How to Learn from Mistakes

by Diana Laufenberg was inspirational to listen to.  There are times when I hear motivational speakers and I am overwhelmed by their message.  Admittedly I think, "one more thing to add to our list of responsibilities in the classroom."  Her message is simple and encouraging, but even more than that, it is NECESSARY! 

Her reference to her grandmother and father's school experience was enlightening.  They had to attend school to receive information and in our current world, where information is available 24 hours at the tips of our fingers, how do we validate ourselves as educators?  I've heard this question before and it was so discouraging to hear.  What do you mean my job could be obsolete within my lifetime and/or career?  I LOVE this job!  I LOVE witnessing the moment a child understands or helping them achieve success that they couldn't on their own.  Ms. Laufenberg's message was not threatening, but simple.  We have to make education about experiential learning, empowering student voice and embracing failure so that true learning can happen.  When we search for and accept more than one "right" answer, we are putting the emphasis on the learning experience not on the memorization of information. 

The challenge I have, lies in how I translate this for my kindergarten students?  I see the possibilities in middle and high school.  I see the potential in third, fourth and fifth grade, but building a strong foundation on which to base your future learning is important.  If they can't read the information they have access to, won't it stunt their future research and information processing?  There is only one answer when you see the letters t-h-e, it's the word "the", I can't accept other answers.  This is where I think I need to change or adapt my thinking a bit.  There IS only one answer; however, there are MANY ways to helping our brain process and "log" this word for future recall.  Empower students by offering many ways to have access to this word.  Incoporate technology, asking and LISTENING to how students recognize this word.  Allowing students to fail, but making sure I have taken the time to scaffold my lessons so that they have another opportunity to succeed, to learn from their mistakes.