Thomas Edison

One of my new found loves is my iGoogle homepage. When I get to work, I can get everything right on one page...news, weather, even a game (don't tell the boss!). One of my widgets is "Quote of the Day." I love quotes. Used them quite often in papers and articles throughout my school career and they attributed to many a stellar grade.

So a few weeks ago there is a quote from Thomas Edison that says, "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." Almost immediately a light bulb goes off...this is one of the problems with society today. People are so afraid to fail, that they just don't try. What we really need to teach is that failure is not bad, it's part of the learning process.

Society is so afraid to let kids these day fail at anything that schools are taking away grades, classic playground games, and even keeping score. Instead, let them fail and TEACH them how to fix what is wrong. We all know that everyone keeps score in the real world, so let's give our kids the tools to do the best they can.

My girlfriend called me the other day and told me that for the first time in her life, she received a negative review at work. Her boss was very quick to make note of everything that she had done wrong. I listen to what she is saying and am confused (I've worked with her and know her ethics and this didn't sound like her at all). Then I ask her "Well, what did your boss say you need to do to improve and 'fix' your problems?" The answer...she didn't. Her boss gave her no direction in the steps she needed to take to improve.

Now call me naive, but one would think that if someone seems to be working hard but the work isn't paying off, then that person must not know of another way to do whatever it is they are doing. Think about driving. You take the same route to work every day because you think it's the only or best way. Then someone clues you in to a short cut. And by golly, it cuts 10 minutes off of your commute.

And what about teaching kids HOW to figure things out? Seems like a lost art form to me. I see too many parents and teachers that just do stuff for their kids instead of talking the child through it. Reminds me of my son trying to do a puzzle. If a piece doesn't fit, I don't immediately tell him where to put it. I tell him to try to turn it or try a different spot. I'm making him figure it out but at the same time teaching him HOW to figure it out.