“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”

So, summer is almost over.  Next week I have a week of professional development, which means school with no kids, and that is not my favorite week of the year.  I am actually a professional development enthusiast most of the time (when I get to choose the classes and subjects that I know I can benefit from) but I am not so great at meetings that I am not engaged in or interested in. Probably how MOST of the students in my classes feel so I will make it through for them.  My summer has been pretty low-key and wonderful.  My family decided to put in a pool, which ended up being quite an adventurous undertaking, but we are thrilled with it and know it will be something we will enjoy for many years to come.  I had a goal to watch some serious television, I did not do any of that (although I watched some episodes of House of Cards and I highly recommend this series).  I read about 25 books, some classics (my favorite was re-reading Invisible Man), some adult literature (including The Goldfinch-the Pulitzer Prize winning book of 2014- I HIGHLY recommend it) and quite a bit of YA Literature (yes, I read it because I teach teenagers, but I also read it because I enjoy it).  I avoided day time television for the most part, but I saw something a couple of weeks ago that REALLY bothered me as I was passing by my television that was on and should have been off (so I could avoid hearing something so ignorant it has stuck with me for two weeks).  I heard the group of women on The View discussing why "failure is not an option."  Seriously.  I stood transfixed as I watched actual adult women discuss why this is a legitimate philosophy.  Four women who have been divorced, fired, made bad fashion choices, had bad haircuts, and now have risen up and have good jobs where some other women listen to them and trust them.  Hmmm...

My ARTeacher Friends

As I look forward to starting school, I need to share something with you.  If I have ever been your child's teacher (thank you!) or if I am going to be your child's teacher and you are looking me up to check me out and find this blog, you need to know something about me.  Not only is failure an option, I believe it is not even the worst option!  I have failed, A LOT, and I am going to do things this year in my classroom that are not going to work as I plan.  I am going to take risks because I care about your child and I know they all learn in different ways, and sometimes they are going to get frustrated and I am going to get frustrated and we are going to fail.  And we are going to figure out why we failed.  And we are going to learn and move on.  I was at professional development session last week because I am fortunate enough to be a part of some truly amazing teacher mentoring programs.  This program is a fellowship learning how to integrate the arts into English and History classes.  We work with Crystal Bridges Museum (if you don't know it, you should look it up), the Walton Arts Center (same as the previous), the University of Arkansas, and some of the most amazing teachers I have ever gotten to know.  We had a presenter in from the Kennedy Center.  He was teaching us about tableau.  It was terrifying and weird.  Every single teacher first participated in creating tableau, and then we watched as teenagers did what the teacher asked and listened as they explained why they ALL loved the learning.  And yet most of us still are terrified of trying this in our own classrooms. We saw the data.  We watched it work with actual teenagers.  But, this will fail at first!  We are not experts.  And nobody wants to fail.  But, what if we don't try?  What if we do the same thing we have always done?  I mean, my classroom functions pretty well.  My students and I learn together and things go pretty well.  I absolutely love everything (except the grown-up meeting/paperwork parts) of being a teacher.  Could it better?  If I don't try, I will never know.  If I don't try this huge risk, I will never be able to make a huge change.  I am still not sure what is going to happen, but I know I don't believe that failure is not an option...

Happy Anniversary!

This week is my parents' 30th wedding anniversary.  Seriously!  You might realize I am 40 years old.  Hmmm...  Yep, both of them failed at marriage.  They failed.  They learned.  They both tried again.  And I am so glad they did.  Their marriage is so strong-they love each other and support each other and have been through some really difficult stuff together.  I am not sure either one of them could be married to anyone else.  They inspire me--and they are both failures.  If my mom and dad (the biological version) would have not failed, my life would be nothing like it is today.  It probably would be much worse.  Failure was the best option!  I love my parents with all my heart.  Thank you for showing me that failure hurts, sucks, is scary, and is sometimes the only way to make things better.

My son has one more week at home.  Ouch, tears just filled my eyes as I typed that.  He is heading off to do his own thing.  What if I told him failure was not an option?  I have failed many times in my decisions to raise him.  I have punished him when he didn't deserve it. I have yelled when I shouldn't have. I have let him get

Go Austen--Go HOGS!

away with things that I shouldn't have. I have sheltered when I should have let him try and I have let him try things he probably should not have.  Now, he is going out, and he needs to make own his choices.  He needs to understand that he will fail (I changed my m
ajor three times, and struggled mightily with my first class selections, I skipped classes and made terrible choices that resulted in consequences that really hurt me).  Does he need to simply give up instead of risking?  Should I hold him accountable and let him never feel the pain of his failure?  It is the most difficult part of parenting I have ever had to endure.  Watching your child prepare to fail (although they believe they will be wildly successful) is the most difficult thing I have ever had to do.  But, I love him with all my heart.  When he fails, I will be here.  I will support him and not judge his failures.  I will never stop wanting to protect him, but I will also understand that sometimes that means allowing him to fall.

I hope, as you prepare for a new year, you will ask yourself the question, "Is failure really the worst outcome?"  I know for me, I am heading in praying for the best, recognizing the opportunity for the worst, and understanding that failing and falling, as long as I am falling forward, is not the end of the world.  Who knows what might happen?  I am excited to see what fantastic learning (successes and failures) await me! I wish you only success and love friends!  But whatever happens, don't let awesome pass you by because you are afraid to try!