The Right Mindset to Help Learners Succeed based on a decade of Educational Leadership in Shanghai, China

Dr. Martin Luther King once said “Don’t judge a book by its cover” and this is something that I wholeheartedly believe in. It’s a philosophy that can help people make the right decisions for themselves and their families. Essentially, in this statement, King was suggesting that the true value of something lies its essence; its qualities below the surface as opposed to its surface attributes. This understanding rings true in every walk of life, especially education. Every parent wants their child to go to Harvard or one of the top schools in the world, which is good and aspirational; however, the best schools are not the best at everything. If your child is interested in art, maybe the top art school in the country might be a better option than sending your child to the Ivy League. Looking beyond the superficial is key when choosing the right educational opportunities, the right schools and the right community of teachers for your children. 

Not all learning programs are created equal and not all learning programs are ideal for your child although they may be popular with many. The key to understanding what the best learning environment will be in your child lies not in choosing an institution based on name, reputation or popularity, it lies in understanding your child’s unique set of skills and how the institution can enhance those skills. This means that we have to do some research to find the right place, environment and conditions where our children can thrive. 

Think about it like this. Plants need water but not all plants thrive in conditions where there is too much water and many plants cannot thrive in places where there is too little water. If I give a cactus too much water, it will not thrive. If I forget to water my tulips after a couple of weeks, I will need to buy more seeds! It is similar thing when it comes to educating our children. There is no one size fits all. We have to think and think again to truly ensure that we are providing the best environment and support for our children.

These past 10 years have been an extraordinary opportunity for us to learn connect with hundreds of students and parents and teachers from all over the world. The challenges behind connecting such diverse people and cultures have been great indeed. However, through language teaching, we have managed to create a unique bond between people by helping students to communicate and express their ideas in English. The ultimate goal then is to create students who are multilingual, multicultural and possess the values of integrity, honesty, respect and compassion for others. When these students become adults, we believe that they will be able to create a better, more integrated world where all people have the chance to succeed if they so put their minds to it. 

During these past ten years, we have taken our students on a journey. We have learned English through song, dance, role plays and movies. We have travelled to the China Art Museum and done research reports. We have performed on the stage, told jokes, studied hard and completed quizzes. We have written poems, advertisements as well as created posters and PowerPoint presentations. Amazingly, our students have done all of these things using their English language skills. As we move forward, it is necessary at times to reflect on the lessons of the past. In these lessons, we learn something about ourselves and each other. As we keep score and look for ways to improve, these lessons serve as insight, a guiding light, that ever so subtly pushes us to the next level of performance. It is with this in mind that I share with you 10 lessons that we learned these past ten years as teachers, parents and most importantly, as students:

1. Student interest and motivation come first: Improvement cannot take place without the desire to achieve and that is why it is important that students are motivated to learn. 
2. Teaching is an art: Only teaching from the textbook is not enough to help students achieve. A good teacher is one who can reach deep and bring out the best in his or her students. This requires many years of practice, a keen mind with great observation skill and a genuine desire to want students to succeed. 
3. Technology is important: Language learning can be enhanced by use of technology in the classroom. Countless research studies support this. For example, some studies show us that students can actually get higher test scores when technology is used in the class to support their learning. 
4. Keeping score is important: It’s important to keep track of student performance and to chart their progress as well as inform parents about what they can do to support student development. 
5. Students need to learn 21st century skills: Students need to learn how to collaborate, innovate, solve problems, be creative, use technology as well as communicate confidently in order to succeed in the future. 
6. We need to celebrate diversity: No matter our race or what culture we come from or what language we speak, we are the same. We have the same hopes and aspirations, problems and hardships. The more we learn about each other, the more our stereotypes are dispelled and the more we come to appreciate each other.
7. Find their passion: To achieve our goals, we need passion. Passion comes from being on one’s purpose and devoting oneself to his or her unique cause. With passion, we can tap into a reservoir of limitless creativity and expression. It’s important that we teach students to find their passion. 
8. Communication is key: Teachers and parents need to be in constant communication with one another to support student development. Strong leadership is necessary to connect everyone in the learning process to ensure the success of the center. That said, we cannot forget about our students. Their opinions matter as well. It’s important that we listen to our students and make improvements with their feedback too!
9. Students need to move: Sitting for hours in chairs isn’t good for anyone. It’s important to let our students move around, sing, dance, do some research or simply reflect while standing. It is said that during ancient times, philosophers such as Plato and Socrates would have classes outside walking around with their students and reflecting on the world. Likewise, we believe that learning should target all of the senses and cater to the multiple intelligences of our students. Some of students are linguistics. Others are artistic. And yet others have spatial awareness and a few are musical. We have to reach out to all of these students in the classroom using a variety of teaching methods and styles. ‘
10. Everyone can succeed: We have had students from a cornucopia of differing backgrounds. No matter what their skill or level of learning, we have found that all students can be supported to achieve their learning goals. They only need the right kind of nurturing and guidance from teachers and parents in order to reach their desired destination. 

