DAVID SOCOL: The deep problem I have with the grit narrative lies in its flawed assumptions that if poor kids just work harder, with more focus, everything will be fine. Now everyone who has ever worked with at risk kids, children in poverty, knows that isnt true. What did my friend Chad say when a high school wrestler he coached got shot walking out of his house? He needed to work harder? What could I say to homeless kids I worked with in Grand Rapids when they struggled to stay awake in school? You just need to be more organized? What might I have said to the kids I knew in The Bronx who lived in a nightmare of poverty and violence? I wish youd pay more attention to your teacher? The grit narrative leaves out the entire socio-economic world which works against so many of our kids, and blames those kids for our failings. From David Socol: Angela Duckworths Eugenics - the University of Pennsylvania and the MacArthur Foundation speedchange.blogspot/2014/03/angela-duckworths-eugenics-university.html
Posted on: Wed, 29 Oct 2014 18:22:56 +0000