- Jackson Elementary
- My Failure Philosophy
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FAILURE
Talk about a word that’s stigmatized in our community!
* Fear of FAILURE
* FAILURE to thrive
* FAILURE is not an option
* Feel like a FAILURE
How about this one?
*FAIL forward
What if failure isn’t negative? What if failure could be used to propel us to success? Guess what? It CAN!
- What if we taught our kids to look at their errors as opportunities to learn and change?
- What if we encouraged our kids to reflect on what went wrong and therefore try it a different way next time?
- What if we gave our kids background knowledge about how their brain functions to help them understand that they are constantly making neural connections, and therefore learning from both their successes and failures HELPS their brain grow?
I believe that, given the proper support in their failures, all kids can learn when things go wrong for them. When kids fail and are left to deal with their failures on their own, or worse are belittled for their failures, they will develop a fixed mindset. When they are told they can’t doanything right, it is unlikely that they will try to do much right. Persistence and effort are key components of a growth mindset and a child who is told that they are a failure will feel there is no reason to put forth effort or persist. On the other hand, if a child is supported through their failures, he or she will learn how to use them to his or her advantage. When the child sees these as opportunities to learn and grow, he or she WILL learn and grow. When a student is learning and growing and feels a sense of ownership over that, he or she will have a much easier time developing a growth mindset. Wouldn’t it feel good if you were the one helping instill that in your child?