S+, S+, S+

Lessons from Second Grade

“She may have a learning disability”, these are the words my parents heard from my second-grade teacher when discussing my performance in the subjects of Reading and Writing. In order to determine if I had a learning disability, I had to read into a tape recorded at home, and attend the ‘special class’ down the hall for those subjects. I knew without a doubt I did not want to be in that ‘special class’, I remember asking how long I had to attend, and what I needed to do in order to return to the ‘normal’ class. Once the specifications of my release were established, I doubled my efforts and was out after six classes.

I remember working hard, I remember putting in extra time but I don’t remember those efforts in a negative way, and my report card may explain why. There’s a section entitled “Social and Work Habits”, with grades of either S (Satisfactory) or H (Having Difficulty) in which I earned the grade of S+ in “Displays a Positive Attitude” six out of twelve times from first through fourth grade. I basically received an A+ in positivity, and three of those were earned in second grade. Second grade when my whole class knew I was having a hard time learning (when a few kids have to leave everyone notices) and when I was confronted with the possibility of having a learning disability (which I basically just knew wasn’t a label I wanted) I still maintained an outstandingly positive attitude. I remember thinking, nothing about this is definite, just because I’m in this special class now doesn’t mean I’ll always be, and never for a second did I question my own power in changing my circumstances. I had what we now refer to as a “Growth Mindset”, which was termed by Carol Dweck

“In a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work—brains and talent are just the starting point. This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment.”.

My starting point was behind others, but that’s all it was to me, a starting point, the finish line was a long way off and the race was mine to run. I needed that reality check; I needed the humiliation of being taken out of the ‘normal’ class to spur me to action. I soon realized that I couldn’t just put in that type of effort once, no this was going to be a long journey for me, and all the way through middle school, English - writing in particular, would require more from me than other subjects.

This dedication was noted by several of my teachers on my report cards:

“She works hard at writing and has completed some fine stories” – 2nd Grade

“I have seen a change in Liz’s attitude, she seems to care more about her writing and spelling” – 3rd grade

“She is working hard to improve her creative writing and grammar” – 4th Grade

Still, being a kid, my effort ebbed and flowed and when I did finally write an essay worthy of an A, my sixth-grade teacher questioned its authenticity. For some that would have been an insult or a blow to their self-esteem, but to me it meant damn right, all this work is finally paying off and my writing has noticeably improved.

Having a growth mindset requires a certain amount of faith, a belief that with effort you can improve and what is having a positive attitude but the belief that things will get better, that there’s always an opportunity if you choose to look for it. I firmly believe that a positive attitude is fertile ground for a growth mindset. Start focusing on what is good, start seeing the opportunities not the obstacles and perhaps you’ll end up authoring a blog even though writing was your most challenging subject in school.

Elizabeth SimmonsJune 28, 2020