The combination of sustained hard work and resiliency, grit is the difference between those who give up and those who don't. Grit in the Classroom: Building Perseverance for Excellence in Today's Students assists educators in creating a learning environment that fosters grit development for all students, regardless of ability. Each chapter includes stories to illustrate the research and ideas presented and ends with discussion questions that can be used to continue the conversation. In an era of talent development and the pursuit of excellence, learners must be equipped with the perseverance that is essential to reaching high levels of success. This book provides a rationale for cultivating grit in the classroom with the goal of propelling this topic into discussions of building passion and talent in today's students.

For too long, educators have focused only on getting students ready for the next test, for the next grade, for graduation, or maybe for college. Students must be prepared to succeed in school, and they must know how to read, write, and calculate. But that's only the beginning. Our job--whether we teach kindergarten, 5th grade, or high school or we lead a school or district--is to prepare students for success in the real world. To do so, we must also teach grit. Grit is a combination of tenacity and perseverance--a willingness to take risks even if it means sometimes failing and starting again. Knowing how to respond to frustration and failure is essential whether a student struggles or excels. Veteran school leader and popular Educational Leadership columnist Thomas R. Hoerr shows what teaching for grit looks like and provides a sample lesson plan and self-assessments, along with a six-step process applicable across grade levels and content areas to help students build skills they need to succeed in school and in life.

In this instant New York Times bestseller, Angela Duckworth shows anyone striving to succeed that the secret to outstanding achievement is not talent, but a special blend of passion and persistence she calls “grit.” “Inspiration for non-geniuses everywhere” (People). The daughter of a scientist who frequently noted her lack of “genius,” Angela Duckworth is now a celebrated researcher and professor. It was her early eye-opening stints in teaching, business consulting, and neuroscience that led to her hypothesis about what really drives success: not genius, but a unique combination of passion and long-term perseverance. In Grit, she takes us into the field to visit cadets struggling through their first days at West Point, teachers working in some of the toughest schools, and young finalists in the National Spelling Bee. She also mines fascinating insights from history and shows what can be gleaned from modern experiments in peak performance. Finally, she shares what she’s learned from interviewing dozens of high achievers—from JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon to New Yorker cartoon editor Bob Mankoff to Seattle Seahawks Coach Pete Carroll. “Duckworth’s ideas about the cultivation of tenacity have clearly changed some lives for the better” (The New York Times Book Review). Among Grit’s most valuable insights: any effort you make ultimately counts twice toward your goal; grit can be learned, regardless of IQ or circumstances; when it comes to child-rearing, neither a warm embrace nor high standards will work by themselves; how to trigger lifelong interest; the magic of the Hard Thing Rule; and so much more. Winningly personal, insightful, and even life-changing, Grit is a book about what goes through your head when you fall down, and how that—not talent or luck—makes all the difference. This is “a fascinating tour of the psychological research on success” (The Wall Street Journal).

Examines major myths informing American education and explores how educators can better serve students, increase college retention rates, and develop alternatives to college that don’t disadvantage students on the basis of race or income Each year, as the founding headmaster of the Boston Arts Academy (BAA), an urban high school that boasts a 94 percent college acceptance rate, Linda Nathan made a promise to the incoming freshmen: “All of you will graduate from high school and go on to college or a career.” After fourteen years at the helm, Nathan stepped down and took stock of her alumni: of those who went to college, a third dropped out. Feeling like she failed to fulfill her promise, Nathan reflected on ideas she and others have perpetuated about education: that college is for all, that hard work and determination are enough to get you through, that America is a land of equality. In When Grit Isn’t Enough, Nathan investigates five assumptions that inform our ideas about education today, revealing how these beliefs mask systemic inequity. Seeing a rift between these false promises and the lived experiences of her students, she argues that it is time for educators to face these uncomfortable issues head-on and explores how educators can better serve all students, increase college retention rates, and develop alternatives to college that don’t disadvantage students on the basis of race or income. Drawing on the voices of BAA alumni whose stories provide a window through which to view urban education today, When Grit Isn’t Enough helps imagine greater purposes for schooling.

Speaking out against decades of injustice and challenging deficit perceptions of young learners and their families, It’s Not About Grit pulls back the veil, revealing the social systems that marginalize and stigmatize mostly poor, urban students of color and their communities. At the same time, author Steven Goodman, founding executive director of NYC’s highly acclaimed Educational Video Center (EVC) for nearly 35 years, shows the tremendous intelligence, resilience, and sense of agency of these students. Through the students’ in-school and out-of-school experiences, enhanced with a curriculum guide and award-winning video clips from EVC, Goodman encourages educators to make a difference and demonstrates how to create a safe and inclusive school climate where their teaching responds to students’ culture, race, gender, sexual orientation, language, housing status, and ability. Teachers will use this book to develop a pedagogy of transformative teaching. “To those of you who are educators, teaching in ‘revolting times,’ under difficult circumstances, working with students who need you as much as ever, this book is a gift and a life raft.” —From the Foreword by Michelle Fine, distinguished professor at the Graduate Center, CUNY “This is a vivid and arresting answer to a newly cultish fashion . . . a terrific book and badly needed at this time when ‘grit’ has become the magic word in pedagogic thinking about inner-city kids.” —Jonathan Kozol, education activist and bestselling author “This book reads like an absorbing documentary; these are stories that need a public response to match the work of EVC.” —Deborah Meier, education reform leader “Nobody knows better than Steve Goodman how to help young people tell their stories and, in the process, empower themselves with research and video skills and an activist sense of justice.” —Joseph P. McDonald, professor emeritus, New York University

Ready-to-Use Resources for Grit in the Classroom provides tools to help teachers, students, and families understand and foster passionate, creative, and curious grit in all students. It can be difficult and time consuming to figure out how to develop grit in the classroom. This resource includes student activities and mini-lessons that can be completed in fewer than ten minutes, with activities on topics from goal setting, to re-examining failure, to optimism. Interactive and engaging, this book challenges students to rethink failure, push past obstacles, and passionately pursue their interests. Featuring helpful teacher instructions and reproducible handouts for each activity, Ready-to-Use Resources for Grit in the Classroom is the perfect addition to any educator's social-emotional learning library.

Next-level teachers are anything but average. They're willing to use any and every strategy to reach students, increase motivation, and improve student outcomes. A next-level teacher never settles for the status quo. Instead, they ignite students' passion for learning, and that enthusiasm spreads through the whole school. What's more, next-level teachers can create school environments so exciting and electric that not only the students but even other teachers and administrators are inspired to greatness. Whether he's creating unique content-retention strategies, collaborating with streetwear brands, or bringing out-of-the-box guest speakers into the classroom, award-winning teacher Jonathan Alsheimer never says no to an opportunity to incorporate innovative tools in his teaching. With unstoppable enthusiasm, in Next-Level Teaching Alsheimer demonstrates how educators can: generate productive excitement in students using nonacademic strategies; transform student enthusiasm into engagement; create powerful relationships with students and colleagues; seek out every chance to be a positive, motivating influence; and become valued assets not only in the classroom but throughout the school. With dedication, creativity, and a vision of what's possible, any educator can be that teacher for their students. Are you ready to level up?