Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Failure is an option
Failure is not only an option, it is inevitable. And we are better for it.
When we sell life as an exercise in mistake avoidance or perfection, we we end up lying to children who grow up to become adults who live their lives in fear of being wrong.
But if we are never prepared to be wrong - to make a mistake - to fail - then we will never create anything new.
When we say that failure is not an option, many kids really hear us saying that failure is something that should never happen - but then it does, and they are left debilitated and helpless. So they quit.
No one is successful all the time. Successful people see mistakes and failure not as something that should have never happened but as information to be used in the pursuit of life long learning.
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Thank you...
ReplyDeleteI tell my kids everyday that it is alright to make a mistake. That is how we learn, and how we teach others.
Not only is failure an option, it should be celebrated. By that, I mean it should not be dismissed as a one-off or as something that will never happen again. It should be raised onto a pedestal, analyzed, evaluated, dissected, discussed.
ReplyDeleteOne of my grade 12 students told me that not getting into McGill would be considered a failure. Problem is the parents and the students attribute that failure to his teachers. go team! ps 70% student...mcgill 93% acceptance level!
ReplyDeleteThis video is really true, now i known that all these famous stars have been told or failed that they cant be who they want to be, but look at them now. this really helpd me out.
ReplyDeletei think that this is a very motivational video bower. and its good for people who are down and out?
ReplyDeleteHello my name is kimberley. I'm a student in Mr.Bower's class. Everyone fails in life or makes a mistake, so when i see signs in our school that say failure is not an option, i totally DISAGREE with them ..
ReplyDeleteas one of ur class kids.
ReplyDeletethis Failure video its kinda amzing/awsome its this shows that people can Failure as many times but you always learn from it. its life if you dont Failure then how will you learn. i dont know vary many people in this video but the ones i know that are really big.
I think if failure wan't an option than criminals would keep on trying to do bad things.
ReplyDeleteIf you've ever watched 'Apollo 13' , it shows that there are things called 'succesful failure'. In the movie, they go on a mission to the moon, but alot of things go wrong . They get up to space , but they don't get to go to the moon . they can't live with the heat . They are limited to things they can use to keep them alive . they have a chance of dieing , and they have only one chance to keep themselves alive . if they mess up , they will die.
ReplyDeleteYou have to watch the movie to get it .
But in the end , they don't get to go to the moon , well land/touch it. But they make it back home alive .
So it was a succesful failure .
I think you are partly right but i mean it can be bad if you keep making the same mistake over and over again, for example at my house i acsidentally broke a cup and the first time i did it my dad and mom said it was okay but not to do it again, but a little while later i broke another cup, by acsident, but this time he got madder and every time i broke a cup after that he just kept getting madder and madder. I mean its not that mistakes are bad its just that if you make the same mistake overand over its going to get anoying. So in my opinion mistakes can be good but only if you do it once or twise but if you keep making the same mistake over and over....we'll it just doesnt work.
ReplyDeleteahmad saud
ReplyDeleteyou learn when you fail and try to improve like the wright brthers who tried hard even when people thought that something taht could fly could not be made yet they tried and indeed failed many times.they werent born smart they tried and failed and tried some more.before making aeroplanes they used to be two brothers who earned a living by making bicycles.no one is perfet yet people can try to become better by learning from their failures.
I would be interested to hear your thoughts on failure and holding students back in school who have not met the learning requirements for the grade. Personally I think it is wrong that we continue to push students through the grades only to keep them with their peers despite their inabilities to meet the requirements.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it is important to teach students that failure is ok, that it is not an end, but something to reflect and build upon in order to accomplish a goal. What are we teaching them when we continually pass them through grades despite their inabilities - how are they going to handle failure when they finally meet it?
Your thoughts would be appreciated.
Hiii Mr Bower. Haha. Idk If You Can Look At My blog From Here But Heres The Link Im Going To Do A Blog About This Video. http://jaaymitchell.blogspot.com/
ReplyDeleteso it's ok to fail
ReplyDeletethat video remined me about how many failures i made.
ReplyDeleteI new about Michiel Jordan.
that video was all about dont quit keep trying
ReplyDeleteI toetly git it mr.Bower.I really liked that video.I liked how they showed the peoples names and intradousted thoughes names.
ReplyDeletei fell on my dirtbike once and i had to go through surgery.but i got back on a dirtbike.i failed but i got back on.
ReplyDeletepeople aren't good at something every one makes mistakes and every one can make then learn to get better at some thing then prepare for the next time wen u do it
ReplyDeleteI knew Walt Disney, the Beatles,Abraham Lincoln.I never knew those people failed at those things
ReplyDeletemichel jordan would not cry in his rome aney way that move was all about dont quit
ReplyDeletei think that to be successful is to be a falure but is there any real difference.does any one think different
ReplyDeleteI agree with u Mr.bower! I am very inspired and I think that you have a point!
ReplyDeletemichel jorden walt disney the beatles aberham all failed who know.i fliped my quad once but i still race
ReplyDeleteI believe that you learn from your mistakes, for example: If you forget to clean your house after school, and your mom comes home and gets mad, you can learn from that, so you know to remember next time.
ReplyDeleteit is about people that can be wrong. they can be right in like video of failure and it was all about it and it was cool.
ReplyDeletewell I agree with you.I don't know but I so agree.I mean it makes sense that if you don't fail or make mistakes at all then your not going to learn but when you do fail and make mistakes then you will learn alot.
ReplyDeleteI think that the video is about life is filled with risks and I you have not failed you have not lived and it's okay to fail. oh I know some people form the video.and It's about movtivation to never give up keep trying. And the people that I know is The Beatles, Michael Jordan, Walt Disney, Abraham Lincoln. that's it
ReplyDeleteonce i fell off my horse bacon and she stepped on my leg add broke it . But i still ride her i never gave. Up failure is a option .
ReplyDeleteI agree that no body is successful all the time mistake is something that we need 2 do something right the next time we do it.
ReplyDeleteI love this! I work with special needs students who need to be reminded of this every day. Thanks for the post!
ReplyDelete