The Upstream Journey
At the peak of fall, anadromous salmon begin their upstream journey to go back to their birthplace and reproduce the next generation. Some swim seven hundred miles, and face adversity of all kind: hunters, bears, and eagles. Anadromous salmon have an inherent sense of smell, or direction, and of their long term goal. They adapt and change based on whatever environment they are put in. Nothing can keep salmon from reaching their final destination; because they are resilient against all odds. Unlike humans, they have in an innate sense of grit and not giving up a fight. This brings up an interesting question: do all humans truly have an intrinsic sense of grit, like the salmon, or is it something that is learned through …show more content…
It is true that not all humans have the same innate sense of grit like the anadromous salmon do, but that has not stopped some people from trying to integrate grit into the world. To produce better cadets for West Point, schools are starting to teach grit at a young age. An example of this is the marshmallow test done on preschoolers so measure their abilities in self-control. The children are promised two marshmallows if they can resist the temptation of eating one for a short amount of time. Their long-term goal, at least in the eyes of the children, is to get the two marshmallows but they have to refuse the impulse to eat the one right in front of them. It takes grit, because it is the perseverance for the long-term goal. Of course, some children passed the marshmallow test, but just as many failed it too. So should schools start teaching grit to help children learn the benefits of long-term goals? Willingham offers his advice on the matter, stating, “...tell kids that failure is a normal part of learning, tell them that success is not a matter of inborn talent but of hard work, and teach them strategies for organizing their time and setting goals” (33). In theory, it is a good idea when it is all said and done, but grit can falter depending on the situation. In the marshmallow test, the children could have been influenced by a number of factors, such as I am hungry and there is a marshmallow, or behaving differently because they know they are being tested. In addition, the concept of teaching grit can help students for future obstacles, but schools could also negatively take advantage. “A valid concern is that a focus on grit will prompt educators and policymakers to forget structural factors that impede student success… Is there not a danger that … any problem the student faces is brushed off with the advice to ‘be gritty’ about it?”
At the peak of fall, anadromous salmon begin their upstream journey to go back to their birthplace and reproduce the next generation. Some swim seven hundred miles, and face adversity of all kind: hunters, bears, and eagles. Anadromous salmon have an inherent sense of smell, or direction, and of their long term goal. They adapt and change based on whatever environment they are put in. Nothing can keep salmon from reaching their final destination; because they are resilient against all odds. Unlike humans, they have in an innate sense of grit and not giving up a fight. This brings up an interesting question: do all humans truly have an intrinsic sense of grit, like the salmon, or is it something that is learned through …show more content…
It is true that not all humans have the same innate sense of grit like the anadromous salmon do, but that has not stopped some people from trying to integrate grit into the world. To produce better cadets for West Point, schools are starting to teach grit at a young age. An example of this is the marshmallow test done on preschoolers so measure their abilities in self-control. The children are promised two marshmallows if they can resist the temptation of eating one for a short amount of time. Their long-term goal, at least in the eyes of the children, is to get the two marshmallows but they have to refuse the impulse to eat the one right in front of them. It takes grit, because it is the perseverance for the long-term goal. Of course, some children passed the marshmallow test, but just as many failed it too. So should schools start teaching grit to help children learn the benefits of long-term goals? Willingham offers his advice on the matter, stating, “...tell kids that failure is a normal part of learning, tell them that success is not a matter of inborn talent but of hard work, and teach them strategies for organizing their time and setting goals” (33). In theory, it is a good idea when it is all said and done, but grit can falter depending on the situation. In the marshmallow test, the children could have been influenced by a number of factors, such as I am hungry and there is a marshmallow, or behaving differently because they know they are being tested. In addition, the concept of teaching grit can help students for future obstacles, but schools could also negatively take advantage. “A valid concern is that a focus on grit will prompt educators and policymakers to forget structural factors that impede student success… Is there not a danger that … any problem the student faces is brushed off with the advice to ‘be gritty’ about it?”