The great power of failure : The Tribune India

Join Whatsapp Channel

The great power of failure

The great power of failure

Photo for representational purpose only. - File photo



Himmat S Dhillon

NEW DELHI is a magical place early in the morning before the rush of traffic and the hurly-burly of the workday begins. Central Delhi is a world within a world, with green, broad roads and avenues of stately trees. However, one cannot stop to admire the flora when one has an appointment with the Secretary (Education) at Shastri Bhavan at 9 am. Having travelled from the hills — a seven-hour road journey of nearly 300 km — one could not be late. It was quite a daunting prospect, even though there was no agenda for the meeting. After the exchange of pleasantries, the kind and amiable Secretary softly asked: ‘So, how are the school results?’

‘Oh, they are going up, Sir… In fact, we had quite a number of centums,’ I said. One is always worried in the presence of such a person — the reply to the question asked may not be correct somehow. However, how could one go wrong with a result that was par excellence?

He did not respond immediately; instead, he took a deep breath and, with Zen-like composure, gently responded: ‘100 per cent. I am concerned, worried even.’ The expression remained kind and his voice soft and reasonable: ‘And what will be next… perfection?’

And then the penny dropped. With no scope for improvement, can learning be possible? What is to be done when perfection is achieved? What is the implication of a student’s result being a perfect 100 per cent? Is it that no further learning is required? Or that since one has reached a perfect state of knowledge, no more growth, improvement and hence no further learning is possible?

And, on the other side of this seemingly bright and shiny coin, we have an area of darkness: the news of students taking their lives as they have failed to live up to the expectations of their teachers or parents.

So, what is the takeaway here? It is OK not to be OK. It’s OK to fail. As long as one learns from one’s failures. As long as one is resilient. And as long as one’s adversity quotient is high.

Kurt Hahn, the founder of Gordonstoun School, was a big believer in the power of failure. He thought children needed to experience failure so that they would learn how to persevere when the going got tough.

Resilience is the lesson that must be learnt in every classroom of every school. The lesson that every educator needs to ensure that all learners understand is — even if you fail, try, try and try again! When life is difficult and nothing seems to be working out, be resilient. This too shall pass!


Top News

Michaung crosses Andhra Pradesh coast, to weaken into cyclonic storm

Michaung makes landfall, claims 12 lives, leaves trail of deluge and disruption

Southern districts of Odisha and eastern Telangana continue ...

Rashtriya Rajput Karni Sena chief shot dead in Jaipur

On camera: Karni Sena chief Sukhdev Gogamedi shot dead at Jaipur home, one assailant killed in exchange of fire On camera: Karni Sena chief Sukhdev Gogamedi shot dead at Jaipur home, one assailant killed in exchange of fire

Assailants went to Gogamedi’s house on pretext of meeting hi...

Revanth Reddy to be Telangana chief minister, swearing-in on Thursday

Revanth Reddy to be Telangana chief minister, swearing-in on Thursday

No word on how many ministers would be sworn in and whether ...

‘Sachin Pilot’s movements, phone were being tracked and monitored’, claims outgoing Rajasthan CM Gehlot’s OSD

'Sachin Pilot's movements, phone were being tracked and monitored', claims outgoing Rajasthan CM Gehlot's OSD

Lokesh Sharma, who was denied a ticket to contest Rajasthan ...

With Mamata, Nitish, Akhilesh, Stalin skipping it, Mallikarjun Kharge postpones INDIA meet

With Mamata, Nitish, Akhilesh, Stalin skipping it, Mallikarjun Kharge postpones INDIA meet

He had called the December 6 meeting of the bloc after the p...


Cities

View All