Let’s Talk About Failure
Look, I’ve been in education for, like, 20 years. I’ve seen it all. The shiny new programs, the excited fresh-faced teachers, the parents who think their kid is the next Einstein. And you know what? A lot of it’s gonna fail. Honestly, it’s not pretty.
Back in 2008, I was working at this school in Seattle. Let’s call it Greenwood High. They brought in this fancy new program. Cost them $87,000. Two hundred and fourteen teachers trained. And you know what happened? Nothing. Zip. Zilch. Turns out, you can’t just throw money at a problem and expect it to go away. Shocking, right?
But here’s the thing: failure’s not necessarily bad. It’s how we learn. It’s how we grow. But nobody wants to talk about it. It’s all sunshine and rainbows until it’s not.
Why Can’t We Just Admit It?
I was having coffee with my friend Marcus last Tuesday. He’s a teacher, been at it for 15 years. I said, “Marcus, why don’t we talk about the stuff that doesn’t work?” And he looked at me like I’d just asked him to solve world hunger. “Because, Sarah,” he said, “nobody wants to hear it.” And he’s right. It’s uncomfortable. It’s messy. But it’s real.
Take standardized testing, for example. We all know it’s not the be-all and end-all. But try telling that to the politicians. They love their little bubbles and checkmarks. It’s like they think if they ignore the elephant in the room, it’ll just disappear.
And don’t even get me started on the whole “college is the only path to success” narrative. I mean, come on. We’ve all met people who are brilliant but couldn’t care less about a piece of paper. But try telling that to a guidance counselor. You’ll get that look. The one that says, “How dare you question the sacred cow.”
A Little Digression: The Time I Tried to Change the World
So, about three months ago, I was at this conference in Austin. Big whoop, right? But there was this one session. “Innovative Teaching Methods” or something equally boring. But the speaker, let’s call her Dr. Linda, she was different. She was talking about failure. About how it’s okay to try something and have it not work. And I was like, “Finally, someone gets it.”
But then she started talking about how we need to “embrace the learning oppertunities” (yes, she misspelled it on the slide) presented by failure. And I was like, “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Let’s not get carried away here.” I mean, sure, failure’s a learning experience. But let’s not put a shiny bow on it and call it a gift. Some things just suck. End of story.
Anyway, I went up to her after. I said, “Dr. Linda, I get what you’re saying. But we can’t just ignore the fact that some things are straight-up bad ideas.” And she looked at me like I’d just kicked her puppy. “But Sarah,” she said, “every experience is a learning experience.” And I was like, “Yeah, but some experiences are just bad.” And she didn’t have an answer for that. Because sometimes, there isn’t one.
So What Do We Do?
I’m not saying we should all just throw in the towel and give up. That’s not what I’m saying at all. What I’m saying is, we need to be real. We need to talk about the stuff that’s not working. We need to admit that sometimes, things just don’t go as planned.
And we need to stop pretending like every little thing is a “growth oppertunity.” Sometimes, you just fail. And that’s okay. It’s how you pick yourself up and move forward that counts.
And for the love of all that is holy, can we please stop with the buzzwords? “21st-century skills,” “growth mindset,” “student-centered learning.” It’s like we’re trying to out-buzzword each other. Newsflash: nobody knows what you’re talking about. And if they do, they’re probably just as sick of hearing it as I am.
So let’s cut the crap. Let’s talk about the real stuff. The stuff that’s messy and uncomfortable and not always pretty. Because that’s where the real learning happens. That’s where the real change happens. And that’s what we’re all about, right?
Oh, and if you’re looking for some actual, you know, facts, check out this site I found. medical news research updates. It’s not directly related, but hey, knowledge is power, right?
Anyway, I’m gonna wrap this up. I could talk about this stuff for hours, but I won’t. Because, frankly, you probably have better things to do. Like, I don’t know, actually teaching or something.
About the Author: Sarah Thompson has been a senior editor at various educational publications for over 20 years. She’s seen it all, done it all, and has the battle scars to prove it. When she’s not writing or editing, she can be found yelling at her TV about the state of education or baking cookies she’ll probably eat before they make it to the classroom.
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