In her new book "Limitless Mind: Learn, Lead, and Live Without Barriers," Jo Boaler, a professor at Stanford Graduate School of Education (GSE), talks about the importance of mistakes and struggles in the learning process. She explains how parents and teachers can help children learn better. People who believe they don't have the potential for certain skills don't only deceive themselves, they also limit their capacity to learn, whether it be math, science, language, music, arts, and even sports.
Boaler focuses on mathematics education and is the co-founder and faculty director of Youcubed, an organisation that intend to "Inspire ALL Students with Open, Creative Mindset Mathematics". Youcubed provides resources for math learning and has already reached more than 230 million students in 140 countries. Boaler explains what holds people back from learning, why we should not praise our kids for being "smart" and how to embrace struggle positively.
Boaler says she has met a lot of children and adults who think they're not "a math person" or not an "English person" or not an "artist." Every year, millions of children start school enthusiastic about what they are going to learn, but when they see others who seem better at learning, they start to lose confidence in themselves. Which is very regrettable because, if you are not struggling, you are not really learning. Struggle and mistakes are indispensable steps to build great brains and great achievers.
Picture: Spring, by William McTaggart (Google Art Project, Wikimedia Commons, w/Effects)
