Grit: the power of passion and perseverance | Angela Lee Duckworth

Translator: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Morton Bast

Translator: Joachim Mangilima Reviewer: Nelson Simfukwe

When I was 27 years old,

Nilipokuwa na miaka 27

I left a very demanding job in management consulting

niliacha kazi ya kuchukua muda sana kama mshauri wa utawala

for a job that was even more demanding: teaching.

kufanya kazi inayochukua muda zaidi sana ya kufundisha.

Nilienda kufundisha hisabati, watoto wa darasa la saba.

I went to teach seventh graders math

in the New York City public schools.

Katika shule ya serikali ya New York.

Na kama Mwalimu yeyote, niliandaa majaribio na mitihani.

And like any teacher, I made quizzes and tests.

I gave out homework assignments.

Nilitoa pia mazoezi ya nyumbani

Kazi ziliporudishwa, nikafanya mahesabu ya alama walizopata.

When the work came back, I calculated grades.

What struck me was that IQ was not the only difference

Kilichonishangaza ni kuwa I.Q haikuwa tofauti pekee

between my best and my worst students.

kati ya wanafunzi wanaofanya vizuri sana na wale waliofanya vibaya sana.

Baadhi ya wale wazuri sana

Some of my strongest performers did not have stratospheric IQ scores.

hawakuwa na I.Q za juu sana.

walikuwa hawafanyi vizuri sana.

Some of my smartest kids weren't doing so well.

And that got me thinking.

na hii ikanifanya nifikiri.

The kinds of things you need to learn in seventh grade math,

Vitu unavyohitaji kujifunza darasa la saba

sure, they're hard: ratios, decimals, the area of a parallelogram.

ni kweli vigumu kama: uwiano,desimali,

eneo la msambamba.

But these concepts are not impossible,

lakini dhana hizi sio ngumu,

and I was firmly convinced that every one of my students

na niliamini kuwa wanafunzi wangu

could learn the material

wanaweza kujifunza vitu hivi

kama wakijituma kwa bidii.

if they worked hard and long enough.

After several more years of teaching,

Baada ya miaka kadhaa ya kufundisha,

I came to the conclusion that what we need in education

nilipata hitimisho kuwa tunachohitaji katika elimu

ni ufahamu mzuri zaidi wa wanafunzi na usomaji

is a much better understanding of students and learning

from a motivational perspective,

kwa kuangalia upande wa uhimizaji

from a psychological perspective.

kwa kuangalia upande wa kisaikolojia

In education, the one thing we know how to measure best is IQ.

Katika elimu,kitu tunachokipima vizuri

ni I.Q, lakini vipi kama kufanikiwa shuleni na katika maisha

But what if doing well in school and in life

depends on much more

inategemea zaidi

than your ability to learn quickly and easily?

ya uwezo wako wa kusoma haraka na kirahisi?

So I left the classroom,

Nikaondoka darasani,

and I went to graduate school to become a psychologist.

na nikaenda katika masomo ya uzamili ili kuwa mwanasaikolojia

I started studying kids and adults

nikaanza kujifunza kuhusu watoto na watu wazima

katika mazingira magumu mbalimbali,

in all kinds of super challenging settings,

and in every study my question was,

na katika kila utafiti swali langu lilikuwa,

who is successful here and why?

ni nani ambaye amefanikiwa hapa na kwa nini?

My research team and I went to West Point Military Academy.

Timu yangu ya watafiti na mimi tulienda katika chuo cha kijeshi cha West Point.

We tried to predict which cadets

Tulijaribu kutabiri makadeti gani

would stay in military training and which would drop out.

watakaa katika mafunzo na wale ambao watashindwa na mafunzo

We went to the National Spelling Bee

Tukaenda shindano la taifa la kutamka herufi

and tried to predict which children would advance farthest in competition.

na kutabiri watoto gani wataendelea mpaka

mwisho wa shindano.

We studied rookie teachers working in really tough neighborhoods,

Tuliwatafiti walimu wapya

wanaofanya kazi katika maeneo magumu sana, tukiuliza

asking which teachers are still going to be here in teaching

walimu gani wataendelea kuwepo wakifundisha

by the end of the school year,

mpaka mwisho wa mwaka wa masomo,

and of those, who will be the most effective

na kati yao,yupi atakuwa amefanikiwa

at improving learning outcomes for their students?

kuongeza uwezo wa kimasomo wa wanafunzi wake?

We partnered with private companies, asking,

Tulishirikiana na kampuni binafsi, tukiuliza

which of these salespeople is going to keep their jobs?

kati ya watu kadhaa wa masoko ni yupi atakayeendelea kuwa kazini?

And who's going to earn the most money?

na yupi atapata pesa nyingi zaidi?

In all those very different contexts,

katika mazingira hayo mbalimbali,

one characteristic emerged as a significant predictor of success.

kitu kimoja kiliibuka

kama kiashiria muhimu cha mafanikio.

And it wasn't social intelligence.

haikuwa uwezo wa kufikiri.

It wasn't good looks, physical health,

haikuwa mwonekano wa kuvutia,afya nzuri na haikuwa I.Q

and it wasn't IQ.

It was grit.

ilikuwa ni uvumilivu na shauku

Grit is passion and perseverance for very long-term goals.

ni shauku na uvumilivu wa malengo ya muda mrefu.

Grit is having stamina.

ni kuwa na stamina.

