Being "Smart"

The word “smart” gets tossed around a lot at school. Students can definitely point out the “smart kids” in their class. But what does “smart” actually mean to students?

My Smart Kid Is Suddenly Struggling!

Smart students should have started struggling back in kindergarten!

Smart Kids and the Curse of the Kidney Table

What happens when a student never gets called over to work with the teacher?

Beware Praising Easy Tasks, Even In Kindergarten

The “smart” label we give kids often really means “things are easy for you.” What are the ramifications of this dangerous praise?

What Does “Smart” Even Mean?

We praise kids for being “smart”, but what do we actually mean by it? What are we actually praising? It’s a surprisingly tricky word to figure out.

Teaching Students To Explain Their Thinking

It’s a weird trap: because a child is “so smart”, everyone thinks any gaps in their skills are a result of laziness or defiance. But sometimes the brightest kid needs small group instruction for a skill the rest of the class already gets.

Calvin: I Thought You Were Smart

A great strip from Calvin and Hobbes for opening up a discussion about hard work, being “smart,” and mindsets in the classroom.

Success Isn’t A Straight Line

Students I speak to have a powerful fear of making a life-altering mistake in their teens. Whether it’s a low grade, an easy class, or the wrong extracurricular, students think that an early error will derail their entire lives. They see life as a straight line.