Strength-Strong Education

"If your child is weak in mathematics and strong in music, we usually get him a math teacher and not a piano teacher. If you did in fact focus on his strengths and not his weakness, that same child could become a great musician, and then he can hire an accountant to do his math."
Deepak Chopra

He was a young boy, who loved taking nature photographs, but he also had a disability that made writing and spelling very difficult. Utilizing his strength and interests, yet compensating his disability, the boys teacher required him to write reports on natural phenomena that interested him. While getting to express his photographical skills, the boy still had to write descriptions of his project, stretching himself in the process. The boy took photos, connected with a local photographer, who mentored him, and went on to win a state science fair medal. According to the story, which is told by Joseph Renzulli and Sally Reis in their book, Light Up Your Childs Mind, the student learned in a way that accented his talent rather than be punished for his apparent disability in writing.
This story really drives home the point I want to make with this blogwe must focus on student strengths, and in addition, teach students to recognize their own strengths so they can develop them to the fullest.

While Ive long believed in the strengths-based approach, this philosophy has been strengthened in my own mind after reading the work of Donald Clifton and Mark Buckingham, authors of Now, Discover Your Strengths. In their ground-breaking work, these researchers studied successful people and identified 34 common strength themes.
For instance, my oldest daughter is of the Achiever type, which means she is self-motivated, setting high goals for herself and is happiest when striving for an objective. My youngest daughter, on the other hand, shows elements of the Empathy type, meaning she can easily relate to others and feel what they may be experiencing. As I was reading through the different themes, I kept wondering why these themes are not an integral part of the curriculum for children. Why not share this work with our kids and ask them to consider where their strengths may lie? In my own life, I made it to college, without barely a mention of what my strengths may be. I do recall one high school literature teacher approaching me at lunch and mentioning that I had a talent for writing. While Im appreciative of that gesture, that is the only example I can think of a strength-based discussion from kindergarten through twelfth-grade. In college, however, I was luckier in the sense that I had a dynamic English professor, who recognized my gift of writing and encouraged me to pursue a career in journalism, which I wound up doing until deciding to enter education.

One fantastic tool I discovered for helping my gifted students identify their strengths as been the online program, Renzulli Learning. School districts do have to subscribe to the program, and for that reason, Renzulli is generally reserved for students identified for gifted programs. I think the Renzulli should be made available to all students, based on the feature that requires students to complete a profile, which identifies their learning styles, expression styles (how they like to make products), and their top interests in school. I make this information available to my students and refer back to it when holding conferences regarding research projects. For example, I have one student who researched why students in the school she attends write on bathroom stalls and commit other acts of vandalism. When deciding which solutions to implement, I reminded her that she excels in writing, speaking, and other forms of communication (she was the schools speech contest winner for the fifth-grade). I encouraged her to use these strengths when writing up proposals and brainstorming ways to get her message across. It doesnt make sense for a child to rely on weaker skills or abilities to achieve goals, when they naturally possess abilities that simply need to be further developed. Yes, they need to be aware of their weakness and learn to compensate for them, but research (Buckingham and Clifton) shows that a person greatest potential for success and improvement lies within their areas of strength.
Please consider this strength-based approach in your classroom, and feel free to share your thoughts and opinions on the subject.

Thanks,
Steve