Grit is sticking with your future, day in, day out,

ni kung'ang'ania kila siku,

not just for the week, not just for the month,

si kwa wiki moja, si kwa mwezi mmoja,

but for years,

lakini ni kwa miaka, ma kufanya kazi kwa bidii

and working really hard to make that future a reality.

na kufanya maisha yako ya baadaye kuwa kitu halisi.

Grit is living life like it's a marathon, not a sprint.

ni kuishi maisha kama mbio ndefu za marathon na sio mbio fupi.

Miaka michache iliyopita nilianza, kujifunza kuhusu hali hii

A few years ago,

I started studying grit in the Chicago public schools.

katika shule za serikali za mji wa Chicago.

niliwaomba maelfu ya wanafunzi wa sekondari

I asked thousands of high school juniors

to take grit questionnaires,

kujibu dodoso kuhusu hali hii

and then waited around more than a year

baadae nikasubiri zaidi ya mwaka mmoja

to see who would graduate.

kuangalia ni nani atakayehitimu.

Turns out that grittier kids

inaonekana watoto wenye shauku na uvumilivu huu sana

were significantly more likely to graduate,

walikuwa na nafasi kubwa zaidi ya kuhitimu,

even when I matched them on every characteristic I could measure,

hata pale nilipolinganisha vigezo mbalimbali,

things like family income,

vigezo kama kipato cha familia,

matokeo ya mitihani ya kupima uwezo,

standardized achievement test scores,

even how safe kids felt when they were at school.

hata watoto walivyojisikia salama wakiwa shuleni.

So it's not just at West Point or the National Spelling Bee

Kwa hiyo si tu katika chuo cha Westpoint au shindano la taifa la kutamka herufi

that grit matters.

shauku na uvumilivu huu unapokuwa na maana,lakini shuleni,

It's also in school,

especially for kids at risk for dropping out.

zaidi sana kwa watoto walio hatarini kuacha masomo.

To me, the most shocking thing about grit

Kwangu kitu cha kushangaza kuhusu shauku na uvumilivu huu

ni jinsi tusivyofahamu mengi kuhusu hali hii

is how little we know,

how little science knows, about building it.

jinsi kidogo sana sayansi inavyojua, kuhusu kuijenga.

Kila siku, wazazi na walimu wananiuliza,

Every day, parents and teachers ask me,

"How do I build grit in kids?

"Ninaijengaje hali hii ndani ya watoto"?

What do I do to teach kids a solid work ethic?

nifanyeje kuwafundisha watoto umuhimu wa kazi?

How do I keep them motivated for the long run?"

nifanyeje kuwamasisha kwa muda mredu zaidi?"

The honest answer is,

Jibu ni kuwa sijui.(vicheko)

I don't know.

(Laughter)

What I do know is that talent doesn't make you gritty.

nachojua ni kuwa kipaji hakikusaidii kuwa na hali hii.

Our data show very clearly

Taarifa zetu zinaonyesha wazi wazi

that there are many talented individuals

kuwa wapo wengi wenye vipaji mbalimbali

lakini wanshindwa kutimiza majukumu yao.

who simply do not follow through on their commitments.

In fact, in our data, grit is usually unrelated

na ukweli ni kwamba katika taarifa zetu,inaonyesha hakuna uhusiano

wa aina yoyote na kipaji

or even inversely related to measures of talent.

So far, the best idea I've heard about building grit in kids

mpaka sasa,wazo zuri zaidi la kujenga hali hii kwa watoto nililolisikia

is something called "growth mindset."

ni kitu kinaitwa "ukuaji wa ufahamu."

This is an idea developed at Stanford University by Carol Dweck,

hili ni wazo liloanzishwa chuo kikuu cha Stanford

na Carol Dweck, na ni imani kuwa

and it is the belief that the ability to learn is not fixed,

uwezo wa kujifunza hauna mipaka,

that it can change with your effort.

unaweza kubadilika kutokana na juhudi yako.

Dr. Dweck has shown

Dr Dweck ameonyesha kuwa watoto wanaposoma na kujifunza

that when kids read and learn about the brain

kuhusu ubongo na jinsi unavyokua na kuongezeka

and how it changes and grows in response to challenge,

unapokabiliana na changamoto,

they're much more likely to persevere when they fail,

wanakuwa na nafasi kubwa ya kuvumilia wanaposhindwa,

because they don't believe that failure is a permanent condition.

kwa kuwa hawaamini kuwa kushindwa

kuwa ni hali ya kudumu.

Kwa hiyo ukuaji wa ufahamu ni wazo zuri kwa kujenga hali hii.

So growth mindset is a great idea for building grit.

But we need more.

lakini tunahitaji zaidi.

And that's where I'm going to end my remarks,

na hapa ndipo nitafunga maelezo yangu,

because that's where we are.

kwa sababu ndipo tulipo.

Hii ndiyo kazi iliyoko mbele yetu.

That's the work that stands before us.

We need to take our best ideas, our strongest intuitions,

Tunahitaji kuchukua mawazo yetu mazuri

and we need to test them.

na kuyajaribu.

We need to measure whether we've been successful,

Tunahitaji kupima kama tumefanikiwa,

and we have to be willing to fail, to be wrong,

na tunahitaji kukubali kufeli,kutokuwa sahihi,

to start over again with lessons learned.

kuanza upya na masomo tuliyojifunza.

Kwa maneno mengine, tunahitaji kuwa na uvumilivu na shauku hii.

In other words, we need to be gritty

about getting our kids grittier.

kuwafanye watoto wetu kuwa na shauku na uvumilivu huu.

Thank you.

Asante

(Applause)

(Makofi)