Welcome To Edgewater High School!
Last week, I spoke about the fear of success. This week, the idea, "Fear of Failure," is impeding the progress of our kids. But the fear of failure is a little different than what we might think-fear of failure is not a motivator for students to succeed. Rather, it's a safety net rooted in risk aversion. Many of our students feel that if they don't try, then they have that excuse when they fail. This goes back to elementary school. I know this because I probably contributed to codifying this mindset unintendedly as an elementary teacher, assistant principal and principal.
Over the past four years, I have expressed my belief in "Productive Failure," the idea of taking risks and valuing effort in the name of progress in the long run. So, let's encourage our students to give up the protective nature and stigma of failure. I'm not talking about F's. I'm talking about not trying because that's an easy excuse for failure.
Let's own this together.
Mark Shanoff, Ed.D, Principal
Edgewater High School
"The Pride of College Park and Orlando"
Mission: Every Learner. Every Day. Every way.
Vision: To create an environment in which students feel collectively valued, empowered to be college and career ready, and to live purposeful lives.