Failure is information-we label it failure, but it's more like, 'This didn't work, I'm a problem solver, and I'll try something else.'

What did you try hard at today?

Effort is one of those things that gives meaning to life. Effort means you care about something, that something is important to you and you are willing to work for it.

Important achievements require a clear focus, all-out effort, and a bottomless trunk full of strategies. Plus allies in learning.

In a growth mindset, challenges are exciting rather than threatening. So rather than thinking, oh, I'm going to reveal my weaknesses, you say, wow, here's a chance to grow.

Test scores and measures of achievement tell you where a student is, but they don't tell you where a student could end up.

The wrong kind of praise creates self-defeating behavior. The right kind motivates students to learn.