Teaching students how to fail can be a key component in
their success. While this may seem contradictory, you must understand what I
mean when I say "teaching students how to fail." I am not saying we
should set our students up to fail or encourage students to perform inadequately.
We should, however, prepare our students for the times they might fail despite
their greatest effort. If used correctly, failure can be a tool through which
students can develop many characteristics needed to succeed. This can include
coping skills, emotional resilience, creative thinking, and the ability to
collaborate. This
article from allprodad.com gives a list of 10 things to teach your kids about
failure.
In this video, Margie
Warrell discusses the negative consequences of encouraging children to be
overly competitive and gives several suggestions for allowing students to develop
their own naturally competitive spirit. When students are able to find it
within themselves to do better and accept failure as a part of that process, their
resilience will make them stronger and more successful. This
article from parents.com gives several examples of how to improve confidence in
a child. Teachers and parents should be good role models for our students and
children. We must be an example of how to handle our own shortcomings. When we
forget something or fail to complete a task, we should focus on what we did
well and what we will do better next time. This is the same thing we should
teach our students. Carl Sommer's book "Schools In Crisis: Training For Success or Failure?"discusses the many shortcomings of our public school system and suggest several sollutions to these progblems. It is an excelent resource for teachers, and the entire book can be viewed and downloaded here.
Even though we
try to prevent it, our students will fail tests, strike out, and forget lines
in the school play. Although these are not ideal outcomes, there are good
things that can be found in these failures. Perhaps the students that failed
the test did better than previous tests. Johnny might have struck out at the
game tonight, but he caught the most fly balls. Sarah might have forgotten a
line in the school play, but she improvised and recovered quickly. Encouraging
students to reflect on what they did well will also help them improve their
performance next time. The student that did slightly better on a test might
realize the importance of studying in advance and making flashcards. The
athlete could collaborate with another teammate who is good a hitting, but
struggles with catching. The actress might try some new techniques to lesson
her stage fright while continuing to develop her excellent improvisation
skills. Promoting skills like leadership, teamwork, and reflection are more
important than whether a student actually succeeds at doing something. With the
proper tools, that student will develop much further than if they had been
pressured to win and reprimanded for failing.
The opinions expressed here by me (and those providing comments) are mine or theirs alone, and do not reflect the opinions of AUSL, NLU, or any employee thereof. Neither AUSL nor NLU are responsible for the accuracy of any of the information supplied here or in any linked web site.
Great read Brian! It reminds me of the principle of Growth Mindset where students are challenged to grow by their failure rather than seeing it as a bad thing. It is truly detrimental to teach students that success comes only when they are doing well or when people notice. Many people don't understand that failure is a part of the journey to success. Failure challenges you to think critically, try again, and grow from the mistakes. When we teach our students that grades matter and that the only way we'll be pleased with them is when they make Straight A's we are setting them up for the ultimate failure. They don't learn how to problem solve, think for themselves, or to be leaders.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both Brian and Mariah. Failure is a part of developing character, strength, and resilience. It also shows us at a young age, that we cannot achieve everything that we set out to do. By preparing ourselves with how to deal with failure, we accept how we can do better next time and how we can overcome our pitfalls.
ReplyDeleteI am reminded of a student who is three years old, they had such a difficult time dealing with rejections and failure. When this happened, the child would often lash out at another child by slapping, scratching, or throwing toys. Through mediation, we were able to show this child that when something doesn’t happen the way we want it to, we need to tell a teacher to talk about it, and then we can try it again with some help.
The child has grown so much in a short time. While they still have outbursts time to time, they have been able to talk with the teachers in short sentences. They are better able to deal with these rejections and failure and I believe that will go a long way. Great story Brian!
Brian,
ReplyDeleteI really connected with your blog post in the way you thoroughly explained the overall concept and benefits of failure. I think the idea of ‘failure’ has become a taboo topic in our society today, and it is something that I have personally feared since I started Kindergarten. It is significant to address this topic simply because as society continues to push pressure on young children to be the ‘best,’ the more likely they may fear failure. However, I completely agree with your idea of failure “being a tool through which students can develop many characteristics needed to succeed. This can include coping skills, emotional resilience, creative thinking, and the ability to collaborate.” I think you effectively put a positive spin on such a negative and sensitive topic. I do think it will be a challenge to teach children the true advantages of failure though. By helping children better understand failure, it will be breaking cultural lessons they may have been learning for as long as they can remember. This topic also led me to reflect on communication with families. If a family promotes successes and looks down upon all failure, how can I help the student better understand that it is ok to fail sometimes? With opposing views from home and school, I worry about my ability to handle a situation that may conflict with family values. Overall, I thought you provided insightful, helpful explanations about a significant topic I know I will encounter in my future classroom!