ABSTRACT
Duckworth interviewed Lieutenant General Robert Caslen, West Point’s superintendent. At the heart of a gritty school culture is a demanding and supportive leadership team. The administrators set high expectations for their teachers and vice versa. Teachers spend a great deal of time developing curriculum and writing lesson plans, but consider how much time is spent evaluating these plans. Communication of the kind of culture, and what grit means, is essential to building and maintaining a gritty school culture. Create an expression or a call back that everyone can memorize. Rituals and routines are another crucial component of establishing a strong school culture. The gritty attitudes and behaviors are going to skyrocket up and shoot down, squeezing out the ones in the middle who aren’t ready for this.
