How Do You Fail Successfully?

After I watched this video, I thought about two things. First, how good of a balance bike rider Henry is and second Henry fell a lot! When Henry fell he was not afraid to get back up and try again. His teacher (in this case his dad), has taught Henry that falling is okay. Shouldn't we be doing the same thing in the classroom?

As a grade 8 teacher, I have found that sometimes, students are afraid to fail. From Henry's video don't we learn that failing good? I am curious to know why some are scared of failing. Sometimes scared to the point that they don't try. A wise man once said,

"If you don't shoot, you can't score!"

So isn't that the same as saying "If you don't try, you can't succeed"?

Some people I have met use the acronym "FAIL" (First Attempt In Learning), others call a failed attempt "learning mistakes" or "teachable moments". In essence, it is all failure. I encourage students to make mistakes when in class. A classroom is the best place to make mistakes and more importantly, a great arena for learning HOW to fail successfully!

Here is a simple adage...

Try... Fail... Reflect... Change...Try Again... Repeat...

All of this from watching a video of a two and a half year old learning to ride a bike. Amazing!