Tag Archives: failure

Defining Failure?

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I am struggling with the term “failure” and have written about it a few times.  I get when people say that it’s okay to fail and I know what they are meaning, but my fear is that our community think something totally different when we say things such as “we encourage failure”.

So I thought of this video of Derek Redmond and his dad, which I found to be one of the most inspirational videos from the Olympics ever.  Watch it if you have never seen it (have tissue paper ready):

My question is, would you consider this failure? If Derek Redmond did not get up, would that be failure? If he didn’t get up and never competed again, to me, that is failure.  But getting up and doing the best possible even after you stumble, I think that is part of growth and learning.

Thoughts?

Is Fearing Failure a Good Thing?

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cc licensed ( BY ) flickr photo shared by Lel4nd

Bear with me as I work through these thoughts…

I have written about failure before.

Have you ever been in a relationship and at some point, just not cared as much?  You still maybe felt something for that person but perhaps did not really give it what you had at some point in the relationship.  Sometimes this could be due to a feeling of comfort, but sometimes could it be that you simply did not care one way or the other if you stayed in that relationship?  Yes you would be hurt if it was over but you know it would not be the end of the world; you would get over it.  But when that relationship that you didn’t care about that much ends, ultimately, you have failed.

But then you think of those relationships that may have ended but meant everything to you and failure led to a great deal of heartbreak.  Think of those relationships…the ones you have been in that you have worked hard to NOT fail. The relationships that you have cared about usually are the ones that you push yourself to get better.

I saw this Arnold Schwarzenegger video awhile ago and he says a few things that stick it out for me yet seem a little contradictory:

“Don’t be afraid to fail.”

“Don’t fail because you didn’t work hard enough. Work your butt off.”

If you listen to everything he talks about in the video, he talks about not fearing failure yet he puts all of the things in place to avoid it.  There is a fear of failure in his voice. (I won’t even getting into trying to analyze how he ultimately failed with his relationship.)

I don’t think people should avoid doing things because they have a crippling fear of failure, but there is something to not wanting to fail that perhaps pushes us to do better.  There is some meaning and connection to the work, initiative  learning, relationship, whatever it is, that makes us do all in our power to avoid failure.  Often we won’t fail because we care too much to allow that too happen.

Look at projects or new initiatives in your school…are there some that are there you could really care less if they continue on? Would staff care about initiatives in your school enough that they would be devastated if they were taken away? Do they care enough to do whatever it takes to make certain initiatives work? Failure probably will happen not because the planning wasn’t there, but the meaning or reasons you do the work were not compelling enough to see the work through.

We have moved from a world that simply saying, “Do as I say”, is not enough.  There is a need, and should be a want, to clarify your “why”.

I am starting to think that the trick is not getting students and ourselves to be okay with failure, but to care enough about the learning that failure is not something they will do everything to avoid.

So…is fear of failure a good thing?

Is “failure” an option?

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cc licensed ( BY SD ) flickr photo shared by plural

I saw this tweet:

 

I have to admit…every time I see when others use the term “failure”, it makes me cringe.  This has nothing to do with the intent of what people mean, but just the word itself and what it says.

Many of us come from a different time in schools where, if you “failed” a test, this was not looked at as something that was just a part of the learning process.  This is was something that was looked down upon and often, the people that “failed” tests, didn’t necessarily do well in school after the fact.  Many of us in education understand that mistakes and “bumps” are a part of the learning process, as they should be. If people didn’t struggle with what was being taught, why would we have to teach it?

But many people that have, and should have, an interest in education that aren’t necessarily educators.  They can be parents, politicians, or anyone in the community, and when the term “failure” is used, it sometimes says something different.

You don’t think terminology is important?  Look at the backlash that Edmonton Public had about their supposed “No-Zero Policy” at the end of the last school year.  If you actually look at what the school was doing with assessment, the practices were totally focused on improving learning and helping students get better.  It was not a way for students to “opt out”, but from my understanding, it was a way for students to not have the “opt out” option.  The policy, whatever the name, was meant to higher expectations as opposed to lower them.  But when you say “no zeros”, that takes people back to a time that they were in school and doesn’t necessarily focus the conversation on the right thing; improving student learning.

Just to reiterate…I get why people say that “failure is important to learning”, etc., but does a short sentence with that one little word invoke faith in what our schools are doing?  Bill Gates failed.  Steve Jobs failed.  Tons of other failed.  I get that.  But schools are a place where all of us went and most didn’t go to school with Bill Gates.  Many of them will have stories of the kid who “failed” and continued to “fail” often; that is where many minds will go.

We work in the public eye and I do believe we have to be aware of the terminology that we use.  Even when we are doing something we could all agree upon is right, simple “words” may lead others to think different.

Learning From Success Works Too

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cc licensed flickr photo shared by epSos.de

I have recently read some fantastic  blog posts from Jesse McLean and Eric Sheninger that talk about the importance of learning from our failures.  As educators, we have to be able to take risks and learn from our mistakes to role model this to our students.  Not everything works the first time.

In the past week I have been reading a very interesting book called Rework. Now some of the messages are very strong, and some even controversial, but this quote really stuck out for me:

Evolution doesn’t linger on past failures, it’s always building upon what worked. So should you…Success gives you real ammunition. When something succeeds, you know what worked—and you can do it again. And the next time, you’ll probably do it even better. Failure is not a prerequisite for success. (Rework)

The truth is that many educators are very modest and do not always like to share their success.  Some even feel guilty. The way I see it, there are a TON of great things happening in our classrooms right now, that have never failed.  They were awesome from the start.  As much as we have to learn from our failures, we need to be able to share and learn from our success as well.  Those good ideas that you have already implemented in your classroom will only steamroll and help build momentum to effective change for our students.  Share those successes with others to inspire them as well.  You were probably successful because it was a well thought out plan that you put into place.  Be proud of that!

Sharing this success may feel like bragging, but if you share it, it will probably work for someone else as well.  Sometimes we knock out of the park on our first swing.  You can learn just as much from that as you can striking out.