THE FUTURE OF SELF IMPROVEMENT PART I AND II: GRIT IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN KNOWLEDGE; THE DILEMMA OF COACHING YOURSELF

By: Jocelyn K. Glei

Published: 99U Articles; http://99u.com/articles/7094/the-future-of-self-improvement-part-i-grit-is-more-important-than-talent

Level of Difficulty: ***
Thanks are due to my dear friend and fellow teacher Füsun Savcı for this wonderful text

BEFORE YOU READ

·         Access Angela Duckworth’s “12 Item Grit Scale” and do the test. Discuss your answers if you are doing this activity as a class. Click here: http://www.sas.upenn.edu/~duckwort/images/12-item%20Grit%20Scale.05312011.pdf

·         Once you have done the test, access Angela Duckworth’s talk on ted.com, listen first without subtitles and take notes, then listen with English subtitles and check your notes. Discuss what you have learnt if you are doing this as a class. Click here: http://www.ted.com/talks/angela_lee_duckworth_the_key_to_success_grit.html
      Now take a look at these videos:
      · The power and passion of perseverance https://www.ted.com/talks/angela_lee_duckworth_grit_the_power_of_passion_and_perseverance/transcript?language=en

·         What is grit? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ldam66QxvxY

·         GRIT by Angela Duckworth | Animated CORE Message https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWctLEdIgi4

QUESTIONS

1.       There seems to be a positive correlation between self control in early childhood and…………….

2.       The children’s covering their eyes, pretending to play hide and seek underneath the desk and singing were all examples of ……………………………………………………………..(Be general)

3.       Trading short term gratification for long term goals is something we need to do frequently in life, which means that …………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

4.       The current need for far greater self control is born of the fact that ……………………………………..

5.       What does “such temptations” in the phrase “our ability to resist such temptations” refer to?

Now, read the remainder of the text: “And yet, self control isn’t the whole story”

6.       At what point does self control cease to be the number one predictor of success?

7.       What is grit and what does it involve?

8.       Read the accounts of the various studies Duckworth carried out. What overall conclusion can be drawn from her research?

THE FUTURE OF SELF IMPROVEMENT PART II: THE DILEMMA OF COACHING YOURSELF

By: Jocelyn K. Glei

Published: 99U Articles; http://99u.com/articles/7095/The-Future-of-Self-Improvement-Part-II-The-Dilemma-of-Coaching-Yourself

Level of Difficulty: ***

BEFORE YOU READ

·         Access the following video: “True Grit; Can Perseverance Be Taught?”; listen first without subtitles and take notes, then listen with subtitles and check your notes. Discuss the content if you are doing this in class. Click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaeFnxSfSC4

QUESTIONS

9. What has happened to experienced teachers who walk into class without preparing lessons and do things the way they have always done them? You will need to tweak the text.
10. What conclusion can we draw about experts from the principles listed
11. Read the story of Bradley to the end. What overall conclusion can be drawn concerning remarkable achievement?
12. What does “This” refer to in the phrase “This has little to do with intelligence or even talent”?
13. What does “This” refer to in the sentence “This is tricky”? Why “is it tricky”?
14. What unusual step did Gawonde take? What was the underlying reason for this move?
15. What general criticism is leveled at the way most businesses operate?
16. For what reason do a lot of people avoid coaching of all forms?

WRITING TASK

Discuss the factors that contribute to remarkable achievement. Use the points made in the text and the notes you made. Remember to support the points you made.

In your introduction, discuss the importance of success and achievement in the modern world on a social and personal level. End with a thesis statement: There are various personality traits that contribute to high achievement.

In your development, group the factors presented in the text, discuss them and provide support.

In your conclusion, discuss how these qualities can be developed. To do this, use your notes on the videos and the text.

THE FUTURE OF SELF IMPROVEMENT PART I: GRIT IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN TALENT KEY AND TEACHER’S NOTES

This fascinating text provides a whole new slant on how remarkable achievement becomes possible by stressing the importance of factors that may not immediately come to mind. The bonus is that there are related videos and a test. It is recommended that you start with the test; perhaps have the students working in pairs and doing the test for each other and continue with the video from which the students make notes. You may need to play it twice. It is suggested that you once again have a discussion before moving on to the text proper and the questions.

1. Better behavior, lower tendency to addiction and high SAT scores.
2. Strategic allocation of attention
3. Very often when we talk about the skill of productivity, what we are really talking about is self control.
4. We are all gaining more freedom and flexibility.
5. Emails, social media messages, text messages
6. In the case of high challenge achievement or remarkable achievement.
7. Perseverance and passion for a long-term goal; not seeking something because of novelty, not looking for a change, perseverance, tenacity, doggedness.
8. Dogged hard work is the cornerstone of remarkable achievement.

THE FUTURE OF SELF IMPROVEMENT PART II: THE DILEMMA OF COACHING YOURSELF KEY AND TEACHER’S NOTES

Before launching this second part of the text, I suggest you have the students watch and make notes on the second video, which will cover a lot of the points in the reading.

9. They have reached the “OK Plateau” and then gone on auto pilot.
10. Those who excel beyond the pack are pushing themselves continually so that they are never on auto pilot.
11. If we want to cultivate expertise or genius, or whatever we want to call it, we need to be able to step outside of ourselves, observe how we are operating, reflect on what could be better, theorize how we could change it and then test out the solution.
12. Identifying what needs to be fixed.
13. Providing the outside eyes and ears and making you aware of where you are falling short; human beings resist exposure or critique
14. He invited Robert Osteen, a retired general surgeon he admires, to observe in the operating theatre and give feedback; because it seemed as if he had stopped getting better.
15. The work is largely unseen by anyone who might raise one’s sights.
16. It’s uncomfortable. You need to show your weaknesses, accept criticism and try to change.