​GRIT! Angela Duckworth has it and you can, too!

Fall down seven times and rise eight.   Japanese proverb

                Angela Duckworth finally put it in a book.  After years of studying resiliency, perseverance — the qualities that drive achievement — she has distilled the formula that yields the solution.  Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance (Scribner, 2016) may sound simple but Duckworth’s ideas are far from simplistic.  The book encompasses her research and her own story.  Data points are elaborated with anecdotes of how she was raised — by a traditional Chinese father — and students she has taught.  She dips into celebrity bios for more evidence and she integrates salient points from other scholars who have studied achievement in order to define what she calls “grit.”  

                The result is an academic work that is a quick, easy read.  Duckworth writes that she wrote the book as if she were “taking you out for coffee and telling you what I know.”  I would have every high school student —with their teachers — read and discuss this book.  Most certainly, it needs to be required reading for high achieving students who have been branded “gifted.” Their parents should read it, too.  Intelligence and talents are the traditional measures of “giftedness.”  But Duckworth’s research says we should be looking for “grit.”

               Remember the cheers of “never give up,” “stick-to-it,” and the old “try, try again” from parents and teachers?  That’s basically the idea of “grit,” but Duckworth digs deep to ferret out the specifics in order to understand the elements of grit and how to “grow grit.”   

              Little Angela Lee would have benefited if “grit” had been measured as precisely as her IQ.  She recounts how her father let her know that she was no genius.  Given that she initially did not make the cut-off for the gifted and talented program in elementary school, she had little reason to question his opinion.  Yet, she persevered and made it to Harvard.  But she was again reminded of her limited abilities, particularly in math, when she was failing the intro to neuroscience class.  She was advised to drop the course, but Duckworth doubled down. She not only got a B in that class, but ultimately graduated with a degree in neuroscience.  OK, she reasoned to herself, if I’m not a genius, I can just work harder.  But was it only hard work that led to her success?

             Several years and a career later, Duckworth’s experiences with teaching inner city students raised more questions as she saw some kids in her classes flourish and others flounder.  She decided to return to school to pursue a doctorate in psychology at the University of Pennsylvania to find answers on what factors influence achievement.   She currently is a professor of psychology at UPenn and has established The Character Lab “to advance the science and practice of character development in children.”  

             Duckworth acknowledges others who have looked for the secret of success.  Catherine Cox at Stanford in 1926 sought to determine characteristics of high achievers by scrutinizing biographic details of “exceptionally accomplished” historical figures.   Before Duckworth used West Point students as her research sample, her former professor Jerry Kagan, in his early years as a psychologist, had sought to determine why cadets dropped out.  Her work reminded me of theories from key figures in the field of gifted education  that I find are closely connected to her ideas on what propels basic intelligence — potential — into levels of high achievement.  In particular, I thought of the following three, each which has revolutionized the idea of intelligence. 
 
  Robert Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory of Intelligence (http://www.gigers.com/matthias/gifted/sternberg.html)

 Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligence Theory (http://www.niu.edu/facdev/resources/guide/learning/howard_gardner_theory_multiple_intelligences.pdf)

Joseph Renzulli’s Three Ring Conception of Giftedness (www.gigers.com/matthias/gifted/three_rings.html)

                Parents and their children need to understand the limitations of considering just IQ and high test scores in identifying achievement.  Duckworth’s extensive research says IQ alone doesn’t yield success — which is what Dr. Renzulli has been saying for over 40 years.   Renzulli advises caution when testing for “giftedness” as a static quality.   Rather, he argues, focus on “gifted behavior,” which is when above average ability (not super IQ but above the norm) intersects with creativity (what one does with the intelligence they have), and — most importantly — with intrinsic motivation. 

                Duckworth calls intrinsic motivation “passion.”   Intrinsic means within, part of who you are.  It is the type of motivation that is driven by an interest in and love for a subject or project.   Parents can’t dictate their child’s passion.  However, parents can and should provide opportunities for their kids to try out interests and have a range of experiences.  Duckworth offers invaluable advice gleaned from her research studies and interviews with successful people on how parents can be supportive and not be pushy. 

              Duckworth provides a “grit scale” for readers to determine their own "grittiness."  But this is just a base line.  The really good news is that she has the research to support her theory that it is possible to “grow grit from the inside out.  Start with interest.  Then practice — make a habit of seeking challenges that exceed skills.  Have a purpose, which connects to something beyond yourself.  And have hope — “learn to hope when all seems lost.”   Kids need to understand that these variables are within their control.

             Parents, teachers, coaches, mentors add key elements as they help to grow grit from the outside in.  Duckworth writes, “Developing your personal girt depends critically on other people” and she explains how to create a “culture of grit” as adults are the child’s champion in providing opportunities and being the enthusiastic advocate.   But Duckworth makes clear that “trying stuff out” is as essential as “try, try again.”  I particularly appreciated her insights on setting parameters for children so they have time to fully explore, for example, a sport or musical instrument before they decide to move to another interest.   Renzulli calls this “revolving out” rather than “quitting.”   In our household, the time frame to try out soccer, or piano, or scouts was September to June.  Our kids were encouraged to keep at the activity through the tough times and experience the highs of recitals or a completed season and then they would reassess if they wanted to continue for another year. 
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                 Hard work does matter.  Duckworth spent a decade thinking “sometimes alone, and sometimes in partnerships with close colleagues,” before she formulated two simple equations that explain the path from talent to achievement.
 
                                                                     talent x effort = skill
  Then…
                                                                 skill x effort = achievement
 
               Effort counts twice!  That’s the inside part.  But nurturing talents with resources and opportunities is the outside part.  Simple in concept, but hardly simple in the execution!

              But what of the emotional outcomes?  In the final chapter, Duckworth asks if the success that comes from being “gritty” makes people happy.   Her students surveyed 2,000 American adults and results indicate that the grittier the person is, the more likely they will enjoy a healthy emotional life.  She writes, “Grit went hand in hand with well-being, no matter how I measured it.”

               Which leads to her next question: Are spouses and children of the grittiest people also happier?  What about co-workers and employees?  She wonders if it possible, as Aristotle argued, to have too much of a good thing? She notes that “additional inquiry is needed to explore the downside of grit.”   
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            She also emphatically states, “As a psychologist, I can confirm that grit is far from the only or even the most important aspect of a person’s character…. Morality trumps all other aspects of character in importance.” 

         Angela Duckworth is a wise woman.  She has amazing instincts that provoke ideas and questions that she pursues with intense research. The result is this must-read book:  Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance.

        Oh, and that genius thing?   In 2013, Dr. Duckworth’s innovative work and theories were acknowledged as she was named a MacArthur Fellow — the so-called “genius grant.”  
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        Well done, Dr. Duckworth.