Greetings
GreenMount Community,
This morning at our meeting with the students, we talked
about failure. My goal was to have the
students understand that failure is a necessary component of learning and of
ultimate success. I surprised myself as
I revealed my own personal and professional failures, ranging from the trouble
I got into learning to ride a bike (I crashed into my neighbor’s car, a brand
new 1950 Ford convertible) to my unsuccessful attempts to emulate John Wayne’s
equestrian skills to failing to reach the final four in the competition to be
chosen for the Teacher in Space Program.
We all experience failure, probably on a daily basis. But
as adults, when we fail to get that project done on time or fail to resolve
that conflict with our partner, we move on and try again because our experience
helps us to understand that it might take some time to resolve that
conflict. And we also understand the
value of investing time, strategies and repeated efforts, so that failure does
not occur and we can move on to the next challenge that life hands us. Kids don’t always get this. They are often discouraged by failure and
have a hard time seeing it as a pathway to learning. Teachers know that while a lot is learned as
we fail in life, failure itself is not necessarily the building block for
success. Success is. As a staff of
educators we are always looking for those small wins upon which to build more
success. This is much more successful with
children and adolescents than helping them realize that failure can be a good
thing. However, as adults, we must still
teach our children that it is through failure that we grow intellectually and
emotionally. After all, failure usually
comes when we try something new. To
avoid failure would be to avoid new experiences – to be safe in what we
know. So encourage your children to
build on their successes, to value their failure, and to continue to try new
things.
“Far
better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though
checkered by failure...than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy
nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory
nor defeat.” – Theodore Roosevelt
Next week, we will be celebrating the Chinese New Year. Each day we will have a different activity, culminating with a morning-long celebration on Thursday. If you would like to help with any of the activities, please contact your child’s homeroom teacher to discuss what role you might take.
Next week, we will be celebrating the Chinese New Year. Each day we will have a different activity, culminating with a morning-long celebration on Thursday. If you would like to help with any of the activities, please contact your child’s homeroom teacher to discuss what role you might take.
Cheers,
Steve
