One of the first things that struck me when I started work at NIST is how everyone has such a positive growth mindset. It’s really inspiring to be surrounded by people like that. And it sends such a great message to the kids: as educators, as human beings, we are still on a learning journey. You can never stop learning.
‘Oh, I already know that’ is something we say ourselves as adults when someone tells us something we think we know. But it’s also something kids say quite a lot in general (AND IT DRIVES ME NUTS) because they have heard or learnt it before. Having a growth mindset, however, calls for openness to new ideas and different perspectives. The same knowledge can present itself in different ways. Similarly, the same lessons can be delivered in different ways too.
There’s a Chinese proverb that goes like this: 一山还有一山高. It literally means there is always one mountain higher than the last.
For a time, I’ve been quite closed off to taking risks. But like my work mentor says, ‘I always tell the kids, every mistake is a learning opportunity.’ And it really made me think. Maybe I need to experiment more with new things. Maybe I need to take more risks.
As I rode on the back of a motorbike back home today, I was reflecting on the phrase ‘No regrets’. I’ve been hesitating to take risks for so long, because I didn’t want to live with the regret in case things go wrong. It really dawned on me that that is so far off from a growth mindset. With a growth mindset, regrets are part of the journey. Because no growth comes without its share of obstacles and mistakes.