Courageously Embracing Our Mistakes

Instructions

Overview

• Consider sharing this practice after the Vulnerable and Courageous practice to promote staff’s engagement and learning from this practice.
• In the beginning of your staff gathering, invite your colleagues to take a few long, deep breaths together to calm and center themselves.

Introduction

• Begin by sharing a quote on the power of vulnerability by Brené Brown: “Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity and change.”
• Encourage an atmosphere of learning by acknowledging our mistakes and failures. This takes courage as discussed in the Vulnerable and Courageous practice.
• Optional:  We will celebrate learning from our mistakes by spending 10 minutes at the beginning or end of every staff meeting [over a designated period of time], inviting our colleagues to share what they learned after courageously acknowledging a mistake or failure.

What did you learn when embracing a mistake?

• Start by sharing your own reflection on a mistake (see above) and then invite two or three staff members to share a recent mistake (in a professional or personal context).
• Next, ask everyone  to take a few moments to identify a recent personal or professional mistake and to reflect on the following questions:
  • What did you learn from this mistake?
  • What benefits did you find by acknowledging your failure?
  • What did it tell you about who you are?
• Now, write brief responses to these questions on a notecard.
• Ask a few volunteers to share their thoughts with the group if they feel comfortable doing so.

Closure: Celebrate courageously embracing your failure!

• Finally, invite participants to pin their reflection notecards  to a “celebration board”. (You can use plain cardboard or poster board, prepared ahead of the meeting and placed on the wall beforehand, titled “Celebrating Mistakes and Courageous Learning”).
• Optional extension: Ask everyone to take a few moments to think of ways to acknowledge and celebrate mistakes in their classrooms.
• Thank everyone for their participation and contribution.

Evidence That It Works

A study conducted with a diverse group of 215 women found that acknowledging vulnerability, critical awareness, and empathetic relationships are among the key strategies that can build shame resilience. In other words, acknowledging our vulnerabilities with awareness can help us build resilience to embrace our mistakes without feeling shame, particularly when this is done within an atmosphere of empathy.

This study’s findings point to the importance of building positive, trusting relationships among staff members, which can be mobilized by an atmosphere centered around authenticity, humility, and courage.

Why Does It Matter?

As teachers develop the capacity to learn from their mistakes and failures, they may be more likely to promote and support their students’ learning from failures. Teachers’ willingness to openly invite students to embrace their mistakes within a positive learning environment may also lead to greater resilience and perseverance in the classroom.

Moreover, a school climate built upon trust and positive relationships can promote teachers’ well-being, as well as their teaching quality—and supporting teachers’ personal growth may be just as important as their professional development.