What Matters: I Think I Can

An event at Evergreen School before school started: we began our opening faculty meeting with an ice breaker.  Each teacher wrote down the name of his or her favorite children’s picture book on an index card.  I collected the cards and read each book’s name and we tried to guess whose book was whose.  Then teachers grouped together and wrote Book Recommendation Reviews for the main bulletin board. Teachers chose wonderful books, but I didn’t think about them much until I started reading a new book called How Children Succeed by Paul Tough.

In his book, Tough questions the common belief that success in life mostly depends on cognitive skills — those are the intelligences that are measured on state tests and SATs–  the size of your vocabulary, reading comprehension, your skill at calculating, solving equations and story problems. Tough has collected loads of research data from longitudinal studies (like my favorite, the marshmallow experiment) along with personal stories that show a deeper truth: noncognitive skills, like persistence, self-control, curiosity, grit and self-confidence, are more vital than cognitive skills for achieving success.

And then I remembered Ms. Barden’s book recommendation: The Little Engine that Could.  Of which our library has four copies.  The Little Engine is about persistence, grit, self-confidence. ins’t it?  The power of positive thought. I think I can.

Listen to what Paul Tough is saying: persistence, self-control, curiosity, grit and self-confidence, are more crucial than cognitive skills for achieving success.  According Tough, people generally believe that these crucial qualities can’t be taught in schools. They just arise, magically in ‘successful’ kids.

Montessori thinks different.

I am in awe of the Montessori system at Evergreen and other schools. Its rare that schools talk much about personal habits of character.  Most schools want to talk about test scores. Its easier to focus on cognitive skills. These are the ones that can be learned by rote memorization– and they are easy to measure and reward.  Pre-school by flashcards.  If a child does well on a worksheet, he gets praised; he gets a sticker; he gets an ‘A’. If a child doesn’t memorize well or acts bored, she is corrected or worse… she is disciplined.  If the situation is really bad, she simply fails.

What is our approach?  Here is a sampling of what you find in a Montessori classroom:

• The hundred board– that is about persistence.
• The button frame– that is about independence.
• Serving your own snack– that is about self-control.
• Choosing your own work– that is about curiosity.
• Washing lunch trays– that’s grit.

When a child sticks with work that’s challenging, when she masters that skill—she feels a reward internally. I think I can. I think I can.  I think I can. Success.  Yes, I can! Then she wants a new challenge.  Children’s minds are programed to learn. Does a baby need to earn a sticker so that he is motivated to crawl? Of course not. He tries. Then he tries. Then he tries.

Is it time to rethink our schools?

John DeMarchi is the Head of School at Evergreen School.