Edit: LOL love the responses. You ain’t wrong…
Edit2: I posted this for giggles and have enjoyed it immensely. Thanks for the “parenting advice” (rolls eyes). My daughter is a shit show, but I wouldn’t trade her in for anything. She has three daughters, one of which is exactly like her and the two others are not. So…
As the parent of a 13-year-old, that wouldn’t work either. They’d just pout and tell you that you think they can’t do anything right.
Not that getting angry helps, that makes it worse. Bargaining can work though. Promising bubble tea from a local cafe if they do it right goes a long way toward committing a teenager to education.
This method of bribery also works on supreme court judges.
What you described just now is known in teaching circles as a “fixed mindset”. A person decides they can’t do a thing because that’s just how things are. No two people are the same, but you might be able to foster more of a “growth mindset” by continuing that conversation…
“No, don’t sell yourself short. This is just something you’re not good at yet. Come on, let’s see how we can do this better together. It’ll only take a minute.”
I’m pretty sure it’s what’s known as being a teenager considering it’s the way most teenagers I’ve been around, including myself and my friends when we were teens, act.
Yeah, I was that way with many things as a teen. I still get that way as an adult. I don’t like cooking because I’m intimidated by the effort, and I often tell people I don’t cook well. It’s a fixed mindset. However, I have a student from Poland. She took a family pieroski recipe from her grandmother, translated it into English, and gave it to me because it’s her favorite dish, and she thought I should try it.
Obviously, I had to do it while my wife took pictures. And you know what? They turned out pretty good! In fact, I’d like to do it again, and I think next time I can do them even better.
I think the biggest challenge to fostering a growth mindset is overcoming reluctancy to just try. As a teacher, it’s something I try to listen for from my students.