In a month filled with kindness and respect, a simple game of “Simon Says” teaches Growth Mindset.
October is National Anti-bully month and schools throughout the country celebrate by promoting acts of kindness and respect. It’s easily the most demanded month of my year. Schools celebrate this month with campaigns such as: “Acts of Kindess”: where every act of kindness performed during a designated time gets tallied. Once a goal is reached the students are rewarded with a school assembly (performed by me) or a teacher get pied in the face or hair colored (the kids love it). Respect Week is another program where each day of the week focuses on a different character trait and the students dress in costumes or pajama and perform special tasks to help promote kindness. It truly is a special month for schools and I get to travel the country a take part in these celebrations.
New York City was up next up on my tour schedule and Assistant Principal Dimitri Kryoneris of P.S. 173 had one special request, “Please focus on Growth Mindset”. I was taken back by the request because of what the month of October usually celebrates. “Our school is preaching growth mindset this entire year and the importance of learning through mistakes” Dimitri continued as I jotted down notes on my visit. That conversation got me excited and I was happy to customize my performance and dust off a very fun game of “Simon Says”.
I had students lined up across the width of the entire gym all ready to give their best shot at getting the best of Simon, aka yours truly. The winner would get a signed basketball and students gave me their best shot and in the end there was only one students left as the winner. A student who applied his knowledge of patient listening and learned from mistakes to improve as the game went on. “Mistakes are not a sign of failure, they are a sign of effort” I told the students shortly after the game. “You should be encouraged by mistakes, as they lead to improvement and one step closer to the your goal”. After a nice ovation, I gave away the basketball and concluded my assembly. Mr. Kryoneris thanked me again for fulfilling his request and teachers loved the messages that came with Simon Says.
“I'm a big fan of Growth Mindset--the Simon Says was an excellent concrete example that I've already referred to a few times last week. Thanks for joining us!”
Christine Truscello / P.S. 173, New York , NY
I can’t wait to come back again next year.
Until next time…
