The Gist of GRIT

Student A is your classic definition of a slacker. He comes to school in his expensive clothes, with shoes that cost more than a week’s salary. He throws his bookbag on the ground, slumps down into his desk and puts his head down. His head stays there through the instruction, the projects, and the invitations for one-on-one time. When the bell rings, he raises his head, yawns and slinks to his next class where he repeats the same process. For 3 quarters, his pattern continues. Teachers try to reach him and after failure repeated, they finally give up and just leave him to be him. In fourth quarter, something interesting happens. His teacher asks him about the latest Fortnite season and accompanying Battlepass. At first he raises his head suspiciously, but when that teacher begins to talk about the skins and wraps that go along with it, especially the intricacies of his favorite one, the student smiles and holds an actual conversation. That seemingly innocuous conversation leads to another, and to another, and another, where connections are formed, a relationship is birthed, and this student finally moved outside of himself to connect with learning. Grit.

Student B walks to school. Rain, snow, or shine. She comes to school with hair that is rarely well put together. Her shoes have holes in them, and depending on the day, her teachers know that she might have to be sent to the counselor’s office so that she can use the shower facilities. She doesn’t talk about much, but her writing is stellar, and the cognitive processes that she shows enthrall her teachers. After being absent for a week, she shows back up at school. A teacher that she has come to trust speaks with her after class and finds out she missed school so that she could stay home and care for a sick younger sibling. When asked about her parents, she lowers her head and says almost inaudibly, “My parents don’t come home much.” In the midst of such chaos, she still manages to leave her teachers in awe at how she is able to creatively express what she has learned. Grit.

I recently saw a conversation on Twitter that seemed to imply that Student B might have grit, while Student A did not, yet if grit is the determination to overcome an obstacle, how are we, as teachers, to choose which circumstances qualify as grit? I would offer the opinion that obstacles can be physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, or psychological, which would mean that grit is needed to overcome all of them. While I grew up in a home with 2 parents, I also grew up in what some might consider “the hood”. The primary antagonist in my life story has always been poor self-image coupled with feelings of inadequacy. At times those struggles became a paralytic agent keeping me from moving forward, but through help from teachers who saw the real me, I was able to break through and move toward becoming the man, and teacher, that I am today. It took determination. It took grit.

And while my process of finding grit looks different than another child, or another student, or another teacher, helping students develop grit means that I must understand that we all have obstacles. See, the gist of grit is simply that we don’t have to label what grit should be. We only have to accept that grit is needed and do everything that we can to equip this next generation to find their own and use it as a sledgehammer to break down every wall that would seek to stop them from becoming who they are meant to be.

So whether you find yourself consistently and actively encouraging Student C that she can do better and is cheating herself, or whether you are constantly encouraging Student F to life does get better if he doesn’t give up on himself, the end result is grit. Our students need it.

We have to help them find it.

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