SPEAKING OUT

Let Them Fail

Teaching students to accept adversity and persevere prepares them for life

By Dezoray Moore

F ailure is productive. Failure is

healthy. It is OK to fail, and stu-
dents need to experience a healthy
must understand that it is counter-
intuitive to protect students from
failure. Students must be allowed
always have to be final, however. It
can be transformative.
Students will find it helpful to know
dose of failure in order to succeed. to experience failure and use their how to redirect their outcomes in
Many of our world leaders, most problem-solving skills to help them a more positive direction. But they
creative minds, and superstar ath- navigate through it to achieve a should also know when to accept fail-
letes have failed in life at one time or more favorable outcome. ure, learn from it, and move on. All
another—and most of them failed big. students need to have a clear under-
But they learned from their failures, Help Students Fail standing that failure is natural and
made the necessary changes, and con- Educators and parents alike must learn how to handle it in a positive,
tinued on their paths to great success. be committed to helping students appropriate, and acceptable fashion.
It’s only natural to want students learn to fail, knowing that failing Children are resilient, and let-
to be happy and flourish in every- does not mean that the student is ting them fail builds character, lifts
thing that they do. Failure is no a failure. Adults must let students self-esteem, and allows them to
bed of roses for a student, nor is fail and support them throughout accept defeat. We revel in children’s
it pleasant for parents, teachers, the process. And failure is a pro- accomplishments, achievements,
and administrators. But adults cess—it evolves. Failure doesn’t and awards. We give them shoutouts,

52 Principal n September/October 2019 www.naesp.org

praise, prizes, trophies, and gifts, and adversities, they may shy away from Students who learn how
we attend ceremonies, banquets, and challenges, be complacent, lack
parties that celebrate their successes. motivation, stagnate, and remain to appropriately accept
Let’s not forget to put forth the same dependent on others. They may suc- failure early in life are
amount of effort to teach students cumb to peer pressure. They may get
how to accept failure. involved with drugs or crime. Worse, better prepared to handle
Students will experience setbacks, their low self-worth may push them to
adversity later in life.
disappointments, mistakes, mishaps, attempt suicide.
miscalculations, defeat, losses, rejec- In order for students to succeed
tions, and trials and tribulations in life, adults must let them fail and
throughout their lives. When we teach them how to accept their fail-
let them fail, we help them become
grounded, well-rounded individuals.
ures appropriately. By doing so, they
can learn from them and be better
naesp leading
be beneficial and lead to success if
they are willing to put forth hard
And students who can accept failure
graciously can transfer those skills to
prepared if they are faced with the
same challenges again.
Salsbury I
work, tenacity, and perseverance. Let
students fail and learn from their fail-
the classroom, sporting events, and Whatever the mantra one chooses— ures. When students overcome their
individual and team competitions. fail up, fail forward, or fail better—it failures, they succeed in life.
Handling failure in a productive should be a rallying cry for future
manner is preparation for life. success. Students must acquire the Dezoray Moore is assistant principal of
fortitude, stamina, and resilience to Hawthorne Park Elementary School in
The Fear of Failure fail. In the end, students’ failures will Willingboro, New Jersey.
Adults can teach students how to over-
come the fear of failure by example.
Jan/Feb, Mar/Apr, May/Jun, Sep/Oct, Nov/Dec
When we share our personal failures
with students in an appropriate con-
text, they begin to understand the
complexities of life. This builds their
confidence, and they will be more
apt to explore their own more chal-
lenging and unfamiliar experiences.
If they fail on these adventures, they
can better pick themselves up, dust
themselves off, and move on. When
• Cubbies
students can overcome their failures,
they succeed in life. • Standard Lockers
No one is immune to failure, and
that’s why adults should let students • Vented Lockers
fail. When children are protected
• Extra Wide Lockers
from failure, they can’t gain the nec-
essary experiences they’ll need to be • Open Access Lockers
successful in life.
As students mature and move on • Box Style Lockers
to college, career, and community,
• Wood Lockers
they will need to know how to deal
with the setbacks, disappointments, • Plastic Lockers
rejections, and defeats that come with
the territory. Whether it is a rejection • Benches Lockers
to a college application, a layoff from
a job, a breakup, or the loss of a loved
one, it can be a traumatic experience.
Students who learn how to appro-
priately accept failure early in life
are better prepared to handle
adversity later in life. When students
don’t know how to deal with life’s

www.naesp.org Principal n September/October 2019 53