doesn’t really focus on the mindsets of older children and how they change due to themselves and self realization. i do believe though that constant praise is not good and it does cause laziness.

i think that this article is really true. i can personally think of instances in my life where this has happened to me and i was thinking just that. i think i fall into the 20% that cant really make up their mindset because i do believe that you can never stop learning and challenging your brain, but i can think of times when i thought to myself that you know im just no good at this and basically gave up. then when i think about it my teachers and parents have told me things like i must be really smart, basically making me think that it was god-given talent or whatever. it just makes me think is that wrong? they clearly just thought that they were encouraging me, but i guess can me considered somewhat detramental. its impossible to know what your true potential will be if you get treated like this. i think the word needs to get out about this, because i can see the effects it has on kids in high school still today, kids who just think that they arent smart, when if they tried hard enough im sure they could be, but to try is not “cool” in our society today with teenagers. it just blows my mind with this research which i had never even considered. great arcticle thanks

Kyle Alford
we all know i love anna toneva the most

This article was very interesting. It is very interesting to how the mindset of a someone growing up can be influenced by their parents. My parents have definetly over praised my brother and I when we were younger, but also if we did bad she would get on us if we did not do good. “I know you can do better than that!” She would say. Everyday up to high school I had this mindset that some people were smarter than others. I did not put that much effort into anything yet because i did not neccesarily need to. But as soon as i got to high school i realized i had to put effort into my work. At this stage in our high school career it would take a very smart person to not put effort into their work and still succeed with getting good grades. The classes that I put more effort into i do much much better at. I have gotten over the stage of my mom praising me for being “smart”. I learned my lesson in relying on my smartness. It just did not work for me. Math is my best subjecy and always has been but recently I have not put much effort into it and my grade has shown. Also at the beggining of this i hated chemistry, i just would not get it. But when i put effort into it i succeeded. I have gotten over my mom’s praises; eventhough it took me learning the hard way. I also have changed my mindset but not completely, i walked into math this year thinking i was really good at it i dont need to put much effoert into it. But that has back fired greatly.
Sorry Mrs. Toneva

This article was very good for me to read and has given me a new outlook on my schoolwork. Towards the end of the year I haven’t been trying my hardest to be a growth thinker. My parents contribute a lot to this. They always tell me how proud of me they are for my grades, because when they were in school they were horrible students. But I need someone to tell me that I can do better. Because quite frankly I can do do a lot better. As I go through the classes in my day it’s easy to classify the smarter people. This article helped me realize that they don’t have anything that I don’t. They just have a different mind set, that, in order to be successful I need. A growth thinker isn’t that hard to do. Its just a willingness. What seperates the AP students from the regular is their willingness to be a growth thinker. My lack of being a growth thinker has really set in this year as I am satisfied with grades, and have been able to accept some lower grades… because maybe it’s just who I am. But this study has showed me that it’s not who I am. Who I am is who I tell myself to be. I need to step up to the plate and be willing to grow.

I have a great respect for this doctor for going out on a limb to prove many wrong. This study makes a lot of sense. Americans are easily satisfied by good enough. I fear for our country and our good enough mind set. Many other countries in poverty have realized that they need to change to get ahead, now that we are already ahead we have settled. This articles shows that you should never settle, because nothing can ever be good enough. This article taught me a lot and I think every parent should read it for it also has some valuable parenting tips. My most successful friends have the parents that push them. The people that push grow and succeed. I will push, I will study, I will succeed!

I love Ms. Toneva so much that we are gonna get married when I am of age.
-Garrett

Wow, this certainly puts an entire new thought process in my head. The postulation that ATTITUDE is the main factor in determining intelligence certainly may seem implausible at face value, but studies rarely lie. If this it true, then those with higher intellect would thirst for more knowledge while those who are lower in the smartness chain don’t care. Not necessarily BECAUSE they’re any less smart, but they are what they are because of their APATHY.
In reflection, this could mean that the smallest amount of not caring as a child could make them a tad less smart, causing any apathy, until they spiral into a mutual and unstoppable chain-reaction. This process would explain how we are defined at young ages, that the cause-and-effect ideal is exploited by mother nature.

FIN

HI TONY TONEVA! This is Victoria Malone and I am in your mom’s Honors Algebra 2 class. I looked at the “How To Be Smart” Article. The truth is I like it when my parents give me praise and I have gotten good grades since I can remember, so there input has not had a bad effect. My self esteem is high and I am not a baby that has to be told when she is doing something correctly or well. If you are satisfied with yourself, try not to care what other people think. I can’t always do that, but I am independent so if a person has a problem with me…it’s not good. And in my experience I think that getting good grades is a little more important than learning. While I believe that one must still learn and learning is important, I think that learning and getting D’s is not effective. Maybe I just sound like a brat…but this is what I think.
P.S. You don’t look a lot like your mom…but your picture was really tiny.
P.S.S I love your name! It reminds of Tony the Tiger!!

Maybe I didnt say this right. I don’t think parents should constantly praise their children…then you get the kids that start crying when they get an A and their parents don’t say anything. My parents don’t shower me with praise. They say good job or well done. A little praise every once in a while never hurt anyone…but if it is constant the result could be disastrous.

Well, people with a growth mindset would definitely agree with this article, and people with a fixed mindset would most likely resent it. I strongly agree with this article; I don’t think “being smart” should be categorized as people who obtain knowledge naturally and don’t put forth any effort. I believe to become smart, one must be dedicated and put effort into their work. Although it feels good to be called smart, one should not be apprehensive to challenges just because it will make them look less smart. Being challenged is what builds on to one’s intelligence. By not fully succeeding the first time, it should make one want to try harder the next time to better grasp the concept, not make them turn away. All in all, I think this article is accurate about the growth of knowledge based on the mindset of a person.

While I do agree with the general principle that praising children in the wrong way/for the wrong things can lead to them becoming complacent with their intelligence, I have to say that the “fixed mindset” vs “growth mindset” theory is shaky.

The article implies that people with a “growth” mindset are always very hard-working and eager to take on a challenge, and people with a “fixed” mindset are always lazy and unwilling to face challenges.

This essentially blames the “fixed” mindset for an abundance of lazy and complacent kids.

I don’t believe that the “fixed mindset” is the reason kids don’t do their work or study hard. The primary reason kids don’t do their work is because they don’t care about learning in general. There are plenty of “growth”-leaning thinkers out there who acknowledge that they have the power to learn as much or as little as they please, and still choose not to learn.

Also, I know quite a few people who lean towards a “fixed” mindset, but still study very hard in school because they don’t think of studying as making them smarter, they think of it as a means to uncover more of their natural ability.

The reason the results of the study were so extreme (growth mindset tried harder, faced setbacks better; fixed mindsets didn’t try as hard, gave up) can be attributed to the very young age of those who were studied (Kindergarten and 5th grade). Children often see things only in “black and white;” seeing the “gray” of an issue is a skill that is developed with age.

So if we’re looking to solve Gen-Y’s apathy problem, glamorizing learning and education is where we must start. We have to make learning “cool” again. How to do this, I don’t know, but until learning isn’t a dirty word on a high school campus, the mindsets of the students are irrelevant.