To the CLASS OF 2020...

Chris Routt | SHS Principal

You are my first graduating class as the principal of Scottsburg High School. The last few months of the school year are not how I envisioned us approaching graduation and ending our time together.

This was not the April or May we wanted, but it is the April and May we got. I am proud of the grace, resiliency, and grit you have shown during these challenging times.

One of the questions we asked you during your high school career was: “Where do you want to go?” A dozen cities in the United States are junction cities, a place that’s on the way to somewhere else and essential to the journey. Our job was to prepare you for your path, provide a foundation, and give you a stepping stone for you to go somewhere else. The next chapter in your story begins now. The best days of your life are ahead of you.

I want to leave you with two words as you start this new chapter: grit and growth. Angela Duckworth, from the University of Pennsylvania, studies the performance of children and adults in challenging situations (such as, how to predict who will thrive), always exploring the same questions: Who is successful and why?

Duckworth’s research has led to one characteristic that has emerged as a significant predictor of success. It is not IQ. It is grit. Grit is passion and perseverance for longterm goals. Grit is having stamina. Grit is sticking with your future, day in and day out. Not just for the week or month, but for years. And working really hard to make that future a reality.

Her research has shown that grit is inversely tied to measures of talent. Natural talent does not make someone “gritty.” Duckworth said the best idea she has heard about teaching grit is a growth mindset.

Stanford University psychologist Carol Dweck said the way we think about our abilities is key to shaping us. A fixed mindset is one that assumes a skill, ability, or attribute cannot be improved or changed in a significant way.

With a fixed mindset, we avoid failure at all costs. A growth mindset regards failure not as evidence of stupidity or lack of ability, but as a springboard for growth and for stretching our existing abilities. People with a growth mindset stretch themselves, take risks, accept feedback, and take the long-term view.

Everything is hard before it is easy. You will struggle, you will fail, you will be knocked down; however, through this process, you will get better, and you will succeed in the end.

May God bless you on your journey.

Chris Routt