Principal Speak: Agency By Krista Barton-Arnold

Post date: Mar 2, 2017 12:57:54 PM

When is Grit, Not Enough?

I am a fan of grit, I believe in growth mindset.  I have presented on and advocated for both concepts as critical ingredients for our students and staff.  I have watched Angela Duckworth’s TED talk more times than I care to admit. I gave my whole family the GRIT assessment. My belief in these concepts is evolving.

I like the image grit and growth mindset creates for me. The idea of a strong, courageous individual whose willingness to learn and grow playing a large role in their own future. That visual aligns with my experiences and beliefs in the world.

That is the problem. My experiences, my beliefs. I had some barriers in life, no doubt. I had to dig down and work hard to overcome some obstacles. I come from a working class family, where we were taught that perseverance, hard work, sticking with a problem all paid off. However, I didn’t have insurmountable obstacles as many of our students have.

Pedro Noguera spoke to this very topic at the Title One conference in Long Beach Ca, last week. He shared stories of students with grit and growth mindset who could not overcome barriers such as being an undocumented immigrant. All the grit in the world still couldn’t make it possible for him to get the financial aid necessary to attend college.

 Noguera talks about the difficulty with discussing grit alone is that it directs attention away from other factors that also affect student success. The concept of grit is assuming we all have the same experiences and with determination and hard work obstacles can be overcome. Working in a Title One school has demonstrated to me that some of the barriers in front of our students, cannot be overcome by grit alone. Our students need more; that is where the concept of agency comes into play.

The concept of agency means action.  The biggest difference between grit and agency is agency can be individual as in student agency (students empowered to make meaningful choices, advocate for their own learning)  Or in a broader sense, social scientists refer to agency as the ability to act and affect ones surroundings.  Agency can refer to a group, a community, or a school, and students using the resources around them as leverage points to overcome obstacles.

Noguera used the following descriptions to explain the differences between agency and grit.

Grit

Individual attribute

Ignores contextual barriers

Hard to measure except after outcomes are met

Agency

Can be an individual or a group

Recognizes barriers and strategies to confront

Measureable through observations of actions and attitudes

I still believe in grit and growth mindset. I think we need to teach students that perseverance, determination and hard work will take them far. However, I have come to accept that grit alone is not enough.  We need to foster agency as well. Teaching students that knowledge is a source of power. Students can counter the obstacles they face by investing in their education, taking action, reaching out, using their resources. Grit, growth mindset and agency is a much more effective tool box for our students to enter the world with. Who is with me?