Hillside News Brief
February 22, 2019
In Praise of Failure
I’ve been thinking about failure lately, my own as well as others’. No one likes to fail, and I believe failure has become something most people choose to avoid. I’m not convinced that a life without failure is something to pursue. Failure can be a teacher in many instances, if we choose to view it as such.
There must, indeed, be a place for failure at school. Often, students shut down, avoid work, or become angry when they face an obstacle here. As educators and parents, we must find ways to reframe failure as challenge and then show kids how to approach a challenge as a learning opportunity. Without challenge, we won’t accomplish much teaching or learning. In fact, school is all about opportunities to learn; if we already know it, we don’t need to learn it.
Failure is only valuable if we are able to benefit from it. As adults, we tend to look at failure as a reflection of our self-worth. If we didn’t get it right, it must mean we are not competent. Instead, if we are able to view failure as an opportunity to shift course or to make adjustments, we can add to our knowledge and enhance our skills.
Entrepreneur Sara Blakely (founder and owner of the apparel company Spanx) reports that, growing up, her family’s dinner table conversation regularly included a discussion of each family member’s most significant failure of the week. Each would take a turn to share their “favorite mistake” and how they dealt with it. Family members would celebrate effort and discuss solutions. Sara says she learned to reframe failure; to her, failure came to mean a lack of effort.
We are all works in progress. I’d like to find ways to celebrate effort and reframe challenges so that they become opportunities for learning. We can help our kids and each other to learn and grow every day if we are able to find the beauty in failure and try again.
Cynthia Bailey, Principal
Hillside Energy Bus Staff of the Month
Read Across America Hillside Literacy Event
Box Tops Contest at Hillside
Get your box tops in by Monday, February 25, 2019. The first place prize is $25 from the Community Club for your classroom and a class party!!! Second place prize is $20 from the Community Club for your classroom.
Middle School Orientation for 6th Graders
Please access the link below for information from Westside Middle School about Middle School Orientation for this year's 6th graders: