My Reflections of Failure

Nelson Mandela said, “Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.” (Sandford, 2020). As I sit here and reflect on my learning over the past eight weeks in the Applied Digital Learning and Leading program, I ask myself, do you consider yourself successful? Do I have a growth mindset? Do I learn from my mistakes? As I pondered these questions it lead me to reflect on more than just this program but my life that lead me here, to this moment, talking to myself. Failure has been a part of my life’s journey that lead me to become an educator.

Growth derives from failure and if failure is revered for its potential, failure can lead to success. I have fallen so many times in my life and each time, regardless of how much pain I feel, or how difficult it may be, I always stand up and dust myself off. Many times, I have been forced to swallow my pride, look failure in the face and say, thank you. Why would I say thank you for or to my failure? It is simple, I am thanking my failure for my growth, for teaching me what I can become, for allowing me to hurt so that I can heal and move forward. It does not matter where the failure comes from. Failure can come from our personal, professional, or educational lives. As long as I continue to fail forward, extract the positive lessons learned, and apply it to the situation or future situations, I am being successful.

A growth mindset and failing forward are terms I was not familiar with until this program. It is as if I have been enlightened to limitless possibilities. Excitement and anticipation have encompassed my being when I think about my learning and especially the learning of my students. I know that I will improve my students learning environment with the knowledge that I am gaining in this program. Recently, I downloaded the book, The Growth Mindset Coach: A Teacher’s Month-by-Month Handbook for Empowering Students to Achieve by Annie Brock and Heather Hundley. Barely opening the book, I am excited about what I will learn about implementing a growth mindset for my students and watching as they transform their perceptions of what is consider success.

There are very few times in my life that I have been given the choice in a learning environment. Having the freedom to create a project that is so specific to the needs of my program is priceless. Additionally, knowing that I own every written word is very important to me. I do not feel that I was aware of what authentic learning was and I certainly did not know how to implement it into my program. I feel that by the end of this program I will feel more confident with utilizing a blended learning environment in my classroom and that I will be able to implement the COVA model so that my students feel empowered in their learning. This is just the beginning and I have learned so much in such a short period of time. I am excited about what the future brings in this program, to my students, and to my own career.

References

Sandford, K. (2020, 11 26). 30 Powerful Success and Failure Quotes That Will Lead You to Success. lifehack. Retrieved 10 13, 21, from https://www.lifehack.org/articles/communication/30-quotes-failure-that-will-lead-you-success.html