john wayne grit

I have read recent posts where the well-meaning authors suggest that “neophyte teachers” need to be “grittier” and essentially refrain from being “quitters”.  That might raise an “Oorah” (that’s the marine battle cry) from some, but I personally found it abrasive and offensive to all the hard working teachers I’ve supported.  Grit isn’t something that people are born with…it is developed over time.  I think the point is important, but I don’t believe telling folks to be “grittier” is going help them to perform any better.

As a former boxer and current professional mixed martial arts coach, I would have been very unsuccessful if I had simply thrown fighters into the ring or cage without the skill sets necessary to effectively fight, and then told them to show some “grit” as they took a beating.  Most would have left the gym inside of a week, and probably with a broken nose and damaged self-esteem.  As it is, I’ve been able to share in development of many champions, including the M-1 Global Heavyweight Champion of the world who held the title for 3 years.  All of my champions had “grit”, but I along with other coaches fostered this “grit” through shaping (positively reinforcing incremental steps towards desired goals) and systematic generalization of the skills. Giving a person a difficult task and then expecting them to do it doesn’t develop true “grit”; rather, it’s about the reinforcement received for sticking to challenging tasks for progressively greater lengths of time. This concept is especially important in child development or when developing new skills.  See my post on the topic:  https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/part-2-what-leaders-principals-managers-coaches-can-paul-gavoni-ed-d?trk=mp-author-card…It is not my intent to sound boastful or suggest that “grit” is not important.  I am trying to draw an analogy between fighter development and teacher development while squashing the notion that telling folks to be “grittier” in any field will effectively develop perseverance.  In fact, it’s most likely to cause conflict and evoke an emotional reaction (much like this post!!).

A big issue is that too many teachers AND leaders are coming into education unprepared for the demands of the school and classroom.  When students fail, we blame the teacher.  What about failure of the teachers?  Who is responsible for this? With 50% of teachers leaving the field inside of 5 years, I’d say the educational system is failing them.  Too many teacher development programs are not preparing teachers for the reality of the school, and too many leadership develop programs are not preparing leaders to meet the needs of the teachers so they can effectively foster student achievement.  Why aren’t we effectively measuring teacher and leadership development programs (i.e. colleges) by the success of the teachers and leaders?  There…I feel better.  🙂

Paul ImagePaul has successfully supported multiple struggling schools in the turnaround process. As a behavior analyst who concentrates on organizational behavior management and behavioral leadership, Paul provides administrative teams, teachers, and staff with coaching and consultation in analyzing and developing behavior and performance management systems directly aligned with student achievement. Contact Paul at gavonip@hotmail.com or check out schoolleadershipsolutions.com for more tips and thoughts on leadership and behavior strategies within the school setting.