Preserving the Freedom to Fail

The following is a response to Michael Goodwin's video.

When limitless possibility to succeed is replaced by a system that shuns failure, "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" becomes a hollow concept. Not having the freedom to fail robs us of knowing what we can do, and ultimately, who we are.

Even small defeats are significant learning opportunities. Parenting psychologist Jim Taylor explains: "Failure connects children's actions with consequences, which helps them gain ownership of their efforts."As my daughter attempts a puzzle, her initial exasperation eventually yields to the pleasure of success. I see through her satisfied smile and triumphant claps that she has discovered she can do it! Why would I take this away from her? It's a gift of confidence, of knowing the rewards of determination, one I hope she carries with her through life.

Allowing our children to fail is just as important in education. Echoing Michael Goodwin's statement that "without failure there is no way to measure success," educational psychologist Theodore A. Chandler states that "there can be no meaning or value in success without the experience of failure." There must be the sting of consequence – really, the pain of failure – when there's a lack of effort, or our children will never know what their best is. And how much sweeter is the victory when what our children attain is commensurate with their own hard work?

Conquering failure is not the only benefit of experiencing failure. Having the freedom to fail can point us in new directions. As an undergraduate at Cal, writing poems during chemistry lab might have clued me in that I was in the wrong classroom, but it wasn't until I failed – big time – that the lights went on.

I walked, awash in Berkeley sunshine, clutching a calculus test with a score of 9 out of 100. After the initial horror wore off, I laughed. This was ridiculous. Why was I doing this when there was something else that I was much, much better at? A few months later, I was reading poetry on the steps of Wheeler Hall, barely believing that I was in "school."

Like many others who've been afforded the freedom to fail, I couldn’t be more grateful for the end result: a stark contrast between an attempted pre-med path in which I floundered and the obtaining of a summa cum laude English degree, which I enjoyed, which gave me the opportunity to excel, to shine, to be who I am today – by choice, not passivity. J.K. Rowling put it eloquently in a commencement speech at Harvard: "Rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life."

Not having the freedom to fail precludes our children from actuating their full potential. Without this freedom, they may never know the rewards of hard work or how much their destiny rests in the exercise of their own volition. Our youth must know – experientially – that they have the liberty to choose their own lives and that happiness is within their grasp.

Works Cited:

• Taylor, Jim. "Fear of Failure." Keep Kids Healthy. April 6, 2005. March 20, 2011.
• Goodwin, Michael. "Goodwin on the Freedom to Fail." Templeton Press. YouTube. June 30, 2010. March 12, 2011.
• Chandler, Theodore A. "Commentary: Teaching Students the Value of Failure." Education Week. November 6, 1985. March 19, 2011.
• Rowling, J.K. "The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination." Harvard Magazine. June 5, 2008. March 19, 2011.