Developing a Growth Mindset at Black Mountain Academy

It’s 5:30am and we are swimming in the Atlantic ocean; watching the sun set. The students and I are the only people on the beach. One student turns to me and asks, “Hey, can we swim out so deep that we can’t touch the bottom?” 

There in the light of the rising sun, my heart rate starts to soar. 

We are standing in our boots, skis locked in, at the top of a mountain looking down the steep slope of a black diamond. I turn to one of the students to make sure he is comfortable. “How are you feeling?” I ask.

“Scared. But I want you to take a picture of me doing this so my parents know I am trying hard things.” 

As I ski down to set up for the photo my adrenaline is pumping.

From a beach chair, I do a headcount of our students. It’s spring break and St. John’s beaches are crowded. Through the din of crashing waves and splashing children I hear my name being screamed from across the beach. Two of our students are running towards me. They approach out of breath and through their gasps one of them asks, “Can we have some cash? We asked these cute girls if we could buy them a coke and they said YES!” 

The sweat beading on my forehead is not from the tropical heat.

Growth Mindset can be a scary thing. For our students the risks are real. Ocean currents are strong, mountains are high, and rejection will crush you if you let it. For the adults who care about these young people it’s terrifying to say “yes” when you know that there is a chance they could fail, get hurt, or begin to doubt themselves. A Growth Mindset demands we be brave. It demands we do our best to say YES and to be there beside our students in case they fail.

It’s been a little over a year since I came on as residential director and in that time our team’s mission statement has been, “Be Brave, say Yes.” With a growth mindset our Black Mountain Academy community of staff and students have been out in the world trying newer, harder things. We are meeting people, learning new skills, and helping rebuild our community. Most importantly our students are accomplishing things they weren’t sure they could do. We run, we climb, we play, we sing, we help.

So, if you want to find us out in the world, look for the deep waters, the high mountains, the long trails, the crowded open mic nights. If that seems scary to you, you’re right, we find it scary too. “Be Brave.”