Book Report: Grit

This book was a fantastic read about the power of passion and perseverance. To summarize, Dr.Duckworth  is a psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania. Her studies of grit began when she was teaching math to seventh graders. She realized IQ wasn't the only factor separating successful students from those who struggled, and that grit was the difference. She breaks down her book into three parts to help parents, teachers, and mentors to help guide students to achieve success for themselves and no one else. The first part talks about what grit exactly is and why it matters in life. Part two describes the four bases of grit which are interest, practice, purpose, and hope. While part three talks about how parents, teachers, and mentors can instill grit into their children and students. 

My favorite part was when she also mentions her personal struggles with her father. He always wanted her to be successful and had very conventional views about work and success. Every time she was shut down by her father, it gave her more drive and grit. This relates to Shackleton's voyage in Endurance because they all needed to have grit and passion to succeed in order to survive the journey. Each wave that crashed and wind that howled during Shackleton's journey was like Angelas father shutting her down during her life. I think younger students, especially middle and high school students need to read this book as a course requirement. It will help them gain a better understanding of the importance and power of grit so they can be ready for the next steps in their lives whether it is college, moving schools, or for any life situations they could come across.

Here is a link for her Ted Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H14bBuluwB8