There was an interesting guest commentary in today's New York Times by Angela Duckworth, author of "Grit," which basically argues that willpower is overrated.
Her thesis is, simplistically perhaps, to do our best to remove the "objects of temptation" from our immediate vicinity. For instance, she cited a study that showed students who left their phones in another room when studying had statistically higher grades than those who had their phone nearby, even if screen-side down.
She contrasted this simple tactic of creating the slightest lack of convenience in grabbing the seductive device with exhortations to "just do it" or to simply try harder.
It occurred to me that I will likely share this article with my college students this coming semester, coupling it with some direct advice about finding a quiet location to read and write (not to mention doubling down on my regular advice to create a personal schedule for our course work).
I also thought of how much I like to enjoy some candy after lunch, if the candy jar is full and not far away. It's probably not a great idea and I certain know it's not a good idea, but what's the harm in a mini-chocolate or two? Kathleen's "fix" was to simply stop buying discounted bags of candy. Not surprisingly, when the candy jar sat empty, I managed to continue my life without those little chocolate "hits."
Shockingly, with lots of tasty Christmas cookies currently in the house, my lack of grit has returned with a vengeance. My only hope is that the cookies eventually will be eaten, thus removing the temptation, if not my excess pounds.
I likely am not remembering all the subtleties of "Grit," which I read some years ago, but my impression was basically that the quality of grit had at least as much to do with someone's success as any other factor, including raw intelligence or physical strength. Students who stuck with it - whatever "it" was - saw a pay off, for instance, and that implied that willpower was essential.
I have often criticized the common advice from my own past teachers and coaches to "try harder," since I never could quite figure out how to do that. Should I squint more or create some tighter muscular intensity? Finding no answer tended to lead to me experimenting with something different... to not just doing more of what was clearly not working very well. Such experiments are hit and miss, of course.
A related idea might be to "wish harder" or "pray harder." No one really knows what those mean, either, beyond investing more time on the task. But more time on task can lead to simply repeating the same actions or thinking over and over... leading to frustration. There is an old teaching cliche that boils down to "some who have taught for 30 years have simply repeated one year over and over..." and I have actually seen some teachers who fit that description, with 30 years of service but one year of experience.
I long ago decided that the time between semesters is where I can reinvent curriculum and specific lessons, gather new readings or online resources, and generally try to find better ways to help students develop as thinkers and writers.
I know this: for my college students, simply repeating "try harder" is not working.
Something in vogue in college instruction currently is being "radically transparent," which basically seems to mean that instructors should provide specific roadmaps, explaining all steps along the way, and providing extensive models and "scaffolding," all building to the outcome that the course demands.
In other words: no surprises.
That seems a bit too much like a cookbook approach to me, with the goal of education to follow a recipe for success. True education should lead to something new, while training leads to uniformity. Well, that's been my advice to students for decades now.
What I am always looking for in student writing is to be surprised, at least a little.
Here's hoping that I find create courses that support more surprises in 2026.
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