Raising Smart Kids Persuasive Essay

As the school year starts, students seem to start off the year well but end up getting worn out as time goes by. Why? Some students have the belief that they were born smart and seem to give when faced with a tough situation in fear that it will make them look dumb, so they simply give up. However, it has been proven that having a fixed mindset can actually lead to failure. Student success is founded upon the encouragement teachers and parents give to students to have a growth mindset rather than have a fixed mindset and not accepting challenges. According to “Raising Smart Kids” by Dweck, “The helpless ones believe that intelligence is a fixed trait: you only have a certain amount, and that’s that. I call this a ‘fixed mindset’. Mistakes crack their self-confidence because they attribute errors to a lack of ability, which they feel powerless to change. They avoid challenges because challenges make mistakes more likely and looking less smart so.” (23). As mentioned before, students with a fixed mindset lack effort making them fail. It is not about being born smart, it is the effort one puts into the work that makes them intelligent and successful. Others are students who have a growth mindset. These students believe that intelligence can be malleable therefore, they are more likely to outperform their peers by taking opportunities and accepting challenges that require effort. Dweck mentions about these students, “They understood that even geniuses have to work hard for their great accomplishments. Confronted by a setback such as a disappointing test grade, students with a growth mindset said they would study harder or try a different strategy for mastering the material.” (23). This article talks about a study that was conducted in 2007.