The Right Mindset

Let’s discuss some of the principles we learned from the parents of students who achieved high scores academically at our center for the past 10 years. These are important principles we can teach our children if we want them to grow up to be productive, healthy, positive and nurturing human beings. I am talking about training our children to be impactful and achieve success in school. However, before our children can be successful, they need to adopt the right mindset. These six important actions should be nurtured by parents and teachers in order to ensure student success. 

1. Learning English takes time: Don’t expect your child to master every grammar target and all vocabulary taught after one class. Language learning doesn’t work like that. What we do know is that each student acquires vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation as well as fluency skills at his or her own rate. Differences in levels of acquisition emerge from genetics, target language and cultural familiarity, personality characteristics (e.g. introverted or extroverted) among other factors. As a result, try not to compare your child with other children. Instead, focus on your child’s unique skills and think how the center and family at home can support your child’s academic and language development. 
2. Take responsibility: Children need to understand that there are consequences for their behavior and that we reap what we sow. Learning this earlier is better. We do not blame others but look at how our own actions have affected the outcome. If we get low scores, do not ask the teacher what can be done first. First, ask your child what he or she WILL do differently next time and then consult with your child’s teacher to turn the plan into action. Taking responsibility means that all children should come to class prepared. They should bring a notebook, pencils as well as their completed homework to class. Students should have also reviewed the previous class content at home as well. 
3. Get started now: Children need to learn to act. What can we do now, today to make our lives better? All that is guaranteed is now and so we have to train our children to make the most of it. We need to teach our children to be proactive, move forward and solve problems.
4. Make plans: Children have dreams, hopes and aspirations. For the adults reading this, you can fondly remember your childhood days, the places you thought you would go or things that you thought you would do. Dreaming is important and those dreams are what we want our children to hold on to even as they get older. But dreams without plans to make them come true are mere fantasy at best. Help your child connect to their dreams by helping them to understand what it takes to make those dreams come true. For example, if your child wants to become a doctor, talk with your child about what he or she has to do to become a doctor; what courses he or she needs to study. Take your child to meet with successful people in the field they want to enter so that they can get insight into what it takes to be the person they would like to become.
5. Understand the importance of working with others: Most tasks in this life involve others. We need to teach our children to start thinking in terms of Win-Win cooperation. We benefit when we are considerate of others needs in addition to our own. Children must also start to think about how can they positively contribute to the world around them. Volunteering, recycling, and helping the elderly are good ways to start. 
6. Listen well: It’s important that our children become good listeners. To this end, parents are encouraged to ask their children about what they have been learning in class. Many parents will be surprised if their children say that they do not know or remember. The problem isn’t the lesson. The issue is that we have to teach our children to listen actively and recall what they have learned. Parents should strive to ask their children about their daily school lives. Ask questions such as: What was the most exciting thing you heard today? What did the teacher talk about today in class?What did your best friend say to you today? In the beginning, your child will have difficulty recalling all of these details. However, as you make this a daily habit and routine, your child will start to listen more actively and will be able to recall more and more. 
7. Balance is important: Last but not least, we need to train our children to take care of themselves. Balance is the key here. We must ensure that our children do not eat too many snacks or junk food. We need to encourage our children to eat more healthy food and exercise properly. Only exercising during PE class is not enough to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Children also need quiet time as well to reflect, think and refresh themselves. During this time, children should be encouraged to do nothing for about 10-15 minutes; no iPads, no books and no music. Just sit quietly. This can help our children to gain a better perspective on their lives and also prepare their minds to make the right decisions.