Recently, a new buzz word has surfaced regarding student success: grit.  Simply defined, grit is the thing that keeps you on track, helps you accomplish your goals, work through difficulties with your  nose to the grindstone. It’s the ability to stick with something until you’ve mastered it.  The research shows that it’s not necessarily the most gifted or talented or high IQ students who are the “grittiest”.  In fact, students who have the most innate talent are often the least gritty and that that when it comes to high achievement, grit may be as essential as intelligence.

Here is a link to a Ted Talk given by the psychologist who first started studying this somewhat enigmatic quality, Angela Duckworth

Angela Duckworth Talks about Grit