Saturday, July 19, 2014

Daily Mantra

Photo credit: www.hark.com
Does anyone remember Stuart Smalley from Saturday Night Live?  He had a little mantra that he said in every skit: "I'm good enough.  I'm smart enough.  And dog gone it, people like me." I know someone read that line out loud to their computer as they read this! :)

I have been reading a lot about growth v. fixed mindset in different blogs and tweets.  The other day I was thinking about how to increase my students' growth mindset when they come in with a fixed one.  I started thinking about self affirmations.  Would having a daily mantra that affirms their ability to succeed help change students views of math and their ability to do it?

I jotted this down on the back of an index card.  I kind of like it and am seriously considering using this to start my math classes this school year. 

Today is a great day to do math!
I am a mathematician.  

I know that being fast is not the same as being smart.
I know that I am smart enough to do all of the math that comes before me.
When I struggle, I know that I have the support of my peers and teacher to work through the frustration and succeed.
I know that success is not given; it is earned through hard work and dedication.
Today is a great day to do math!

Does anyone use a daily mantra or self affirmations in their classroom?  What have you observed?  I would be very interested to hear from you!

2 comments:

  1. As ridiculous as this may sound, when we are working on equations we all say together, "There is nothing more exciting than solving a multi-step equations, let's go!." Then of course they all laugh and roll their eyes:)

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    1. That's great Jan! I like it and will most likely be stealing it this year! Thanks for sharing!!

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