A letter from a teacher who cares…

Dear Parents,

Your child does have natural talent, abilities and intelligence in some areas- but that’s not the end of the story. These things are not fixed traits.

They may have a gift for story writing, art, maths or sport, but it needs to be grown.

They may not be good at science, history or working with others…YET!

Praise for intelligence and talent has been shown to undermine motivation, persistence, effort, task enjoyment and performance. Providing feedback about intelligence and talent does not help students improve performance (even if we are telling them how fantastic they are).

Three suggestions for students who are experiencing some anxiety and stress in the "thick" of end Semester assessment.

Deliberate practice is practice that focuses on tasks beyond your current level of competence and comfort. It requires “considerable, specific and sustained effort to do something you can’t do well- or even at all” (Ericsson, Prietula, & Cokely, The making of an expert, 2007). It is highly concentrated, mindful practice. There is a saying that says “practice makes perfect”. However, I strongly disagree.