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Like the Olympics and presidential elections, leap years only occur once every four years, which is why many people look forward to Feb. 29. But there’s a lot that you might not know about this quirk on the calendar. Why To keep the calendar in sync with Earth’s orbit around the sun, an extra day is added to it every four years. Earth takes exactly 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 46 seconds to orbit the sun. Those extra hours add up over time, so another calendar day becomes necessary. But a leap year doesn’t occur every four years. Adding that extra day still doesn’t quite keep Earth on track, so the calendar skips leap years that occur during century years not divisible by 400. For example, 2000 was a leap year, but 2100 won’t be. Who The odds of being born on Feb. 29 are 1 in 1,461. That means that of the roughly seven billion people in the world, only about five million of them are “leaplings.”The number of leaplings currently living in the U.S. is roughly 187,000. Some famous leaplings include motivational speaker Tony Robbins, rapper Ja Rule, and singer Mark Foster of Foster the People. However, the most famous leapling is probably Superman. When you invent a super-being, you might as well give him a super-birthday. LEAP INTO 2020 Facts About the Leap Year The good news is that a growth mindset can be taught. While modeling and providing consistent reinforcement are essential, you should also teach your kids that obtaining skills through hard work and effort is crucial. In one study, students learned about new, stronger neural connections that formed every time they pushed beyond their comfort zone. This information alone was enough to improve their grades, but students in the control group, who had no knowledge about neuron growth, experienced plummeting grades. Dweck even cites a kindergarten class in Harlem, where Praise effort over success. Children, like adults, need feedback and praise, but our instinct is often to focus on celebrating their successful completion of a task rather than their effort. That’s a dangerous trap. In her studies, Dweck found that when a computerized math game was tweaked to reward effort, strategy use, and perseverance more than simply giving the right answer, children played longer and went further in the game. In a different study, when first graders who demonstrated growth mindsets were given problems that were slightly too hard to complete, they expressed excitement about learning the material necessary to do the problems. Conversely, children with fixed mindsets were more likely to cheat if given a test on the hard material in the future because they only valued the right answer, not the learning process. Teach a growth mindset.
students entered the school year not knowing how to hold a pencil correctly but, after a full academic year in a growth mindset- centered classroom, tested in the 95th percentile on their national standardized test. What differentiates people who go on to achieve at high levels in all fields? It’s their willingness to work hard and exercise what Duckworth calls “grit” in sticking to their goals and dreams. Researchers like Dweck have the proof. To turn your home into a growth mindset hotbed, make sure you are modeling the characteristics of a growth mindset yourself. Praise your child for their efforts, strategy deployment, and perseverance. And if you see your child giving up too easily, remember this: Grittiness is a skill, and like any skill, it can be learned. Get “gritty” yourself, and don’t give up!
Where Anthony, Texas/New Mexico (a single town that straddles the two states’ borders), claims the title “Leap Year Capital of the World.”The city throws one massive birthday party for all leaplings but invites everyone to join the celebration. Two leapling neighbors from Anthony began the tradition in 1988, and it’s blossomed into a festival with thousands of participants every four years. It includes banquets, hot air balloons, a carnival, concerts, parades, and more. When you have four years to plan in between each shindig, there’s time to go big. Celebrate this leap year by doing something unusual or new. It’s a special day that doesn’t occur often, so make the most of it by doing something you’ll talk about for another four years.
2 • swbwlawfirm.com
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