Anthony
Halter made an interesting comment yesterday during the recognition breakfast
for SPED, Health, and PE students. His comment
was basically about how failure is viewed
by different societies. In the west, we
typically view failure or struggling as a negative rather than a natural,
welcomed, or even celebrated part of the learning process.
His
point was that the student he was recognizing was not detoured by
struggles. Rather, this student simply
continued to work hard, study, and seek help until he mastered the concept.
I
was reminded of a Arkansas Leadership Academy activity where achieving the goal (all
members of our group had to work through a maze in a short amount of time) was
not possible until we realized that through individual failure, we collectively
identified the appropriate path. Then
everyone was able to navigate the maze well within the allotted time.
Whether
you are trying a new instructional strategy, piloting a new common core based
unit, or trying out a new tech tool, embrace and share both your successes and
your failures.
If
we’re afraid to share what goes wrong, we will continue repeating mistakes that
can be avoided.
So,
when you interact with other teachers, your PLC group, your digital PLN, the
new Edmodo group started by David Welsher…share what goes well, what you’re
proud of, but also what goes wrong.
Also,
remember to play! The most innovative
teachers are the ones that aren’t afraid to challenge themselves, push new
buttons, try new tools. In short, they
don’t fear failure.
Sometimes,
there is much more to be learned from a failure than from a success.
