When the World Tells a Story About You | Jo Boaler | 100 Stories Ep. 25

Stanford professor Dr. Jo Boaler joins 100 Stories for a conversation about growth mindset, identity, public narrative, mathematical ability, struggle, and what happens when other people create a powerful story about who you are. Jo has spent her career studying how beliefs about intelligence shape learning. She has also lived through a very different kind of narrative experience herself. After her work in math education became nationally controversial, Jo received thousands of abusive messages and death threats and watched a public version of herself circulate through media and social media that she did not recognize as her own. We talk about what happens inside a person when their name and image become attached to a story they did not create, how Jo protected her own sense of identity, and the role swimming, creativity, therapy, and reflection played in helping her through it. We also explore the stories people learn about intelligence: “I’m bad at math,” “I’m gifted,” “I’m smart.” Those labels can become identities that shape what people attempt, avoid, and believe is possible. And this conversation changed the Narrative Intelligence Project. I asked Jo whether something as complex and fluid as Narrative Intelligence should ever be reduced to a single score. Her answer helped me see how easily a number can become another fixed story about who we are. So, 25 conversations into 100 Stories, I removed the overall score from the Narrative Quotient assessment. The inquiry continues. CHAPTERS 00:00 Welcome to 100 Stories 00:54 Jo Boaler’s work on mindset and learning 03:43 The story “I’m bad at math” 07:23 When Jo became the target of a national public attack 10:41 Protecting your mind during public criticism 13:22 When the public story about you does not feel like you 17:24 Narrative Intelligence, media, and ethics 20:10 Why mindset changes across contexts 22:04 What struggle teaches us 26:33 How labels become identity 29:52 Are identity and narrative ever fixed? 32:07 Why struggle can accelerate learning 34:49 Creativity as a response to difficulty 37:18 Should Narrative Intelligence be measured? 40:18 Why people immediately rank themselves 42:45 The problem with fixed scores 47:20 Jo Boaler defines Narrative Intelligence 48:15 Why this conversation changed the project The question I’m leaving with: When someone else tells a powerful story about who you are, how do you decide what belongs to you? More about Jo Boaler: https://www.youcubed.org/ More about Paige Williams: https://paigewilliams.co/ StoryKeys: https://storykeys.co/ The 100 Stories Project: https://100storiesproject.com/