Chan Woo Kim

Sabatino Mangini
ENG 100

Growth Mindset and Fixed Mindset: First Draft

There are two mindsets in thinking about intelligencethe growth mindset and fixed
mindset. Those with a growth mindset, a concept developed by psychologist Carol Dweck,
a professor at Standford University, believe intelligence is fluid or can be developed by
ones effort. According to Dweck, (Ted Talk), scientific evidence indicates that neurons
strengthen their connections when people solve complicated problems. On the contrary,
those with fixed mindsets think that intelligence is inalterable. In his article The Perils of
Growth

Mindset

Education sociologist Alfie

Kohn,

the

matter

of

students

underperformance is curriculum not the mindsets. He said underperformance of students is

the matter of curricular rather than mindsets. There are a lot of controversies and still brain
functions are not completely discovered by scientists, so it is hard to say that one specific
theory is right. However, the theory intelligence is malleable is more dominant (nais).
Here is one article that shows two articles have right opinions about educations.
According to one report written by Cornell Universitys professor John H. Bishop, The
fundamental reason why American students, teachers, parents, and voters in school
elections are comfortable with significantly lower academic achievement than their

counterparts in Northern Europe is the absence of good signals of learning in secondary

school and consequent absence of powerful rewards for effort and learning in secondary
school.http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?
article=1104&context=workingpapers. It stands for both effort and curriculum matter in
students performances.
Alfie Kohn since he is a sociologist, he spoke with sociological perspective which
is social location; education, culture, social structure, and class, affects in forming ones
personality. However, Alfie Kohns opinion has a flaw. Carol Dweck is not a blind believer
in effort itself. Carol Dweck did not insist to praise effort itself, but praise students
strategies and processes and tie those to the outcome. She suggests phrase such like You
tried different strategies and you figured out how to solve the problem. However, Carol
Dwecks words are more trustworthy since her researches are based on scientific
approaches. Moreover, there is one more psychologist whose name is Angela Lee
Duckworth from the University of Pennsylvania. In her TED talk (Ted Talk), she said that
matter of success is not an intelligence but it is about grit, which is aspire to do
something with perseverance. For example, when she taught math to 7th grade students, the
outperformers were students who had more motivation to become good at math.
It stands for mindsets matter in our school performances. In my case, I did not have
talents in math, and to the extent that each math teacher that I met through 12 years called
me spas. Moreover, one of my math teachers told me to succeed my moms restaurants
since I am not enough smart to study. However, what happens not is I am teaching math to
my friends. Even though I was outstanding at every other subject, I seriously hated math

but, to enter a college in Korea I had to be outstanding in math. Therefore, I bet my life to
improve my math skills before a month I took my exam. The result was impressive, I got
only 3 errors in 30 problems. I am still proud of myself when I recollect that moment.
Afterward, I believe myself and try to have a grit. Angela Lee Duckworth said life is not
a sprint but marathon from TED talk. I totally agree with it. Every small moment that
people live composes future. It compels people to become motivational and makes them to
be excited when they think about their futures will be changed by hard working that they
are doing. So, it is essential to hold a mindset that lives out present fruitful and believes
oneself.
Most people agree with credible words of Carol Dweck and Angela L. Duckwort.
However, compromise of Carol Dweck and Alfie Kohn is required. It is because students
from Korean society is famous for high academic achievement. According to one research
called Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMISS), 8th grade of
Korean students got the highest level in mathematics among many of students from
experimental group countries. Many people think simply when public academic
achievement is high, all the problems will be solved, yet it is not. As Angela L. Duckworth
and Carol Dweck insisted, teachers in South Korea are very motivational to students and
they encourage their pupils a lot. Moreover, students in Korea also have grits to achieve
their goals, mostly Korean students have high academic achievements compared to many
other students from other countries. However, Korean students usually have more
depressions and high suicidal rates than students from other countries.

According to OECD statistics, Korean students have 29.1 percent of suicidal rate
which is the top among many OECD countries. People might think that high suicidal rate is
absurd even though Korean students are very academically successful and very
motivational. Still, people have to know that Korean students have to be oppressed because
of social structure that stresses study a lot. Korean culture is so-called scholars country
based on Confucianism. Therefore, people who have high knowledge always have been
respected and highly successful, so even in modern society, jobs like lawyer, doctor, and
high officials which require a lot of studies are mostly respected compared to soldiers and
police. Because of this cultural factor, Korean parents and society overly stress their
children to study hard not helping them finding their childrens dream. Thus, there are a lot
of smart students commit suicide even though they are successful in school. Living as a
Korean student is very barren and solidary, even though teenager life should be excited and
filled with dreams. The biggest problem is even if Koreans perceive their educational
structure is problematic, it is hard to revise structure at once which has been continued for
1000 years. Hence, people usually wrongly think that if teachers are motivational and
helpful, education system will be improved. However, it is not true, it is really important to
stress educational structure and importance of impeding right motivation to students are
important to make students study in happy and rightful motivational environments.