Brief Summary –
Why Students Need More Than ‘Grit’
Pedro Noguera, a professor of education at NYU and Anindya Kundu former doctoral student now PhD as an education sociologist argue in their article “Why Students Need More Than ‘Grit’” that there are greater forces at work in the world than an individual student is always capable of overcoming on their own, that “grit” has little or no value when compared to real world issues that can make even the idea of higher education seem completely out of reach to even the most successful of high school students. From the beginning they dismiss the concept of grit and present us with the idea that “agency”, the ability of a person to choose their own outcome, gives greater opportunity, creates success and that we need to find ways to improve this for all students. They present the inequities that the financial aspects of education within our social system create. They argue that creating systems and pathways to success, by creating agency for the students and allowing them to see the potential their choices and work can have for themselves and for society, we can build a system where the student sees the reason and value in their work and will there for continue to pursue it. They close the paper with a strong emphasis on agency and how it is about enabling the student to take control of their own education and their lives.