Currently reading deeply into chapter three of How Children
Succeed by Paul Tough. “How to Think” is the name of this
section. It begins with a story of Sebastian Garcia, a young
chess player at IS 318, a low-income public middle school in
Brooklyn. One of the many messages made by Sebastian’s story is
that error analysis, discussion and reflection lead to improved
outcomes. Many articles related to failure have streamed past my
eyes of late. Of course, embracing failure is a strength; a
character-building exercise for the warrior. As an educator, I’m
not quite sure failure is the key to teaching and learning.
Vital yes, but there is something more to it. I am thinking of
many experiences: - A few years ago I shared the 10,000 Hours
Rule with my son (above) who was deeply interested in music.
Something clicked and he immersed himself even deeper, spending
hours and hours practicing multiple instruments and observing,
listening and reading. He went from being someone who wished to
someone who could (and now he