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1.1 Inspirational Quote
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Posted by CUNY Mindset Initiative on December 26, 2023 at 4:27 pm1.1 Inspirational Quote
“Failure is a greater teacher than success.”
💬 Discussion:
- Respond to this quote: Comment, reflect, agree/disagree, share a similar or contradictory quote, or provide an example to support or reject this quote. You may use text, video, audio, etc.
- Respond constructively and substantively (≥2 sentences) to another participant’s comments.
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Hi Denise,
Yes! The focus on what will be different is so key–how can you move forward in the learning process using what you learned before (even if what you learned is how to do it differently).
Thanks for this perspective as an Academic Advisor and thinking about helping students come back to their education after a stop out.
Hi Casandra,
I agree that in my own teaching this doesn’t exactly work. I grade using a portfolio method in Composition 101, so students are working on their writing as part of a process of revision. We’re not working in the realm of “you failed” or “you passed.” We’re working in the realm of “how can I make this essay / writing better?” That holds no matter where a student starts and is a useful touchstone for all parts of the writing process. I think there are so many ways where “try again using what you learned” is better than “failure.” I also think this is part of where we might seek to rethink some of how we approach higher ed. Game theory / pedagogy already well documents the phenomena of asking students to “gamify” the classroom–and in games, you don’t “fail,” you just play again.
This discussion underscores the importance of how we frame challenges and the language we use to describe them. Emphasizing learning and growth over simple success or failure can create a more inclusive and supportive educational environment that encourages all students to persist and succeed.
Thanks for sharing your insights and strategies!
I believe that there are three forms of failure that I see in myself and my teacher candidates. The first is no trying hard enough or at all. The second is trying hard and not making the cut per someone else’s standards. The third is trying hard at first and then giving up.
I will provide a few examples of how these different forms of failure might be teachable moments or in some cases teachable turn-arounds are when a lightbulb goes off that tells me or another individual to channel these experiences into something positive. It’s been a while since I read Lesie Odum’s book, Failing Up, How to Take Risks, Aim Higher and Never Stop Learning, but it’s one of my favorites. It’s also based on how a teacher inspired him, so it appeals to me in particular because I am an educator at heart and in my chosen branch of higher education.
One the quotes from Odum reflects a similar take on failure “The path to moments of greatness in your life will be paved, in part, with your spectacular failures.”
― Leslie Odom Jr., Failing Up: How to Take Risks, Aim Higher, and Never Stop LearningI heard Leslie Odum speak at an ISTE conference which is centered on teaching of technology. The essence of his speech was about staying the course and taking risks, but also on being open to the teachers in your life when they appear.
Half the battle as a teacher of teachers (I’m a professor in a teacher prep program) is getting the teacher candidates to have a growth mindset and to take risks on assignments. I am excited to see an online course on growth mindset because it is something that I teach in class, in my PD’s and when I present.
Summarily, I believe that in order to succeed, you have to be able to take risks. Sometimes risks do not pan out the way that I planned them. This is not to mean that one shouldn’t take different types of risks (calculated risks versus jumping in head first), but in learning there are times when I am more of a calculated risk taker than not. I believe that true learning comes from being open and being vulnerable. That too comes with the risk of failure. All I can do is module for students and share readings to help guide them toward healthy risk-taking in exploration of content and in the field.
Dear Denise,
I am a teacher educator and also an advisor of students. It was delightful to read your post.
Your post is so insightful. I think it is great advice for students in advisement and I am going to use this when I advise students. “Always, what is going to be different when they return”. I love this quote because see many graduate students spend time on their story about why they fell through the cracks, on blame of a professor, advisor (me) or on their anxiety.
I also appreciate the comment on spending time only sharing a part of my story to build empathy and that the sessions are about me. I’ve also learned that when advising students about non-volatile or personal ideas (let’s say about teaching practice) I usually say, other teachers in schools like yours do……. or best practices are……… or why don’t you ask your principal to pay for PD. I try to focus on growth mindset rather than just allow them to talk about overwhelm or anxiety. Now sometimes they will cry and I’ll just give them the space. I think that’s a little different.
But I do think goal-oriented advisement works when they find a solution by thinking out what can be different.
I find teacher training fascinating since so many of us in higher ed experienced exactly none before becoming faculty members (although these professional development series count now!). Thanks for the Odom quote- I hadn’t seen that one. It made me think about the fact that, especially for our varied student population, the definitions of “spectacular failure” and “moments of greatness” and “taking risks” must also vary very widely. For some folks, just getting to campus might be a moment of greatness. Similarly, an offhand remark made by a faculty member on a student’s work could be interpreted as a spectacular failure. Finally, what’s risky- I’m thinking about investing in a textbook or taking an extra class- can change so much from student to student. It’s a real challenge to keep this all in mind!
Thank you, @elizabethklein1, for breaking it down into different forms, sharing about the book, and bringing risks into the discussion!
This and @professork ‘s reply got me thinking about how much our past experiences might shape our approaches to risk-taking.
I start the semester with an activity where I ask students about past positive and negative educational experiences, but I hadn’t thought of asking them about risk-taking and situations where they took a risk that worked out. (By the way, this also got me thinking about my favorite teacher in high school… she was also the hardest teacher I had and when that semester started I thought it was my worst class! Things turned around!)
As long as the failure isn’t the end of the road!
