Learning from Failure

Failure happens. We should come to expect it and dealt with it when it happens. But learning to welcome failure? That is a big ask and one which many of us are not comfortable in doing. Yet there is a growing movement of educators who think that failure is not only a learning opportunity but something which should be celebrated. How does this fit into a schooling system which has been intolerant of failure from both staff and pupils, and punish those who attempt to reach higher and but don’t succeed?

In this #UKEdChat discussion, we discussed how failure is viewed by educators, what lessons can be learnt from failure and what are the pros and cons of embracing failure. We hope this will be a successful chat, but if not, perhaps we will learn something for next time!

Questions:

What have you personally learnt from a past failure?
How is failure viewed in your classroom? How do your pupils’ response to failure?
What kind of failure is not acceptable in your classroom?
What is the attitude to failure in your school for pupils?
What is the attitude to failure in your school for teachers? Are mavericks who innovate, but inevitably sometimes fail welcomed?
When failure is viewed negatively and punished in our wider society, is a celebration of failure setting up false expectations for our young people?
How can the celebrating failure of pupils be squared with schools being celebrated for exam success?
Is a positive view of failure something only for more able pupils who can afford to fail occasionally?