Review "Everything is hard before it is easy"
Discover Caroline of St. Ange's new book! A German education influencer and learning coach presents her strategies for a “growth mindset” and overcoming traditional learning methods. Read her book to discover new learning tips and successfully master your training!
About the authors
Caroline von St. Ange is a German educational influencer and learning coach with a philosophical background. Through her Instagram channel, "Learn Learning with Caroline," she reaches more than 300,000 followers and shares learning tips for children, parents, and teachers. She advocates for a modern understanding of education, advocates a “growth mindset,” and criticizes traditional learning methods. With her commitment, she wants to make education more positive, individual, and creative.
What is the book about?
Caroline offers numerous imaginative and practical tips for overcoming entrenched learning strategies and outdated assumptions in her book. She focuses on overcoming learning frustration and pressure to perform, developing new, effective learning methods, and promoting curiosity and the joy of learning.
What's great about it?
For me, this book is such a treasure because her strategies and approaches can be transferred to the professional world. On the one hand, the “Fixed Mindset” vs. “Growth Mindset” can be viewed in connection with the error culture. We have all often read that mistakes are an opportunity - but how do I make it happen? Be it for me or in the team. Caroline's tips provide interesting options here because what works for children is often also successful for adults.
On the other hand, the description of the learning types helped me. How these work most reliably, and which strategies the respective learning types should use. Thanks to these impulses, I master my training more successfully and with a new level of ease. To give a concrete example here: I am the reading/writing learner type and benefit enormously from turning on the subtitles, even in German-language learning videos. I wouldn't have thought that. And it works wonders.
What's annoying about it?
It annoys me that such good ideas exist, and the education system is still just as terrible as it was when I was at school. Nothing has changed. The problems are the same or have gotten worse. I get really angry when I realize that such smart people with great ideas like Caroline are ready to have an impact, and none of them - absolutely nothing at all - are implemented.
The best quote
"Fehler sind Helfer – deshalb bestehen sie ja auch aus denselben Buchstaben" translates to “Mistakes are helpers – that’s why they consist of the same letters” makes me smile and should be a symbol for children and learners in general. There are many, many more passages in the book worth quoting. To name one: “Better done than perfect.”
Why every parent and (expectant) parent should read the book
The book comprehensively explains why too much praise can be counterproductive and how to evaluate success based on progress rather than results. It also presents exciting approaches and learning methods to overcome stagnation and resignation in the learning process. The tips provide you with good tools for everyday work with your colleagues.
Finally, I would like to emphasize the appeal of the word “still.” There is a huge difference between saying and thinking, "I can't do this" or "I can't do that YET." Whether you are a child or an adult, you need to internalize and live this difference between fixed and growth mindsets.
