Cycle One:Interpretations and the Meaning and Causes of Failure

Failure is something that the institution of public education has made into a four letter F word.  If we think back to our early years as children and when we would play games or build things with Legos failure was not an option.  I have three sisters and when we would play games as children and one of us would lose what did we always wants to do....play again so we could attempt again to win and be successful.  I would rethink my strategy and try a new way of playing in an attempt to be successful the second time we played.  Imagine a simple game of tic-tac-toe, does anyone play one game and stop?  No, if at first putting your X or O in a certain square doesn’t work you try again.  As I sit here writing this I am overlooking the lake I grew up on and I am reminded of when I learned to ski.  I was about 7 years old and getting up on water ski is not an easy task it requires many, many, many attempts.  Only after falling numerous times and getting back up and trying again was I successful.  Is this not the lesson we want to teach young people?  It’s acceptable to fail and make mistakes as long as you keep trying until you succeed this is a very important life lesson and piece of character.  What should not be acceptable is failure as the end result.  I am proud to say that at 38 years old I still can come here every summer and water ski.  So as children we fail and try again many, many times, so when does it become unacceptable to fail?  When children enter public schools.

While I believe elementary schools do a better job allowing failure and relearning, by the time a student gets to middle school or high school, where they start earning actual letter grades there develops a culture of teachers out to get students with those failing grades.  It becomes teachers against students and all students fear the dreaded F on a test, paper or report card.  The institution of public education becomes not about learning but about not failing and what drives students is their fear of failure.  What we need is schools that allow failure.  Schools that promote a culture that says it is acceptable to fail as long as you learn from it and try again until you succeed.

At Webster City High School (where I teach) we began implementing second chance testing two years ago.  If a student does not succeed at their first summative assessment attempt they can engage in re-learning and re-testing in order to be successful.  If a teachers end goal is student learning then we should never accept failure.  As a teacher I believe that all students are capable of learning.  It may take some students longer to learn it or they may need a different teaching strategy but I believe they are all capable of learning.  This has been a major culture shift for our students.  They are in high school now, they have been in a system that for years has taught them they get one chance to learn it, show they know it and if they don’t get it right the they fail.  Students were scared at first of failure, then students went through the next phase of attitude where if they get a second chance, why try the first time, and now at the end of year two they are finally catching on to what second chance testing and relearning is all about.  Think about education like a sport, take basketball.  Many players struggle with shooting free throws and in order to get better they practice and practice to increase their free throw shooting percentage.  Shaq O’Neil used to be one of the worse free throw shooters in the league and only through continuing practice did he increase his free throw percentage.  Should Shaq have never been allowed to practice and get better?  Some players are great at free throws and require little practice other needs more.  Should Shaq have never been allowed in the NBA because one part of his game was not adequate, yet?  Many students might be good in this subject or that subject and struggle in another – they just need time and practice in that area and an environment that allows them to fail and try again until they succeed.  Even the Washington State Patrol is offering second chances. Sometimes I even like to use failure to teach the class.  After doing some work with Cassie Erkens this spring about grading and assessment she asked me to watch a video called My Favorite No.  Upon watching the video I tried the routine in my classroom and it worked great.  I took an incorrect answer from a student (who remained nameless) and showed the common mistakes and how to do it correctly.  We learned from a mistake.  A great exercise in both it being acceptable to get it wrong, as long as you can correct and learn from it.  The idea is that we need to teach children it is ok to get it wrong just learned from and move on.  This is where perseverance and dedication come from.  Another example comes from the article What’s Right About Looking at What’s Wrong. 

            When I think about my life I have failed many, many times.  Probably more times than my parents would like.  My first marriage failed, I lost my home in a fire, I’ve wrecked a couple cars, I’ve tried teaching practices in my classroom that didn’t work, but I have never given up and I don’t consider myself a failure.  There is a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson that says “Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail.” This is what I want to teach children so that they have the character to persevere through failures, overcome obstacles and have determination to succeed.  All of that is more important than any science fact I could teach them. 

Resources:
Webster City Schools Grading Reform
Minnesota Grading Practices