Delphi Study Club kicked off the 2019-2020 year with a luncheon hosted by the Social Committee in the home of Evelyn Coyle.
Attending were Linda Brown, Ann Cales, Shirley Cross, Beverly Frazier, Gayle Kuchera, Carolyn Ott, Vivian Pemberton, Marjilea Smithheisler, Neva Staton and Coyle.
Officers for the coming year are Pemberton, president; Kuchera, vice president; and Smithheisler, secretary-treasurer. Committees are Program, Pemberton, Brown, Cales and Staton; Social, Coyle, Cross, Frazier and Ott; Membership, Kuchera and Pemberton; Courtesy, Cales; Education, Smithheisler; Auditing, Staton; and Email, Smithheisler. Brown and Smithheisler serve on the Advisory Board.
Marjilea Smithheisler reviewed Angela Duckworth’s book Grit: the Power of Passion and Perseverance, a study of characteristics leading to outstanding achievement.
A professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania and scientific director of the Character Lab, Duckworth has found that grit (working persistently in spite of setbacks to reach a goal) is far more important than talent to achieve success.
Her Grit Scale is a better predictor of success than measures such as the West Point Whole Candidate Score and college SAT scores. High school students who participate in extracurricular activities for at least two years are more likely to graduate from college and to achieve success in adulthood.
Children need love, limits and latitude to reach their full potential. Parents can help their children to develop grit by providing support, respect and high standards.
Anyone can learn to discover and develop personal interests (passion), acquire the habit of discipline (perseverance), cultivate a sense of purpose (conviction that ones work contributes to the wellbeing of others) and hope (expectation that one’s own efforts can improve one’s future).
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