No longer touching the ground - Growth Mindset at Embark
Just last year I started mountain biking and it has been humbling, to say the least. As an adult, it had, seemingly, been years since I had been a true beginner at something. Sure, I could still ride a bike but going up and down hills, over rocks, and around trees was hard and more than once I humbly found myself looking up at the treetop and sky as I lay on the ground with my bike entangled with my limbs.
Last week, panting as I peddled back to my car, I was reflecting upon the upcoming school year at Embark and a growth mindset. Dr. Carol Dweck’s work on a fixed mindset vs. growth mindset has changed education. Simply put, a growth mindset is defined as the understanding that intelligence and abilities can be developed. At Embark Education, we strive to embody a growth mindset.
As we plan and prepare for students to arrive we constantly challenge ourselves to lean into discomfort, question our practice as educators, and build the foundations of a school that is truly about learners- to be a school that is founded upon a growth mindset. A voice echoes in my head, almost a mantra, to never settle for being a good school in a cool location. It isn’t always easy to embrace the challenges as an education team or as a novice mountain biker. Sometimes it would be easier to avoid the bumps, bruises and blows you take while still being a beginner. When I feel the twig poking me in the back and hear the flutter of my tire spinning freely because it is no longer touching the ground, I sometimes question why I took up a new sport. I was happy playing soccer and rock climbing, I have been doing both for years. However, as the Harvard Business Review captures, in their article What Having a “Growth Mindset” Really Means, it gives me a richer sense of who I am and gives me efficacy in my life beyond the times I actually do stay upright!
Similarly, at Embark it may have been easier to continue on a path we know and have traveled before, like settling into a schedule fraught with direct instruction instead of digging into how we can truly meet each learner where they are and support them in their next step as a learner. However, we know, unequivocally, that students deserve more and have done more than just design a school in two local businesses: they have created a schedule that embraces the clear research that teens need more sleep and recognizes the social and emotional needs of students; built systems to have students learning be meaningful and relevant; and partnered with other organizations such as Altitude Learning to ensure Embark students have learning platforms that continue to put them as the drivers of their learning.
At Embark, we do understand that intelligence and abilities can be developed- in our students, ourselves, and as a school. I have no doubt that in the future I will find myself, once again, tangled in my handlebars as I continue to grow my abilities on a bike, and similarly, we will embrace the challenges that are ahead in Embark’s journey.
If you would like to learn more about Embark I invite you to sign up for a personal or group tour on our Enrollment page. Just click the “Schedule a Tour” button and choose the best option for you.