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KIDS OF CHARACTER 10/5/2009
Failing Into Success The story is told about the young man of thirty-two who was newly appointed as president of a bank. He approached the venerable Chairman of the Board and asked for advice. The old man came back with two words: “Right decisions!” The young president responded, “That’s helpful; and I appreciate it, but can you be more specific?” How do I make right decisions?” The wise old man simply replied, “Experience.” The young man said, “Well that’s just the point of my being here. I don’t have the kind of experience I need. How do I get it?” Came the terse reply, “Wrong decisions!” One of the true and often times painful axioms of life is…We fail into success. You won’t find a soul who enjoys experiencing this axiom; but you will find countless believers from all walks of life…people who have succeeded mightily through the doorway of failure. Failing into success is a character lesson. It is best taught by teachers. I believe. Teachers in elementary, middle school and high school can provide kids with a huge leg-up on their adult years by teaching them to risk failure on their way to accomplishing their goals. One of my favorite middle school teachers, Mrs. Bowen, an 8th grade Civics teacher, constantly challenged her students to step up and swing the bat every day in her classroom. She encouraged conscientious effort and rewarded it with encouragement...even when a student’s classroom effort didn’t produce a grade of A. A child or young adult can learn through the wisdom of a teacher, like Mrs. Bowen, that they have the ability not to see failure as a dead end, but rather to re-interpret a failure moment as a stepping stone toward achievement. Daily, classroom teachers throughout America have the opportunity to be mentors for life education. A life mentor teacher is a character educator. A classroom character educator needs to look for teaching moments to communicate life virtues. The classroom teachers who equip their students with life virtues do help drive a young person in the direction of their highest dreams and endeavors.
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