Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better. Samuel Beckett

Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.

I recently read a feature article on ISTE called "Teach Your Students to Fail Better" and started to wonder if we as an education system have overdosed on boosting student self-esteem. Have we tilted so far in the direction of building student confidence that we have created a false sense of competency. Are we so afraid to let students fail that we have robbed them of a valuable learning experience? What will happen to these students who live in a society where 80% or more of them make honor roll? What will happen to these students who are given one chance after another to succeed? What will happen when they enter the real world when they will fail to get into the college of their dreams, or get the job that they want, or fail to solve a problem at work? What skills have we given them to overcome failure if we create an educational environment where everyone always succeeds?

How much worse will the education system get when teachers are evaluated on student performance? When the stakes are raised will the system be forced into a situation where we push more students to "succeed" by lowering the bar even further?

Instead consider teaching our students to fail. Allowing them to fail. Encouraging them to fail. Preparing them by giving them the skills to overcome obstacles.