"So much attention is given to mistakes and criticism that the voice of the soul is literally interrupted" (p. 103). If I could get away with posting this quote as my entire blog and receive full credit I would because I feel it encapsulates everything that is wrong with our educational system. I found myself remembering the speech given by Sir Ken Robinson during a TED conference and the correlation with killing creativity in the classroom. I also created a quick little video about it if you would like to check it out.
The way the Zanders talk about how "mistakes can be like ice, if we resist them we may keep slipping into a posture of defeat" (p.102) resonates with me in several levels. First off, I have learned over the years that mistakes are part of life and that the more you look forward to learning from them the more enjoyable everything becomes. I was notoriously hard on myself (still am a little) when I was growing up and this made it hard for me to enjoy life's experiences. I felt that I should be able to do everything perfect the first time and if I didn't then I was letting everyone down. Secondly, I can see how students are brought along with this notion of you better not screw up because if you really knew what you were doing you wouldn't make mistakes. I bring up my AP Econ kids a lot but they are such a source of whats wrong with education when they should be the source of what is right. Instead of fostering exploration and creativity while allowing for risk taking and thereby mistakes, we try and make sure we drill just the facts into them so that they can receive their A+ in a weighted class and make their GPA rise over a 4.5. If we could just "start from what is, not from what should be" (p.111) and help them to realize that the more they enroll in the class of life just how easy it would be to generate "possibility and lighting its spark in others" (p.128).
My goal from now on is to help my students, whether they are adults at my company or the future ones I will have when I return to teaching, that "if we include mistakes in our definition of performance, we are likely to glide through them and appreciate the beauty of a longer run (p. 102). For everyone deserves to enjoy the process as much as the outcome and I can't wait to see the smiling eyes of future mistake makers.
Drew
ReplyDeleteI always learn so much from you!! Your wisdom has been a source of encouragement and strength for me throughout this program! From someone else who can be a bit hard on herself, the reminders about mistakes and growing from them, and enjoying life's experiences are good!!
I have great hope that you will return to teaching kids again someday (even as I know you are exactly where God wants you to be for this season)!
You have much to give, and wisdom to impart!
Drew,
ReplyDeleteThanks for putting that video together. It was extremely powerful. He quoted “We don’t grow into creativity, we grow out of it. Or rather, we get educated out of it.” How true this statement is! I remember in an elementary art class being told to color within the lines of a picture. I understand that following directions is important, and I had the skills to follow such a simple task, however, I felt my creativity was so limited. I began coloring outside of the lines only to have my picture taken away for not listening. Perhaps, I should’ve followed the instructions, but it caused me to reflect on the concept of “drawing within the lines.” I was not allowed to be my creative self and soon found my creativity slowly dwindling and my ideas becoming just like everyone else, or at least what was expected. Since then I have had many experiences that have taught me to be myself regardless of what the world around me is telling me. After realizing this, I have come back to my belief of “color outside the lines.”
One more thing I wanted to touch on was the idea of making mistakes. Making mistakes is what shapes us. My sister just broke her arm last week while riding her bike and we were discussing this topic. She was a bit saddened about her broken arm and started looking back as to how she could’ve avoided it. The only solution we came up with was to never have gone on the bicycle ride. We began laughing and realized the only way to never break a bone is to never try or do anything! What kind of life is that? So she gladly accepted her circumstances. This is the same with making mistakes. Our students become so afraid of making mistakes, that they neglect to even try. I love Thomas Edison’s quote, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” This is what it is all about. Making a mistake ministers to our understanding and gets us one step closer to where we need to be. We should not let our students be afraid of making mistakes or they will remain stagnant in their lives, never living to their full potential for they fear to get broken. We need to let them know we too as teachers make mistakes and that it is a great thing!
Drew,
ReplyDeleteYour blog post is awesome. One of the most frustrating aspects of education and teaching is the confinement of standardized education. Limiting our students, crushing creativity, in the name of being standard. Trying to push through and discover ways to reach each student and encourage growth is hard enough, but even more so when they feel they are penalized for making mistakes. I love the quote you used by Thomas Edison. I would love nothing more than to teach my students the value of trying and failing and trying again. The rest they can learn...but this is the difficult lesson.
Drew very nice post. Everybody learns from there mistakes. I know that I have defiantly learned from my mistakes and I will not do it again. Mistakes are in the human nature. I feel the same way about being hard on ourselves. I have always had to do everything perfect and by the book, but getting older I am realizing that trying to be perfect is giving me stress that I don't need. The Thomas Edison quote was perfect! Everybody learns from trail and error. Look at teachers, we try something on a child and if the result comes out negative, we try to do it in another way.
ReplyDeleteI love reading your blog posts!