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.

• Lara Stapleton (She/her)

  Member

  August 13, 2024 at 4:41 pm

  I find thinking about these three different styles of failure very useful. I think many of our students may not realize how often they’re giving up without trying much. I think it will be useful to discuss this in class. I also believe much of how we learn and succeed has to do with what we learn about ourselves; certain systems work for one person but not another. We learn what we enjoy, and how to deal with the things we don’t.
  Joan Castro

  Member

  August 14, 2024 at 11:08 am

  I agree that “failure” is a greater teacher than success because one can learn many more ways how not to do something than by getting it right the first time, but this can only be true if the mental foundations have been set to be self-reflective in nature and concepts like success/failures have been redefined for yourself. Not everyone else’s version of success will leave you happy.
  Joan Castro

  Member

  August 14, 2024 at 11:30 am

  I like your suggestion that we share part of our own stories with students. I make it a point to emphasize that the amount of time I have taken after attempting things that didn’t turn out as I expected (academic and otherwise) has varied and I am quick to admit I don’t know something or if I made a mistake. I try to remind others that what we “see” when we look at other’s lives is only a highlight, that they only need to reflect on how they themselves more than likely take 5-6 pictures to only post 1, if at all–life is like that a lot.
  Faiza Peetz

  Participant

  August 20, 2024 at 11:07 am

  I completely agree with the quote, but only if one takes the time to reflect.
  Jaime Chris Weida (She/Her)

  Member

  August 20, 2024 at 11:08 am

  I agree to some extent; however, I also believe that it is a mistake to “set students up” for failure, which I worry this mindset does. It has been my experience that students will live up (or down) to the expectations that an instructor sets for them.
  Lisa Haas (She/They/Zi)

  Member

  August 20, 2024 at 11:09 am

  Also – I think that it is helpful to have some successes- As a student I’ve experienced many failures, but have also needed to see what a successful experience looks like.
  Margarett Alexandre

  Participant

  August 20, 2024 at 11:09 am

  This quote gives a lot to reflect on!
  Failure can, at times be a greater teacher but it can also be very exhausting along the way!
  Eugenia J. Cawley (She/Her)

  Member

  August 20, 2024 at 11:11 am

  I’m in the middle because we can learn from both – However, when we fail, we are able to reflect on the why, more so than the what. I learn more from my failures than my successes because that’s how I’m able to connect with my students. I share my process with them – what works and what doesn’t – so they can see that I am human. One of my favorite quote is “We cannot find peace by avoiding life,” by Virginia Woolf. I like that because it reminds me that I have to get into the nitty gritty of life to feel human and to connect. My connection helps me be human. In my failures, I can learn about life and be able to connect with others who might be experiencing the same.
  Patrick J Wallach

  Participant

  August 20, 2024 at 11:12 am

  I agree with the quote and this is especially what is stressed with Growth Mindset – it is through failure that we can grow and ultimately succeed.
  Mowmita Jabir (She/her)

  Member

  August 20, 2024 at 11:12 am

  Yes, I’d say there’s a lot of truth to that. Failure often provides more immediate and valuable feedback than success. When we fail, we’re forced to confront what went wrong and how we can improve, which can lead to significant growth and learning. Success can be great for motivation and confidence, but it doesn’t always offer the same level of insight or opportunity for self-reflection.
  Heidi Diehl (she/her)

  Member

  August 20, 2024 at 11:12 am

  This is a thought-provoking quote; it makes me wonder whether we tend to ruminate on failure more than success. (And by ruminate, I mean dwell on, overthink, feel like, well, a failure about!) Ruminating on success is important too, but I think it’s easy, to generalize, to overlook what’s going well and working well.
  Eugenia J. Cawley (She/Her)

  Member

  August 20, 2024 at 11:13 am

  Yes, failure can come at the beginning of something, as a way to notify us that we need to rethink, may be ask for assistance from those who’ve done the same.
  Junie Charlot (she/her/hers)

  Member

  August 20, 2024 at 11:13 am

  I completely agree. We learn from our mistakes. In addition, errors and mistakes should always be considered as a part of growth.
  Tessa Flannery

  Participant

  August 20, 2024 at 11:14 am

  I agree with the quote, but I’ve found that unless I do the work of closely examining how and why I’ve failed: treating everything like a science experiment where every detail needs to be notated, I don’t always learn as much. The act of reflection seems to be key.
  Robin Kietlinski

  Participant

  August 20, 2024 at 11:14 am

  “Failure is a greater teacher than success.”

  While I agree with the quote in theory, I think in practice it is actually a difficult adage to live by. I am speaking from the position of both a professor and a parent of teenagers. At work, I think a lot of students probably deserve to fail and learn from their mistakes, but practically I do not enjoy failing students and often feel like it can derail their academic careers/success. I have failed students who go on to drop out of college. In high school too, I would love my kids to learn from their failures, but the ramifications of having poor grades are also real. So I do think that failing can be very instructive in some contexts.