The Hero's Journey: Failure

Failure and the Hero

Spider-Man, Into the Spider-verse is a wonderful little offshoot of the Marvel Universe.  Miles Morales is bit by a crazy radioactive spider and sort of reluctantly becomes his universe's new Spider-Man after the original dies.  (Those aren't really spoilers).

When this new teen hero comes of age in the movie, a song can be a herd in the background: What's up danger?  The hero, Miles, comes to terms with the fact that a great power has been thrust upon him and he can't simply sit back and let other's take on challenges that are now his by right.

So the song, What's up danger, is indicative of that choice to meet "danger" head on instead of hoping that things just "turn out well".  The line "What's up danger? Don't be a stranger" underpins Mile's decision to welcome the challenges that are inevitable.  That's not to say he goes looking for danger unnecessarily, he simply doesn't shy away from challenges that present themselves as he works toward the common good.

In so many ways, teachers that invest themselves in other people's kids are heroes in the making.  I use the term "in the making" because a hero's journey happens without a final arrival.  Being a hero is an active journey, not a destination.

As educators, we will have a variety of students with a variety of needs who all want to take a variety of pathways in life to reach their various goals. It seems like a herculean task IF we assume that all of this variety must be owned and planned for ONLY by the individual teacher.

THAT IS THE OLD WAY OF TEACHING AND THINKING!

Your task is NOT to take on your student's present and future on your back and think and act for them.  Your task is to develop learning experiences that allow for a multitude of expressions and growth on the part of your students. 

You get bored when you go to PD that is cookie cutter and doesn't speak to who you are.  So do your students!  Variety, differentiation, and individualized learning are a moral imperative in education.

So how do we start this difficult and seemingly complex new calling in our classrooms?

Start small and celebrate the small victories.  You can't know how to hit towering home runs until you understand the nuances of swinging your hips, not dropping your shoulder as you swing, the need for strong wrists, and keeping your eye on the ball.  The small things add up to the big things.

The Hero's Journey

So, whether you are starting off with Blended Learning, Project Based Learning, or some other new fancy pants way to prepare for learning... you gotta start small, celebrate small, and progress incrementally.

As you an see in the image to the right in "The Hero's Journey" image, failure is part of the success.  Odysseus, Hercules, and other great heroes of the past went through very similar trials and tribulations before their ascension.  The journey, though, looks very similar to the many struggles we face and humans beings, demigods or not.  The small victories add up to the big ones. 

How to fail better

1) Break down large tasks into small tasks - the big stuff doesn't happen unless the small stuff happens.  Focus on the small stuff first.  Make sure it's in order.  Make sure you complete small step #1 before worrying about or moving on to step #2, and so on... Small failures are learning opportunities.

2) Keep track of your victories - All habits were originally a choice.  Keep track of your small choices and small victories.  Act on the small victories repetitively until they become good habits.  Document your past failures and how you overcame them.

3) Celebrate - Don't be afraid to "self promote".  Students, parents, administrators are saying things about you (likely good things!).  It wouldn't hurt to add your own voice to the chorus.  Be your own PR director.  Celebrate what you do well and send those celebrations out into the ether! Use instagram to give parents a window into your classroom.  Join twitter chats and share your lessons.  Join FB pages and ask for ideas to make your great lessons better.  Read books.  Celebrate your failures and lessons learned with others. 

4) What's up danger? - When a baby begins to walk and then falls down, you don't see parents chastising and bemoaning the baby's "failure".  We would NEVER learn to walk LOL. We support failing baby walkers until we are celebrating walking baby walkers.  Meeting your "danger" head on. Get ahead of the curve.  Anticipate your challenges.  Don't fret.  You WILL fail at some point.  That's a given.  What isn't a given is how you react.  The hero will never arrive at their destination.  The hero can only be a hero within the context of their journey and struggle.  Be a hero for your students. Meet your challenges and struggle in front of them and continue your journey... preferably with a smile.  Take on your failures head on and make them your friend. 

5) Blended Learning - If your mindset is ready.  NOW go reread our blog posts, attend our Blended Learning Academy sessions, read Blended Learning books... Fail for your students sake.