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Carol S. Dweck's The Secret To Raising Smart Kids

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The definition of intelligence has strongly been debated over for many centuries, and many individuals have their arguments for what it is. So what is really the true meaning of intelligence? Some, such as college professor of psychology, Carol S. Dweck, strongly believes that intelligence is something achieved through large amounts effort and having optimistic mindsets as inferred in her article, “The Secret to Raising Smart Kids”. However, on the other hand, successful author of best selling novel “Steve Jobs”, Walter Isaacson, claims that intelligence is an abstract idea that is derived from ingenuity and applying creativity to life and other material concepts. With almost completely opposite sets of beliefs, it is likely that Dweck will not agree with Isaacson’s nation of intelligence being derived from natural intuition rather than raw intelligence. …show more content…

She states, “...a genius, is typically the result of years of passion and dedication,” (line 369-370). Effort is what leads to academic achievement, not pure brain power. The amount of effort in which a student puts into their schooling determines the lengths they are willing to take to achieve in education. Their persistence leads to their brilliance, which helps perpetuate their ability to challenge oneself and strive for greater. Also, Dweck believes that intelligence is not a fixed trait. It shows in the quote “...a growth mindset, which encourages a focus on effort rather than on intelligence or talent, helps make them into high achievers in school and in life” (lines 43-46). Intelligence is like a spectrum, in which a person is not simply bolted down to a certain point in said spectrum. The idea of being able to grasp that intelligence isn’t predetermined is what Dweck highly focuses on in her concept of a growth mindset and the idea that the lengths a person is willing to go to get smarter is the fulcrum that dictates their

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