I don’t like to fail. Whether it’s forgetting a club meeting or bombing an assignment, failing to do something I’m supposed to do feels awful. It feels like I should be better than this, for no reason other than that I am who I am. I can’t be ready for adulthood if I keep messing up—right? After all, that’s what I’m taught in high school. That’s what we are all taught.
Throughout our lives, we are going to fail many times. The possibility of failure is always present, and there is nothing we can do to prevent it entirely. However, many high schools don’t address failure. Furthermore, grading systems make students think that getting a “D” or an “F” is the worst thing in the world. This is especially true in high schools where every action can feel like it affects your entire future. But failure is a great teacher. High school should teach students how to deal with failure because doing so creates a growth mindset and opens up new opportunities to explore.
High school should educate students on how to cope with failure to foster a positive growth mindset. We should learn at an early age that failure is nothing to be afraid of, but we should definitely solidify that understanding during high school. However, based on numerous observations, most of us are stressed out if a formative assignment comes back with red ink—and the less said about our reactions to summative assessments, the better.
Imagine you are studying hard to prepare for an SOL, the SAT, a senior project, or even just a regular assignment. This is something important to you; you need to succeed. You finish your task and, a little later, you find out that you received a very low score. How would you react? Chances are, not well.
Teaching a growth mindset is a positive step that more schools should implement. This teaches us that even when we fail, we can work harder the next time. This way, students can breathe easier and experience less stress during difficult assignments. A positive mindset also allows high school students to feel they can achieve anything they set their minds to, even if it feels too difficult at the moment. This is the “power of yet.” While this concept is displayed on many high school posters, it is rarely discussed after elementary school. A growth mindset should be encouraged in high school because it allows us to see the glass as half-full instead of half-empty.
As a high school student, I believe we should learn to accept defeat since it can open new pathways. In the classroom, many of us already have a plan for what we will do after graduation. These plans vary from heading to college to joining the workforce or enlisting in the armed forces. Some students don’t have any other options they want to explore. These students know what they want and when they want it, and they feel no one can stop them. This isn’t as great as it sounds. Having only one option means these students are putting all of their eggs in one basket. My dad once told me, back when we lived in Washington State, that no matter what happens, “it is best to have a backup plan.” You wouldn’t want to be left completely without options, would you? Failure is something that can lead students to discover new plans.
For example, imagine if you always wanted to be a public speaker, but no matter what you did, you always suffered from stage fright. What you wrote was beautiful and moving, but you just couldn’t deliver it verbally. You might start to give up on the dream you planned your whole life around. However, just because you failed at speaking does not mean you cannot write beautifully. Failing at one thing can open opportunities to excel at another. This hypothetical version of you still has a chance to become an author, an essayist, a scriptwriter, or a speechwriter. Failing at one thing doesn’t make you a failure; it just means you have to pivot. Failure is important for students to experience because it isn’t the end of the world, but rather a new beginning.
Some believe that failure shouldn’t be taught in high school because it will cause stress. No one wants to be told they are going to fail. But the truth is that everyone who has ever lived has failed, is failing, or will fail. To paraphrase Sir Patrick Stewart: you can do everything right and still fail. Learning about failure in high school will help us face whatever hardships await us in the future. Contrary to popular belief, not teaching us about losing is more likely to cause stress than learning about it. Being told to succeed in everything is great advice, but not being told that it is okay to fail will damage both our mental state and our self-esteem. We need to be taught about failure because it relieves the stress we feel as we head into the next chapter of our lives.
Failure is bound to happen and is an important part of everyday life. Learning how to accept it and move on is vital. A growth mindset thrives when we fail and improve upon our previous mistakes. Defeat can allow new interests to surface. Losing every once in a while can relieve the pressure of being the best. The phrase “to err is human” is still relevant today. We shouldn’t ignore the fact that failing, messing up, and occasionally ruining something we worked hard on are the very things that make us who we are.
