“The greatest teacher, failure is.”
If Yoda says it, it must be worth spending some time thinking about.
I also hear this message when I listen to successful entrepreneurs. They say that failure leads to innovation and is critical to their ultimate success.
Thomas Edison admitted to a thousand failed attempts to make the light bulb before getting it right in 1879.
“Failure provides the opportunity to begin again, more intelligently,” he said. One could argue that the greatness of the United States of America was founded on overcoming failure, and second chances abounded for those who were willing to take chances.
However, in some ways, the academic system is rigged against allowing students the opportunity to try new things and fail. Why? And how can we change that?
As a heartbreaking example, an excellent student at Adelphi University, where I am an assistant professor of physics, participated in a joint STEM partnership program with another university. To maintain participation in this program, along with a scholarship, this student had to maintain at least a 3.3 GPA and get a B or higher in almost all of his classes.
