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A few years ago, I started studying grit in the Chicago public schools. I asked thousands of high school juniors to take grit questionnaires, and then waited around more than a year to see who would graduate. Turns out that grittier kids were significantly more likely to graduate, even when I matched them on every characteristic I could measure, things like family income, standardized achievement test scores, even how safe kids felt when they were at school. So it's not just at West Point or the National Spelling Bee that grit matters. It's also in school, especially for kids at risk for dropping out. To me, the most shocking thing about grit is how little we know, how little science knows, about building it. Every day, parents and teachers ask me, "How do I build grit in kids?” “What do I do to teach kids a solid work ethic?” “How do I keep them motivated for the long run?" The honest answer is, I don't know. What I do know is that talent doesn't make you gritty.

Let's follow Angela Lee Duckworth...

A few years ago, / I started studying grit in the Chicago public schools. // I asked thousands of high school juniors to take grit questionnaires, / and then waited around more than a year to see who would graduate. // Turns out that grittier kids / were significantly more likely to graduate, / even when I matched them on every characteristic I could measure, / things like family income, / standardized achievement test scores, / even how safe kids felt when they were at school. // So / it's not just at West Point / or the National Spelling Bee that grit matters. // It's also in school, / especially for kids at risk for dropping out. // To me, / the most shocking thing about grit / is how little we know, / how little science knows, / about building it. // Every day, / parents and teachers ask me, / "How do I build grit in kids?” // “What do I do to teach kids a solid work ethic?” // “How do I keep them motivated for the long run?" // The honest answer is, / I don't know. // What I do know is that / talent doesn't make you gritty. //

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Our data show very clearly that there are many talented individuals who simply do not follow through on their commitments. In fact, in our data, grit is usually unrelated or even inversely related to measures of talent. So far, the best idea I've heard about building grit in kids is something called "growth mindset." This is an idea developed at Stanford University by Carol Dweck, and it is the belief that the ability to learn is not fixed, that it can change with your effort. Dr. Dweck has shown that when kids read and learn about the brain and how it changes and grows in response to challenge, they're much more likely to persevere when they fail, because they don't believe that failure is a permanent condition. So growth mindset is a great idea for building grit. But we need more. And that's where I'm going to end my remarks, because that's where we are. That's the work that stands before us. We need to take our best ideas, our strongest intuitions, and we need to test them. We need to measure whether we've been successful, and we have to be willing to fail, to be wrong, to start over again with lessons learned. In other words, we need to be gritty about getting our kids grittier. Thank you.

Let's follow Angela Lee Duckworth...

Our data show very clearly / that there are many talented individuals / who / simply do not follow through on their commitments. // In fact, / in our data, / grit is usually unrelated / or even inversely related to measures of talent. // So far, / the best idea I've heard about building grit in kids / is something called / "growth mindset." // This is an idea developed at Stanford University / by Carol Dweck, / and it is the belief that the ability to learn / is not fixed, / that it can change with your effort. // Dr. Dweck has shown that / when kids read and learn about the brain / and how it changes and grows in response to challenge, / they're much more likely to persevere when they fail, / because / they don't believe that failure is a permanent condition. // So growth mindset / is a great idea for building grit. // But we need more. // And that's where I'm going to end my remarks, / because / that's where we are. // That's the work that stands before us. // We need to take our best ideas, / our strongest intuitions, / and we need to test them. // We need to measure whether we've been successful, / and we have to be willing to fail, / to be wrong, / to start over again with lessons learned. // In other words, / we need to be gritty about getting our kids grittier. // Thank you. //