The Power of "YET"

It is hard to believe that a simple three-letter word has the potential to impact a person's life in such drastic measures.  The word yet has the capability to be so powerful, that it can positively affect a child's growth, development and success in their life-long learning journeys.  This plays in part with an individual having a growth mindset, which is the key to success.  There are two types of mindsets, that being fixed or growth.  Educators should strive to encourage their students to develop a growth mindset because it allows students to challenge themselves, learn from their mistakes and create confidence in themselves.  They believe that through hard work and taking risks, their growth will be quite substantial compared to those with a fixed, or in other words closed mindset.  Part of learning is failure, and we shouldn't shy away from it, instead try to tackle it head on to correct our mistakes the next time around.  Educators should praise the effort and look for progress, building student's self-esteem and belief in themselves. 

 

When a child tells you, they cannot do or are not good at something, encourage them to finish those sentences with the word yet.  Yes, they might not be good at multiplication to begin the year, but they will continue to learn and work at it.  So instead, remind them that they may not be good at multiplication YET, but they will in-fact achieve success as the school year progresses!  Other possibilities include:

 

"I don't understand this" -> "I don't understand this yet"

 

"I'm not good at this" -> "I'm not good at this yet"

 

This isn't a concept that is going to be learned overnight, instead it has to be constantly introduced and reminded to students.  The word "yet" allows students the opportunity to realize that success isn't easily attainable, rather it is achieved through perseverance, hard work and dedication. 

 

This short clip from Sesame Street is a great example of how the power of yet should be portrayed in schools by educators.  The video demonstrates that if something doesn't work out right this moment, don't give up because you will eventually figure it out and learn how to do it!

 

Check it out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLeUvZvuvAs

 

Andrew@NU