We talk a lot about a growth mindset at Glasshouse Christian College so when I came across this article adapted from Denis Waitley, I thought I would share it with you.
Sometimes, human beings behave like bees. If you put several bees in an open-ended bottle and lay the bottle on its side with the base toward a bright light, the bees will keep on flying to the bottom of the bottle towards the light. It never occurs to them to reverse gears and try another direction. This is a combination of genetic programming and learned behaviour.
Put a bunch of flies in that bottle and turn the base towards a bright light. Within a few minutes, all the flies will have found their way out. They try all directions—up, down, towards the light, away from the light, often bumping into the glass and into each other—but sooner or later they find the neck of the bottle and fly out the opening.
At school, you will be faced with many challenges as you seek the bright light of learning. Will you be a bee and stick to the way you have always done things or a fly, trying everything you can until you find the answer?
We often allow ourselves to become locked in our comfortable ways of doing things, even if we are getting nowhere and really want to be reaching in a new direction. What we’re doing may not be helping us, but at least it’s familiar.
One of the most important factors in achieving success at school and in life, is the willingness to try things out, to experiment, to test new ground. In fact, this is the only way to learn and progress – by trial and error.
Like the fly, try one way and then another until you succeed. Don’t worry about making mistakes along the way. That’s the way we all learn and that’s the way to develop a growth mindset.
Kiss and Go lane at the front of the College
To the west of the school crossing on Roberts Road on the school side of the road, there is a small area that once served as our Kiss and Go lane (our nickname for our express pick up and set down lane) until we built the current one.
Even though this area is no longer a patrolled express lane, I would ask all parents and people who make the collection and drop off each day to observe the signs and only use this area for quick drop-offs and collections. Please park for no more than two minutes during the peak collection and drop-off times (see photo).
It has been observed that when people do follow these rules the result is a much-improved traffic flow into and out of the College. However, all it takes is one car to overstay their welcome and the impact on the whole traffic flow is very pronounced.
The traffic flow during the peak times can be frustrating but following these simple rules is one simple and proven method to be part of the solution and not part of the problem.
Mike Curtis, Principal