Making a mistake is a wonder way for students to discover wisdom

No one likes to make mistakes, but most of us realize the lessons to be learned when things don’t go as they should. This realization hasn’t reached our youngest generations yet, though. Ask any educator. It’s a bit unclear if the concept of the beneficial error will ever reach our youth.

We only say this because of the many taxing challenges we face on a daily basis, trying to teach a generation that is sheltered from difficulties to let go of their fears and embrace the errors they make.

I think there’s a clear distinction between an illogical pursuit of perfection and a steadfast goal to do the very best you can do. Unfortunately for many of our students, making a mistake is comparable to the lurking monster underneath their bed. And their fear often becomes debilitating.

But there is much merit in the mistake, and If anyone knows the importance of learning from mistakes, it’s a public school teacher. Sometimes our students’ errors are the most effective indicators of what’s missing in their learning, and the quality teacher used their mistakes to guide their instruction.

However, that’s easier said than done. Fighting the monster under our students’ bed is quite the daunting task. That was probably the most challenging part of coaching soccer at Jordan High.

My girls would miss a defensive tackle … and quit. They would miss-kick a ball … and pout. They would miss a shot … and give up. Some would tally up their mistakes at the end of practice, find themselves overwhelmed, and come to me in tears, wanting to quit the team. It seems I was battling more against their fear screwing up than I was battling their inexperience in playing soccer.

So, what does a coach do? What does a teacher do?

We find a way. I say it all the time … it’s just what teachers do. We create a way when there wasn’t one. For me, it was teaching my girls that mistakes were opportunities to grow, tests to their character. Accepting mistakes needed direction instruction, though. I couldn’t just tell them. I had to teach them how to accept their mistakes and learn from them. It wasn’t easy, that’s for sure. And it took much prodding and redirecting and modeling and encouragement. But slowly, we got there.

Part of the growth was creating a mantra, a shift in our mindset: “Save face.” It was a way to acknowledge their feelings – maybe messing up a tad didn’t feel good…so, make up for it. Reclaim your respect by compensating for a shortfall. So, when a defensive player got beat, we would encourage her, “Save face.” When a striker missed a shot, we would say, “Save face.” The idea was that making a mistake ushered to us a chance to make up for it. Run a tad faster to catch that player who just dribbled by us. Hustle back to reclaim the ball just stolen from us. Work hard to get open and take another shot.

Now, I don’t know if my girls still are saving face wherever they are now, but I bet they are. I hope so, at least. I think the same thing can be said to all of us: teachers, students, moms and dads. It’s not the mistake that defines you; it’s how you save face that does.