Have you ever made a mistake you felt really bad about? Did other people call you names because of a silly mistake?
Well, making mistakes is perfectly fine. In fact, it’s good to make mistakes!
Introduction:
When we fail or make mistakes, our brains are actually getting stronger, and are actually learning from the decisions we make in order to make better ones in the future. Our brain’s activity lights up like a star when we make mistakes, meaning there is no reason to be afraid to mess up, since it only makes us stronger!
Directions:
Let’s first write about a mistake you made this week and how it made you feel. Were you angry, sad, or confused?
Now let’s put that paper aside, and get out a fresh piece of paper. Crumple up the fresh paper and throw it at the ground with the feelings you had when you made the mistake you wrote about.
After doing that, retrieve the paper, un-crumple it, and color each line with different colors. What do you think those lines may represent?
The lines represent all the brain activity that happens when a mistake is made, and it means that your brain is growing and changing with all of these lines!
Finally, keep this colored, crumpled paper and stick it in a notebook or folder that you use often so you can look at it the next time you make a mistake. This paper will remind you that mistakes strengthen your brain every time you open your notebook, and that making mistakes is a part of growing!
The Science Behind Mistakes:
Making a mistake does not mean you have failed; it is learning to do better next time! The most important thing is that you keep trying at something— even if you fall 100 times, you get up 101.
As the famous scientist and writer Ainissa Ramirez says, "Scientists fail all the time. We just brand it differently. We call it data.” Basically, if you learned something from the experience, you did not fail. By rebranding failure to something as harmless as data, that failure loses its sting. Whatever you did was all part of a fact-finding mission! We have to take the classroom back and make it a sacred space where asking questions is okay, and the instructor has to present vulnerability as well. If an instructor doesn't know the answer, they must be brave enough to say, "I don't know, but let's find out together!"
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