I tell my students (and myself) that “failing with style” is being ready to analyze my failure, learn from it, and improve my next attempt.
However, as a STEM researcher, I identify much more with the provided quote “Failure is a better teacher than success”. It is self-explanatory, and it is how I experience experiment failures in the lab. When an experiment does not work I learn more about the method, I think intensely about possible reasons for its failure, and I use this knowledge to set up new controls to troubleshoot why the experiment did not work. This forces you to learn more deeply about the process you are studying, and the pros and cons of the methods you are using in your studies. When the experiment works on the first try I do not learn much about the method and do not focus on whether there are other parameters I should consider.
In my course, I often do problems with the students on the board. I allow myself to make mistakes or even give the students problems answers with mistakes for them to fix. I want the students to see that it is ok to make mistakes, that I make mistakes, and that together we learn to understand genetic problems more deeply. I ask the students to solve in groups very difficult genetic problems. Much more difficult than they need to know for the exam. After they give the problem a good try as a team, we work it out together as a class. We go through the different solutions teams came up with and often combine approaches from different teams to solve the problem. After the problem is solved I ask the students to try to find the answer taking a different approach. The students are told that they are here to learn and that only in the assessments they need to perform but that to perform better they need to work out problems that are not cookie cutter problems. I never thought these activities and pedagogic approaches may be helping them develop a growth mindset. In the future, I will connect these activities and approaches directly to a growth mindset for the students. I think that students being cognisant of this connection will allow them to develop a growth mindset outside the course.
Yes! Failure can be paralyzing at times, especially when struggling with perfectionism. Perfectionism and growth mindset might be a good pair of incompetencies/competencies to work at balancing at the same time…
Casandra Silva Sibilin (she/her/hers) wrote:I think this is a great quote to reflect on and open discussion about growth mindsets. I agree and disagree!
I agree at the surface level. The quote is about contrasting failure and success and embracing failure as a learning opportunity–very growth mindset! It also makes me think of research on neuroplasticity and popular advice which says that if you’re learning a new skill, such as playing an instrument, it’s not the getting it perfect but the making mistakes part that is most valuable for learning. (e.g.”Turning frustration into fuel“)
Putting on my philosophical and analytical hat, though, I possibly disagree. What is “failure”? What is “success”? If failure is indeed a better teacher then maybe it’s better to use a new term for it. For us, and specially for students, is the term “failure” just too loaded and negative to be useful in this quote or in our teaching growth mindset?
I learned from the point in several posts and responses of reframing or replacing the word “failure”. English is not my first language, but it has a feeling of finality. You either fail or succeed. I like people using setbacks instead of failure as a word and as in the video insinuates to use of “yet” as a way to utilize language to promote/develop a mindset of growth.
Just joining this. Hi all! I’m Sarah and I teach public health and personal health at Brooklyn College. I’m glad to be here and I’m looking forward to incorporating what I learn into my Fall classes.
It seems like students are so full of anxiety in general and of course terrified of failure, especially if the failure is public. So much so that some of them don’t try, as alluded to in one of the previous posts. As a fairly new instructor, and since learning about the growth mindset, I take every opportunity to point out to my students my own areas of growth (i.e. my failures). I agree with what others have said about the need for nuance in this statement. Failure can lead to someone dropping out of school, losing their scholarship, etc. and sometimes there is a lesson learned that leads to growth. But, sometimes the lesson might be that the person doesn’t deserve to or is not smart enough to succeed, which of course is not better than success. It seems like it partially depends on the potential consequences of the failure.
Casandra, thanks for this reminder. It’s been many years since I was in school so I find it a bit tough to remember when I had a hard time with different types of reading and assignments. This module serves as a good reminder to search my memory and/or to do some “creative” remembering about different types of school related tasks I struggled with.
Hi Everyone, My Name is Rachel and I am the Program Specialist for Student Engagement for the ASAP Program at QCC. While I am not in a direct teaching role I believe I will gain valuable insights from these modules that I can apply to my everyday work with students.
Regarding the quote “Failure is a greater teacher than success”, I completely agree. Failure offers invaluable lessons that success often doesn’t. When we fail, we must analyze our mistakes, understand our weaknesses, and develop resilience. These experiences help us grow and improve, ultimately leading to greater success in the long run. Success, on the other hand, can sometimes lead to complacency. Embracing failure as a learning opportunity is crucial for personal and professional development.
When it comes to failure for students I find that failure brings a lot of shame, embarrassment, and negative emotions. It can be very hard to see failure as a positive opportunity when there is a lot on the line for students. I think approaching students who are experiencing some sort of failure from a growth mindset perspective can help students face failure head-on and not feel like it is the end of the world. Examples of how this can show up is when talking to students about courses they may need to retake, major changes, and even future career goals.
Hi Denise,
I completely agree with you! While my role doesn’t involve direct advisement, I often lend a listening ear to students facing various challenges and failures. I naturally tend to see the glass as half full when talking to them, but I find it more difficult to extend the same grace to myself when dealing with my own failures.
I think it’s wonderful that you encourage students to share their stories. It helps them understand that they are not defined by their failures and that these setbacks don’t have to overshadow their entire academic journey. We are all human, and making mistakes is part of the learning process. With the right support, we can all grow and learn from our experiences. This is the essence of community—providing that extra support when it’s needed most.
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