Mrs. Kelly Kirwan: It’s All About Mindset
Hi guys, it’s Emma. Mrs. Kelly Kirwan is one of my favorite teachers at my school. She is one of the wisest and most compassionate people I know, and she is always open to helping me and other students with whatever we need. Mrs. Kirwan has graciously written an article for our website so that students can have a new perspective from a teacher (see our principal perspective here)! Here is Mrs. Kirwan’s article on surviving school:
“It’s All About Mindset.”
written by Kelly Kirwan
In 1997, an Italian director by the name of Roberto Benigni won an Academy Award for Best Foreign Film, Life is Beautiful. Many critics did not like the handling of the film’s subject matter. It used mild humor to confront the experiences of individuals in a World War II concentration camp and created a poignant story of survival. Essentially, the story recollected how a father motivated his young son to endure by playing daily games of pretend.
In one way, the story was about mindset. How would you find a way to save your child in a heavily armed camp where each day you wondered if you would live or die? Rather than give up in despair, the father found ways to help his son “see” the challenge as a game.
As the school year begins, I challenge young women to look differently at academic obstacles, much like the father helped his son do in Life is Beautiful. Anyone can choose the grumpy “too much work to do” method or the “I’m so stressed and overwhelmed” approach. Yes, there is a lot of work to do. And yes, in many cases your performance could be considered high stakes: the results will translate to grades on a report card that contribute to your GPA; the skills you learn or don’t learn may greatly affect results on standardized tests like the ACT or the SAT.
But rather than take the mainstream “my brain is wired for pain” attitude, what if, you instead saw the start of the school year as a chance to grow? Imagine if a farmer looked at an open field and thought “Wow, that’s a big piece of land to grow crops on; I’ll never be able to do it.” Rather, the farmer sees the potential for a huge harvest, a plentiful bounty. That is the opportunity that each new (emphasis on new) school year brings. You are a sum of your parts. You are stronger, smarter, wiser than past years. The subject matter may get tougher, but each year you are learning coping mechanisms for organization, breaking concepts down, managing your time, and stress management. Stop right now. Think about your past successes. What did you do to achieve those successes? How could you use those skills even better? How could you improve based on your past experiences? What goals do you want to reach?
You are a sum of your parts. You are stronger, smarter, wiser than past years. The subject matter may get tougher, but each year you are learning coping mechanisms for organization, breaking concepts down, managing your time, and stress management.
With a few manageable goals in mind, write them down and share them with someone, anyone. Research shows if you commit your goals to paper and you tell somebody those goals, then you will be more accountable for achieving them. By having a few goals in mind, you will have the chance to shape your focus and follow-through.
Years ago, when I was a freshman in high school, one of my favorite English teachers had a poster in her room. It featured a beautiful rock formation that let the light shine through. There was a quotation on the poster that read, “Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off the goal.” Automaker Henry Ford knew what he was talking about when he said those words. He knew the power of mindset. And now over 115 years later, his legacy survives, even though he does not. His story and the story of Life is Beautiful demonstrate the power of mindset. I challenge you to look forward and see the good in the next trial that comes your way. You can be a survivor. What does it take? A change in your mindset.