Free to Fail (and get back up)

***THIS BLOG POST IS IN RESPONSE TO MICHAEL GOODWIN'S "FREEDOM TO FAIL" VIDEO***


"If you don't aim for anything, then that's what you're going to get every time." The other night, I was dialoging with my mentor, and this phrase came across her lips. As I reflect on decisions that I have made and the varied courses that I have seen friends pursue, I keep arriving at the conclusion that the "freedom to fail" is more internal than external. While there are portions of Goodwin's observations that I agree with, and will soon expound on, I believe the concept of failure lies within individual perspectives. Personally speaking, if I trace back from moments where I had "failed," it typically stemmed from areas where I had already felt inadequate or was ill-equipped for the situation. As much as someone believes they deserve to succeed, it is just as contorted to suppose that they deserve to fail.

Concerning Goodwin's viewpoint, there are current areas within my county's school system that cause me to concur with him. I am not certain if other states have attempted this project, but in various Georgia counties, they had (rather unsuccessfully) tried to condense their high school math curriculum by replacing traditional mathematics with the recently created Math I, II and III. This smorgasbord approach proved to be difficult both for the teachers to instruct and the students to understand. My mother has an independent tutoring business where she has been able to correct and redirect multiple students by supplementing their textbooks with more thorough resources. Thanks to the resourcefulness of high school parents, the diligence of my mother and the hard work from her clients, I believe an excellent capitalistic picture has been painted here. Rather than the parents choosing to attack the school board or individual teachers, they have used this opportunity not to pacify their children, but to guide them into cultivating behaviors for success.

I remember hearing Goodwin make the statement that, "without failure we can't succeed." Yes, there is some truth to that, but I believe that it goes deeper still - if we do not DO anything, we cannot succeed. Case in point - this scholarship essay. I only discovered this opportunity a few days ago, and my initial response was to not even try, because I thought it would give the appearance of laziness by submitting my response so close to the deadline. My own false assumption gives voice to my belief, that as long as we have the capacity to cognitively form our own decisions, we do not lack the freedom to fail.