Recently, I began an assignment in math and got the immediate reaction of “This is hard!” This was a great opening for me to talk to the group about a growth mindset. We had a very interesting conversation about what happens when you tell yourself something is hard. One student said, “I immediately think I will never get this.” Another said, “I get nervous and it will be impossible.” I began discussing other ways to look at a problem when we face something as they put it, hard. We talked about thinking of the problem as challenging instead, and what happens when you face a challenge? The answer was obvious to everyone “We try and we get it!” To follow this conversation up, we approached a new assignment with this new way of thinking. The class worked collaboratively and their change in mindset led to success! It was a delight to watch their faces as they took that challenging puzzle and solved it. Bravo, sixth graders!