How to Foster Growth Mindset in Trauma-Informed Classrooms

By Amanda C. Symmes, LICSW

I can clearly recall being in elementary school and having intense jealousy over my art teacher’s scissor skills. Project after project, I would marvel at how she wielded the pair of large “teacher-sized” shears and watch as she bent and rolled the paper in her hands, the sound of slicing paper giving way to perfection. One day I decided to comment on her gift, asking her where she got such a talent.

She stopped, looked at me, and very directly told me, “Thank you. But I was not always good at it. Lots of cutting helped me become a good cutter. You just have to keep doing it.” I remember sighing to myself at that reply, because it just seemed so hard. But in that moment, I believed her. I knew that if I kept doing the hard work of cutting, one day I would…