1.1 Inspirational Quote

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  Posted by CUNY Mindset Initiative on December 26, 2023 at 4:27 pm

  1.1 Inspirational Quote

  “Failure is a greater teacher than success.”​

  —  Clarissa Pinkola Estés

  💬  Discussion:

  1. 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.
  2. Respond constructively and substantively (≥2 sentences) to another participant’s comments.

• Gretchen Irwin-Harada (She/Her/Hers)

  Member

  September 10, 2024 at 4:22 pm

  I like to encourage students to take risks and not worry about not being perfect or making a mistake. I tell them that “progress not perfection” is the goal, and that we can learn from our mistakes.
  Jaime Chris Weida (She/Her)

  Member

  September 23, 2024 at 6:14 pm

  I agree.  I’ve often heard/read the statement that “some students need to fail to learn” and I am still not 100% sure if that is true and/or helpful.  I teach at BMCC and for my students, like yours, the stakes can be very high when it comes to failing a class or multiple classes.  I assign very few failing grades but I inevitably do land up giving out some F grades.  I really worry about the effect a failing grade has on students.
  Jaime Chris Weida (She/Her)

  Member

  September 23, 2024 at 6:19 pm

  I feel like I already responded to this quote, but apparently not! In any case, I agree that people may learn from their failures but I don’t want to “buy into” a mentality that poses failure as “necessary” in some way. I honestly believe that students live up or down to our expectations as educators, and if we see failure in a class as a “teaching tool,” I worry that students will unconsciously absorb that mentality. Plus, many of our students are undocumented or have financial aid dependent upon their GPA; in those cases, failure in a class may literally mean deportation or the complete loss of a life opportunity! I don’t know. Of course not every student can sucessfully pass every class but I think we should start out by assuming they all can and only assign failing grades in extreme circumstance.
  Angela Padilla

  Member

  October 16, 2024 at 2:59 pm

  “Failure is a greater teacher than success.”

  I agree with this quote. Many of us dwell on the negative and not on the good. This is true with failing, which is often considered to be negative. Dwelling can be reflective and lead to self-questioning about what went wrong and how to improve. Then dwelling, also considered to be negative, can lead to improving and learning.
  Angela Padilla

  Member

  October 16, 2024 at 3:16 pm

  I like your suggestion to redefine what failure is, and perhaps we should consider using a different term altogether, as ‘failure’ carries stigmatized negative connotations.