“You have failed.”
“You did not pass your test.”
“You can do this!”
“Mistakes help you grow.”
“You can be a maker. Anyone can be a maker.”
These are some phrases I have heard as an educator and a learner. The students we encounter may have heard these phrases throughout their school experiences. They can be harmful to individuals but can also be the driving force in conquering those barriers and pushing past them. These phrases helped me become a better educator and teacher for my students and for myself as an individual.
When we think of failure, we may think of words like defeat, not good enough,
disappointment, or letdown. It may make us feel horrible and sad inside. Sometimes, we may even bottle up those failures so that others know we have not failed. However, I have come to the conclusion that failures can help us learn and grow. Like Henry Ford said, “Failure is only the opportunity to begin again more intelligently.”
Take for example, my first year of teaching. My first year can be described as unsuccessful. In fact, it was the worst year ever. I had a group of grade level teammates who were not able to support me, and to top it off, I did not have support with multiple students with high behavior issues. I came home every day after school crying. I was “bullied” by my teammate and forced to do learning activities and strategies that were never a recommendation or suggestion, but always a ‘Do this or else.’ There were multiple times when one of my students destroyed my room which resulted in evacuation after evacuation. Three students were removed from my class and switched to different classrooms because I was not a “perfect fit” for their child.
Ultimately, no one would want to share these failures. These are failures I did not think I would announce and put out there for the whole Internet to see. However, being vulnerable and sharing failures help people grow. It shows that as humans, we can make mistakes and can do two things about it. We can either mope and complain about our failures, or we can use those failures to help us improve.
The following year, I was with a new grade level and new grade level teammates. I took my failures from the first year of teaching and figured out opportunities for success. I revamped my classroom management techniques, created and fostered positive relationships with my students, and had a great first year as a Kindergarten teacher.
Now, what does failure have to do with makers? Many factors can accrue with this idea. Martinez & Stager (2013) refer to making as “a powerful, personal expression of intellect. It creates ownership even when what you make isn’t perfect.” When students are making and are becoming makers, they may create something with a group of students using materials and tools familiar to them. However, they may create something intended for a specific purpose, and it may not accomplish the task. Makers should not give up and say their product is done. Makers can accept something is wrong with their product and figure out ways to fix the issue. Such as the students at Quest to Learn, they iterate their product when something may go wrong or it does not do what was intended. Rachelle Vallon, a counselor and coordinator at Quest to Learn (2013) mentions this idea of iteration and how students are learning to take risks when they fail. By creating products that may fail, these students are able to take chances and figure out a new way to make their product not fail in the future.
Having the mindset makers have when approaching failure reminds me of growth mindset. I etch in my students’ minds the idea of “Mistakes help you grow.” As a maker, one may come across a mistake and it should only push them to take a chance to fix it so it does function properly.
As a fifth year teacher, I would love to create a maker environment. However, with the unknown of this fall, how can I create collaborative activities with opportunities for student creativity? How can I encourage makers in my classroom when opportunities may not be allowed? Whatever may come of this fall, I know for sure, I will continue to make known to my students that it’s okay to fail and it’s even better to be a maker.
"Self Reflection Within Education" created by Stephanie Check using Piktochart
References
Check, S. (2020). Self reflection within education. [Infographic of my self reflection within education].
Edutopia. (2013, November 12). Reframing failure as iteration allows students to thrive [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJyNxx82vGQ
Martinez, S. L., & Stager, G. (2013). Invent to learn: Making, tinkering, and engineering in the classroom, (pp. 31-41). Constructing Modern Knowledge Press.
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