Thanks to a new friend, I just read an interesting little article on the struggle to name the set of skills and traits that most successful people exhibit: grit, critical thinking, persistence, optimism, self-control, curiosity, soft skills, etc. The naming part is merely amusing—but the comments surrounding the naming debate offer insights into the skills dilemma. The target is ambiguous, the key factors are slippery, and many of the current names are misleading because they obscure the real key: being immersed in a knowledge-rich environment that provides the best of our human heritage. From critical thinking to character, pretty much all of this slippery stuff is actually cultivated by rigorous pursuit of the liberal arts.
Reading the naming debate, it struck me as a sad sign of how narrow and sickly the typical school curriculum has become.
Go ask a successful coach how to teach things like optimism and grit: Set a really ambitious goal, work incredibly hard to accomplish it, provide honest feedback, figure out what each kid’s best is and settle for nothing less, and celebrate the small victories along the way. In the end, you really did win if everyone gave 100%.
I’m simplifying, but you get the idea. Now compare that competitive coach to what’s happening during the school day. According to nationally representative data analyzed by the Center for American Progress:
- In math, 37% of fourth graders, 29% of eighth graders, and 21% of twelfth graders said their work is too easy.
- In history, 57% of eighth graders and 55% of twelfth graders said their work is too easy.
- In civics, 51% of eighth graders and 56% of twelfth graders said their work is too easy.
Have you ever heard a teenager say football practice was too easy?
This brings me to my very unscientific theory: Thanks to the self-esteem movement, the narrowing of the curriculum, and test-prep drills that focus more on strategies than on content, we now have a grit, character, team work, self-discipline, call-it-whatever-you-want problem.
The solution to this problem is not to try to directly teach these skills and traits—it is to develop a rigorous, knowledge-rich, well-rounded curriculum that demands such abilities be developed in order to get the work done.
I had some easy history classes in middle school. Then I had a high school US history class with fact- and concept-heavy exams, quarterly debates, and a college-quality term paper (that was spread across the entire year so we were taught each step of the research and writing process). The class was not easy. It was also one of the best I ever took. Grit was necessary, but not the goal. We were given a goal that made us want to develop knowledge, skills, and grit: understanding America’s past and present so that we would be capable of helping shape a better tomorrow.
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