cc licensed flickr photo shared by epSos.de
I have recently read some fantastic blog posts from Jesse McLean and Eric Sheninger that talk about the importance of learning from our failures. As educators, we have to be able to take risks and learn from our mistakes to role model this to our students. Not everything works the first time.
In the past week I have been reading a very interesting book called Rework. Now some of the messages are very strong, and some even controversial, but this quote really stuck out for me:
Evolution doesn’t linger on past failures, it’s always building upon what worked. So should you…Success gives you real ammunition. When something succeeds, you know what worked—and you can do it again. And the next time, you’ll probably do it even better. Failure is not a prerequisite for success. (Rework)
The truth is that many educators are very modest and do not always like to share their success. Some even feel guilty. The way I see it, there are a TON of great things happening in our classrooms right now, that have never failed. They were awesome from the start. As much as we have to learn from our failures, we need to be able to share and learn from our success as well. Those good ideas that you have already implemented in your classroom will only steamroll and help build momentum to effective change for our students. Share those successes with others to inspire them as well. You were probably successful because it was a well thought out plan that you put into place. Be proud of that!
Sharing this success may feel like bragging, but if you share it, it will probably work for someone else as well. Sometimes we knock out of the park on our first swing. You can learn just as much from that as you can striking out.
