Growth Mindset and Humility

Dear Parents and ACCS Friends,
This is already Week 27––can you believe it? So much to do in only 14 weeks! For this month’s instalment, let’s let Scripture speak to us about Humility as we read in Philippians 2:3, 4: “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.” As we reflect on the culmination of Jesus’ ministry in His death and resurrection, we see more than just a good example to us. Let’s not, however, overlook His example to us in this area. Can I truly say that I do NOTHING through selfish ambition? Or pride? Why was Paul even concerned about that? As long as we do good things, isn’t that the main point? No. The Christian message goes right to the heart; it asks, “WHY do you do the ‘good’ things?” It even goes so far as to say that the ‘good things’ are not really good things at all if they do not proceed from a heart of love and devotion to God.

As part of my effort to keep us abreast of educational issues, consider this the 25 Simple Ways To Develop A Growth Mindset. In a nutshell, A “growth mindset,” as Dweck calls it, is pretty much exactly what it sounds like: a tendency to believe that you can grow. In her book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, she explains that while a “fixed mindset” assumes that our character, intelligence, and creative ability are static givens which we can’t change in any meaningful way, a growth mindset thrives on challenge and sees failure “not as evidence of unintelligence but as a heartening springboard for growth and for stretching our existing abilities.”
The consequences of believing that intelligence and personality can be developed rather than being immutably engrained traits, Dweck found in her two decades of research with both children and adults, are remarkable. She writes: “Believing that your qualities are carved in stone creates an urgency to prove yourself over and over. If you have only a certain amount of intelligence, a certain personality, and a certain moral character, well then you’d better prove that you have a healthy dose of them. It simply wouldn’t do to look or feel deficient in these most basic characteristics.”
The fixed mindset can negatively impact all aspects of your life, Dweck says, but positively, “not only are people with a growth mindset not discouraged by failure, but they don’t actually see themselves as failing in those situations–they see themselves as learning.”

Are you up for a challenge? A ship is sailing in the Atlantic ocean … it sinks and every single person dies…. Four people who had been on the ship are later rescued–alive. How is that possible? (solution below) …And, did you know? God’s precision may be observed in the hatching of eggs. For example: the eggs of the potato bug hatch in 7 days; those of the canary in 14 days; those of the barnyard hen in 21 days; eggs of ducks and geese hatch in 28 days; those of the mallard in 35 days; eggs of the parrot and the ostrich hatch in 42 days. They are all divisible by seven, the number of days in a week!

Serving together for God’s honour,

Mr. Richard Sommer, Principal

PS. In the last few weeks, we shared this and we thought we should pass it on to you. Our school is a member of the Christian School Foundation. There are over seventy Christian schools who are members, which means that if you want to give a gift to support two, three, or five Christian schools, you can do so by giving one gift to the Foundation and having them distribute it on your behalf. If you would like to have a simple way to bless several Christian schools, contact our school office or office@christianschoolfoundation.ca and we will help make this happen!

Solution: They are married, not singles!




Reflections