A Place Where Failure is Encouraged - Google X

As a teacher, my goal is to help my students learn how to do something.  Whether it is writing a paper, punctuating a sentence, or reading an article critically, I want my students to do it "the right way."  While I hopefully allow my students to make mistakes and learn from them, there are definitely times when I'm probably too narrow-minded in this regard.  This article about Google X on the Fast Company website really opened my eyes when it talked about how a large company like Google views mistakes.

I had never heard of Google X before reading this article, but it is interesting how they ENCOURAGE their employees to fail because they will learn from those failures.  Hopefully there will be a day in my teaching career when learning from a failure will be valued as much as doing something "right" because I don't want my students to fear failure.  I can think of many times in my life when I failed but learned a valuable lesson or solved another problem on which I hadn't even been focusing.  This article emphasizes that failure can be okay, and I hope to instill that value in my students.

The Long-term Effects of Loans

In this article from NPR, three college graduates discuss their college loans and some of the problems they face because of those loans.  As the seniors get ready to head off to college and the sophomores feel like their opportunity to go to college will never arrive, I encourage you to think about how you are going to pay for college when that day arrives.

Why Does College Cost So Much?

College - it is a topic which keeps popping up at this time of year.  The seniors are almost there, the juniors are starting to think about their college choices seriously, and the sophomores are participating in shadow day to begin thinking about what colleges will lead them to the careers they want.  In this article from NPR, the focus is the cost of college:  Why does it cost so much, and how are people supposed to pay for it? 

Do Students Need More Grit?

Does failing to achieve really help a student become more successful?  Ultimately (yes, I said it again),  that is the point of this article from NPR.  Some psychologists and teachers are saying that students need to become "grittier," usually achieved by failure, while others (specifically education researcher Alfie Kohn) say this focus on grittiness is simply taking the focus off the real problems in schools and the overall education system.  I'm interested to know if you think you need more grit, so feel free to comment if you get a chance.

Weighing College vs. Career

Are there instances where a high school student is better off jumping into a career instead of going to college or, in some instances, finishing high school?  This article from The New York Times talks about some teens who have hit it big creating apps and the struggles they face when trying to make that decision.  Their parents and grandparents, as can be expected, want them to go to college and follow the same path to success that they followed.  The teens, on the other hand, see an opportunity to start a career and question why they need to follow what they see as an outdated life path.

As the seniors prepare to embark on their lives after high school and the sophomores begin the career unit, this is hopefully an article which can appeal to any of you.  If you would like, feel free to leave a comment after reading the article.

Should Teenagers Be Able to Sue Their Parents?

If any of my seniors are still looking for a satire video topic, this might be your lucky day.  This article from NPR tells of a girl who is suing her parents to force them to pay for college after they kicked her out of their house.  Feel free to leave a comment after reading the article.  I'm interested to know what you think and how you would react if you were her parent.

How Far Can Parody Go?

Check out this article in USA Today regarding a parody which might land some people in hot coffee... err...water.