The word "grit" is ubiquitous in education today. It's in the subtitle of New York Times contributing writer Paul Tough's latest book, How Children SucceedIt's one of the seven character traits (along with "zest," "gratitude," and others) that KIPP charter schools try to instill in their students. Tufts and DePaul University look for it when evaluating applicants. Like many buzzwords, "grit" doesn't have a straightforward definition, but the Chronicle of Higher Education's description is a good place to start: "the habit of overcoming challenges, of learning from mistakes instead of being defeated by them."

Today, the MacArthur Foundation announced that it's awarding a "genius grant" to one of grit's biggest champions: Angela Duckworth. An associate professor of psychology at University of Pennsylvania, Duckworth studies the personality traits that lead to success in the classroom and in life. According to MacArthur's description of her work:



Here's a TED talk Duckworth gave earlier this year describing when she first realized the importance of grit, and what she sees as the next phase of grit studies: figuring out how to increase a person's grittiness.