CEP812 Week 7 WPP: Failing on Failure

This week in CEP821, I have focused on failure.  What I have found, is that education is failing failure.  We hear supportive phrases from our teachers like, “Good try!” or “You made a great effort!” while at the same time getting “F’s” on assignments.  A quick Google search turns up a limitless supply of quotes supporting failure.

“Failures, repeated failures, are signposts on the road to achievement.  One fails toward success.” C. S. Lewis

“I can accept failure, everyone fails at something.  I cannot accept not trying.”  Michael Jordan

“Mistakes are the portals of discovery.” James Joyce

I could go on.  In a world full of failed attempts, we brush ourselves off and keep going.  Except in school.  Teaching styles and assessments are only geared for success.  Failure is the opposite of success.  And there is only room for success.  School is supposed to be training and education for our children’s future role as  an active and prosperous me member of society.  Yet, education is not embracing failure.

Embracing failure as a learning tool is no easy task.  It requires paradigm shifts in both pedagogy and assessment.  It is a wicked problem that educators across the world face.  However there are ways to unfreeze this frozen institution in education.  We can find ways to make room for learning from failure.

Find out more!  We can UN-fail failure.