Attempts are Important

In The worst from Seth Godin's Blogby Seth Godin states

“The worst golfer doesn’t even play.”

I remember talking to a high school basketball player and asking him if he got nervous when he tried to make a basket. Wasn’t he afraid that he would miss? He just looked at me with surprise. Then he let me know that he would never make a basket if he never tried. Better to try and miss than to never try at all.

This is what I want my students to learn in my class. I want them to be willing to try even if they might make a mistake.

I have watched students paralyzed with fear in case they make a mistake. They are afraid people will laugh at them and ridicule them. This has happened to them before and they have learned to protect themselves.

I start out by explaining everyone makes mistakes all of the time throughout their life. This is part of life and learning. We learn from our mistakes.

When a basketball player shoots for a basket and misses, he learns that the spot he aimed for was not the right spot. He keeps practicing until he finds the right spot. The right spot for him may not be the same spot for me because we are at different heights and have different strengths. When a player is practicing shots, does his team laugh at him when he misses? No, they encourage him to do better.

I want my students to be teammates. I want them to encourage each other and help them to be brave enough to try. I want my class to be a safe place where it is okay to make mistakes as long as we learn from them. I want to teach the students to be compassionate and understanding so they can help each.

When the class acts as a team and helps each other, everyone will be more successful.

How do you encourage your students to be a team? Please share.

Photo by Tom Briskey on Unsplash