“Knowledge rests not upon truth alone, but upon error also.” – Carl Jung

            Learning is a never-ending process. It is a continuous way of discovering something new. And so, a part of it is encountering failures in our life.

            Education is not all about gaining grades. Grades are only numbers, but students value them a little too much. Say, here are some of often lines of students: “I didn’t do very well on the test. Is there any anything I can do to gain extra credits?”  or “I’m so close to a B in class; how can I earn some more points?” Less often, students inquire about improving upon a particular component of the unit’s content.

The past decades of education have trained students and teachers to focus on grades rather than learning. Unfortunately, grades are generally an account of points earned through various activities that are influenced by artificial deadlines, grade inflation, extra credit, and subjectivity. It’s time for us to change the students’ mindset, currently focused on reaching a particular percentage. Instead, empower them to take charge of their learning and measure their own success. Generally, we tend to connect it with intense self-judgement and inner criticism. The fear of failure is so strong, we often become hesitant to focus on dreams due to past failures; we would rather not fail again. It’s easier to say “Oh well, I tried” than to view failure as what it really is: an expected component in the process of change. They are so difficult because they trigger and initially reinforce limiting beliefs that we already hold about ourselves.

We need to design an alternative paradigm for failure. In other words, redefine failure in a manner to allow ourselves to see whatever happens not as failure, but as ‘information’. From there, it becomes possible to gather and access new information and include it in a revised plan. During the momentary failure, we must be able to recall the excitement of the long-term big picture vision, while intentionally choosing to listen to the supportive inner voices.

Instead, let us see failure as an opportunity for students to receive feedback on their strengths, as well as their areas of improvement — all for the purpose of getting better. When reframed as a good, constructive, and essential part of learning, failure is a master teacher.

By: Catherine T. Acuzar Teacher 1 Bataan National High School