Returning to my "anti-grades" comment on a previous post: Since schools generally "reward" failure with a bad grade, why should any student do anything but play it safe to avoid failure? Yet, not risking failure is a sure way to remain mired in mediocrity. The problem is that most grading systems only evaluate outcomes rather than the processes (some of which may result in failure) that determined those outcomes, the effort applied, the risks taken, and so forth. Meaning basically: no failure allowed; only a successful final product will earn that coveted 'A.'
I was in a presentation where the CEO of a major media company was speaking to a group of entry level employees. He brought up one of the networks that was changing programming and made the point that the current programming, which was failing because the whole concept of it sucked, had been his idea. He was “owning” the failure, but then conveniently forgetting to mention that all the people who were tasked with bringing his shitty idea to life all lost their jobs. Failure for me but not for thee.
Declining Academic, you will delighted to know that a certain B.F.A. program at your local state university has, as one of its program learning outcomes, the requirement of failure: "Students will make, break, succeed, and fail— and in failing, practice the writer's skills of revision and resilience."
Returning to my "anti-grades" comment on a previous post: Since schools generally "reward" failure with a bad grade, why should any student do anything but play it safe to avoid failure? Yet, not risking failure is a sure way to remain mired in mediocrity. The problem is that most grading systems only evaluate outcomes rather than the processes (some of which may result in failure) that determined those outcomes, the effort applied, the risks taken, and so forth. Meaning basically: no failure allowed; only a successful final product will earn that coveted 'A.'
This is 100% facts.
I was in a presentation where the CEO of a major media company was speaking to a group of entry level employees. He brought up one of the networks that was changing programming and made the point that the current programming, which was failing because the whole concept of it sucked, had been his idea. He was “owning” the failure, but then conveniently forgetting to mention that all the people who were tasked with bringing his shitty idea to life all lost their jobs. Failure for me but not for thee.
This is, unfortunately, way too common and exactly what I mean.
I like Beckett's "Try again. Fail again. Fail better."
I found this after I posted and perhaps like it better: https://pipelineartists.com/fail-better-what-samuel-beckett-can-teach-us-about-quitting/#:~:text=Try%20again.,stalwart%20literary%20weirdo%20Samuel%20Beckett.
You know, I did not know this was him! Thanks for posting this. (And yes, artists get this.)
Declining Academic, you will delighted to know that a certain B.F.A. program at your local state university has, as one of its program learning outcomes, the requirement of failure: "Students will make, break, succeed, and fail— and in failing, practice the writer's skills of revision and resilience."