Fail Harder

What if every morning as your students walked into school they were met with huge sign that said “Fail Harder”?

And what if you were told to “walk in stupid” to your classroom every day? 

Might change the experience on school a bit, no?

Interestingly, those are the exact messages that greet the creatives at one of the most renowned ad agencies in the world.

Could it be that in a world where change seems to be happening faster and faster, our emphasis on “success” in school is misplaced? Since school cultures are so focused on avoiding failure and being stupid, have we limited our ability to learn? To try new things? To get out of our boxes? To see the reality of this moment clearly?

The beginner’s mind admits that he knows nothing and is therefore open to everything. The possibilities expand, the paths forward become more numerous. The opportunities to learn, and to learn from failure, multiply.

We can’t learn if we lack the courage and or the cultures to fail.

So, what if we en-couraged it? What if we changed the rules to read “failure is success, so fail harder. Much harder”?

I’m thinking it would make our kids much more prepared for a world in flux even though they may be less prepared for the test.