Climate of Risk: Allowing for Failure

Imagine a picture of someone that has failed at something.  Did the person you just imagine give up, stops trying, or walks away not to ever return to the activity or job?  Probably not!  The person works to improve his or her weakness and focuses on his strengths to keep pursuing the dream or goal set forth.  Because if we don’t fail, then we cannot succeed.  

 

Teachers should produce lessons that will challenge students to be successful through the process of problem solving and learning.  Teachers should teach students that failure will happen along the way, but don’t give up.  Students will be able find a possible solution or answer.  Yes, teachers we can teach our student in this way.

To teach students through failure is to remove the obstacle that there is only one way to solve a problem.  Allowing for failure will promote students to derive their own path to solution and answers.  Giving students ownership to their own learning.  It empowers the student to want more ownership, more learning, and more knowledge.  

The impact of allowing students to fail is the greatest gift a teacher can give to their students.  This gift is uplifting and breaks down the barriers or stress students feel when a teacher tells them that their new way of solving a problem is not correct even though the teacher and student have the same answer.  

Become a teacher that allows failure as a means to learn new and creative ways to solve problem.

--Please respond with a picture of the person you imagined and how he or she has inspired you to move past failure to success.