This book, written by Ellen Galinsky, a former NAEYC President, has had a greater impact on my professional thinking than any book I have read in a long time. The cover of this book gives a hint of what is to come. It is a simple picture: a stack of seven colored marshmallows, with the title written across the picture.
Have you heard of the “marshmallow test?” This was a research experiment originally conducted in the late 1960’s at Stanford University by Dr. Walter Mischel, and it continues to be replicated today. A researcher takes a child in a bare room with just a table and two chairs. On the table is a plate with one large marshmallow. The researcher tells the child that she could either eat the one marshmallow now, or if she is willing to wait for a few minutes, she could have two marshmallows when he comes back. Obviously, the researcher is looking at whether the child can delay gratification, a component of self-control. In the original study, researchers followed the children into their adulthood and discovered that the ability to wait at four years of age is really quite predictive of success in college and in life.
On this book cover, each marshmallow represents one of the seven essential life skills every child needs. Galinsky believes that these skills are needed for success, not only in school, but also in life; that they are developing in very young children; that they can be taught in simple ways by parents and teachers; and that it is never too late to teach people these skills. The essential skills are:
- Focus and self-control
- Perspective taking
- Communicating
- Making connections
- Critical thinking
- Taking on challenges
- Self-directed, engaged learning
The book is composed of one chapter on each of these skills. The chapters have a standard format: discussion of recent research on the skill, including relevant brain research; and then a variety of simple and practical strategies to teach that skill.
What I especially appreciate about this book is how simply it is written. For example, in the first chapter on focus and self-control, Galinsky discusses “executive functions” of the brain. I have read about executive functions in several sources, but I never came away with a solid understanding of what it really meant. After reading this book, however, I do have that understanding: it is simply the ability to use the knowledge and skills you have to accomplish goals. I have often told parents and teachers, “It’s not what you know that’s important, it’s what you do with what you know that’s important.” Little did I know that I was talking about executive function!
Chapter 1 also discusses the components of focus and self-control. So often in teaching, we identify that a child has an issue with self-control, but we aren’t able to pinpoint it further than that. This book gives us a place to start: to pinpoint the specific component that is problematic, and then focus on teaching that component skill.
I had a large “aha” moment when I finished reading this book, particularly after reading the chapter on self-directed, engaged learning. (Maybe it wasn’t as much an “aha” moment as it was an affirmation of my beliefs in a well-articulated manner.) I work for a large, diverse, urban school district, and so much focus is being given to improving the quality of teaching the content of the curriculum to decrease the achievement gap and the drop-out rate. What I can articulate more clearly after reading this book is that it is not just the lack of knowledge and the ability to read and do math that is hurting our kids – it is also the lack of these seven essential skills, which are all essential for self-directed, engaged learning for life.
The challenge I’m left with – and the challenge I issue to all of you who read this book – is how we can use this information with parents, with other teachers, and with school personnel to make a difference in educational outcomes, so that kids leaving high school have not only the academic knowledge they need to be happy and productive citizens, but also these seven essential life skills. Only then will we truly be producing life-long learners.
Blog post written by: Leslie Meisner
Head Start/ ECEAP Director, Tacoma Public Schools
Former WAEYC President
I am especially interested in how the book Mind In the Making might be used as an Early Learning manual for new recruits entering into the field of Early Learning.
ReplyDeleteSo often in my experiences in child care settings, I do not see trained individuals who can relate to how young children can benefit from the points and ideas outlined in the first two chapters.
The examples Ellen Galinsky gives are so poignant and crucial to the whole child.
In Skill Two, "Perspective Taking" a child who experiences these skills,in their home and school,would hold the life long gift of harmonious exchanges.