Last week in my Frosh Wellness: Mind, Body Spirit classes students were asked to reflect on the gifts and givens in their lives.  The “givens” refer to the things in their lives that they didn’t choose and don’t have much control over (race, gender, body type, sexual orientation, age, religion of origin, geographic location, financial situation, etc).  The gifts refer to blessings in their lives (family, friends, talents, etc.) as well as the gifts God gave them of their soul, free-will, conscience, and intellect.  I was blown away by the responses in the category of intellect.

The prompt:  describe a time when you noticed your ability to think about things in a new way – a time when you have been pleased/surprised by the ability of your mind/intellect/reason.  Well – 1/3 of my students mentioned their math class!  This is awesome!  In just a few short weeks the freshman math teachers have shifted their students’ relationship with math.  So many girls wrote about how they are surprised by their capacity to grapple with unfamiliar and challenging strategies.  They wrote about how they can feel their minds working.  They are relieved that they can understand difficult math concepts.  For my part I was delighted that they made the connection between their intellect, a growth mindset, and God.  See for yourselves below some of their comments …