Making Mistakes
Making Mistakes and Why it is important
I made a mistake while recently travelling over Christmas. After a delayed flight and a slightly precarious trip through passport control I then gave the cab driver the address to the wrong hotel. Well, the right hotel on the wrong day. A late night drop off to the wrong hotel and the quick disappearance of the cab driver I was stuck. No wifi/phone signal, no uber or immediate quick fix I was to rely on the kindness of strangers to help me to the right destination. With only my ego a little bruised I arrived safely.
As we start the New Year I have, like so many others started to think about goals, deadlines and objectives, reviewing progress from the year before and guess what there were a lot of mistakes, unintentional errors, deadlines pushed back, course corrections and adaptations for a variety of reasons and excuses but all with a lesson learned.
It all has me thinking about how I can best support the children that we support at Clever Tortoise not just with their achievements and goals and success but also with their disappointments, mistakes, errors and failures. Being able to recognise when to own a mistake, cross it out, learn and move on. Asking for help, seeking support and advice and moving forward. Tolerating the error, the imperfection, the mistake. Allowing for failed attempts, a regroup and a re plan not matter how big or small the mistake.
So as a parent/teacher/tutor/caregiver how can we help our children to tolerate errors and mistakes.
1. We must praise both attempts at the right answer and the right answer. We must recognise effort, and trying again, editing and learning.
2. We must not save our rewards for completion and perfection
3. We must try not to rescue from discomfort, give the answer straight away, correct every error
4. We must allow time to struggle or affectionately known as pickle time by some. We can reassure through the struggle, support figuring something out and having a go, trying something a new way.
5. Help them to seek help and support, read and discuss feedback and reward making corrections.
6. Remember that mistakes cause upset (my reaction to arriving at the wrong hotel in the middle of the night was not calm and mellow) but discomfort is ok! We can comfort the discomfort and upset without solving the problem.
We are preparing children for real life, mistakes/errors are not a full stop to reaching a goal they are part of the experience, part of the learning and integral to progress. So with the focus on goals and setting long term goals and achievement don’t forget to include what do we do if we make a mistake and things don’t come easy or work out.
