Teaching a Healthy Growth Mindset

Sometimes I must remind myself that not all growth is healthy growth. And for a consistent reminder, I can always count on the garden.

These past few weeks marked the start of the school year for most of us and this often translates to excitement and anticipation for the year ahead. It also means we start thinking about all the growth that will occur this year (or that we hope will occur).

If we truly live with a spirit of “kaizen” or “continuous improvement” then we must always be seeking growth in key areas of life, but if we are not careful and intentional, that growth can lead to an imbalance in life. And this is especially true for our students. This is why, when we teach growth mindset to first year entrepreneurship students, we do it with an object lesson. Here’s how:

1. We start class by posing the question: “what’s the difference between healthy and unhealthy growth?”  

2. We then head to our outdoor gardens where the students are given time to move around (without phones) and take in everything they can about the space. They smell the leaves of the plants and feel their texture. They pull back in fright when they see the bees moving through the flowers. A lucky few even find some ripe blackberries.

3. We then return to the classroom for a discussion.

The truth is, I often want to lead the discussion by suggesting what I believe to be the difference between healthy and unhealthy growth, but I have to restrain myself and instead pose the question again to the students. Here are the typical replies:

“Some of the plants were not getting enough sun.”

“Some were getting too much sun and not enough water.”

“Some were growing too close together and didn’t look healthy.”

“The taller plants were overshadowing the smaller plants.”

“I noticed some weeds that were taking up space and keeping some plants from growing”

Eventually, one student will speak up and say, “The environment. The environment makes the difference.” This student will go on to explain that if the plants have the right environment, they can grow healthy, and even thrive.

This leads to the key connection question, “How does the environment in our own lives contribute to healthy or unhealthy growth?”

Using the object lesson of the garden, the students are able to use observations to draw conclusions about the nature of growth and arrive, on their own, at the understanding that not all growth is healthy but that, when intentionality is in place, we can all foster environments in our lives where healthy growth is encouraged. And when this happens, we can experience growth that is both THRIVING and FLOURISHING.

Let’s Go!

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