With the big push for growth mindset in today’s classrooms, what are you as the teacher doing to ensure you help your students with this task. After all – it’s our job to help them not only begin to master a growth mindset in the classroom, but in life as well.
So think about this…
How does it make students feel when you say, “Ok, this is easy?” Yes, maybe it is easy for half or even three quarters of the class. Perhaps it’s even easy for 90% of your students. But what about that one student that it’s not easy for? What have you just done to their self image and feeling of self worth since they can’t answer the “easy” question.
I first heard to avoid this phrase back during my student teaching. It was the most valuable piece of information I took away from that in-service, and it has stuck with me to this day. My cooperating teacher and I had quite a conversation about it because it was a phrase she used regularly in her classroom, and I had become guilty of it as well. We made a pact to not say it again and let the other one know if we caught them without their realizing it!
I try very hard to avoid this phrase in my room every year. When I have students blurt out, “That’s so easy!” we have a discussion shortly thereafter. I want students to realize the power those three little words can have. We all have different strengths and weaknesses in life, so we don’t want to make others feel bad because something is easy for us. After all, there will be a time when something isn’t so easy for us!
Students successes and failures today – and particularly what they learn from them – set them up for being productive citizens in the future who don’t give up easily. With the every changing technology our students are sure to face – this is going to be huge! We want to make sure our language and the words we choose provide a growth mindset.
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This is so true. Thanks for reminding me.
The other phrase I don't like hearing is "I can't". We have a rule in my classroom. "Can't is not allowed."
Charlene/Diamond Mom
Diamond Mom's Treasury
"This is easy" and "I can't" are two phrases I discourage my students from saying and I avoid them as well. If a student says this is easy I challenge them to make it harder. The first week of school we talk about how everyone is here to learn and if your doing something that's easy you probably aren't learning much.
That's so true! Thanks for sharing! What's easy for one may not be easy for another.
What a great reminder.
What we say in my class is "That's do-able". They Recognize that "Easy" is hurtful but if something is easy or difficult, it can be done or accomplished with a little (hard) work.
I tell my students "What's easy for one person is not always easy for everybody. And when we say something's easy it can make another student feel bad." I say this quite often at the beginning of he year, so often with one group that they could quote me on it by the end of the year! Also, when I have students say "I can't" I have them repeat the phrase "I can do hard things," sometimes more than once to rebuild their confidence.