Grit is my favorite quality to teach students! It is the quality that keeps them going when times get tough. The skill that helps them overcome difficulties and adversity. How do we continue teaching students grit? Why is grit so important?

Teaching grit is challenging. How do you teach someone to keep trying and not give up? It seems like it should be a quality that students either have or don’t have. That is not true! We can empower and teach our students grit!

Grit is closely related to resilience. Studies show that people with resiliency are more successful in life and rebound from failure much easier.

How do we teach Grit?

One component of teaching grit is teaching students to have a growth mindset. This helps students understand that just because they don’t have it yet doesn’t mean they can’t achieve it. It establishes that life is about working towards something and not just having it instantly.

Another component of teaching grit is helping students understand that failure isn’t always a negative thing. We can turn our failures into successes.

Encourage grit in the classroom. Praise students when you see them continuing to work at something that is challenging. Encourage a gritty culture. Have students encourage one another when things get tough.

Practice grit. Give students problems that are challenging and require them to use grit. The more students exercise their grit muscle the stronger it becomes. Start your day with a gritty problem. This gives students an opportunity to practice in a safe place.

Utilize The Mind Trek Program to teach your students grit.

Try our free SEL lesson on failure!

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