Did Edison Fail or Flourish?
The infamous hero inventor, Thomas Edison, once said “I have not failed, I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” This known hero of science created oodles of inventions that vastly changed the world and his heroic contributions to science and character of persistence is the reason why this session’s Quest at Acton Main is called Edison’s Lab. It is said to have taken Edison around 1,000 attempts to invent the light bulb. He was determined, focused, and relentless in his pursuit for greatness. Can you imagine, 1,000 times? Many years ago in Spark we counted out one bead for every try! Can you imagine your life without electricity or recorded music?
Edison invented the phonograph, microphone, electric pen, and so much more! He held 2,332 patents worldwide, making him one of the most prolific inventors in history. If you desire an Edison deep dive here is one of the videos we shared with learners during a Quest Launch. We promise amazement!
As learners explore Edison’s Lab at Acton they are battling with ambiguity, curiosity, and yes FAILURE! Failure is super tough and honestly as much as our school welcomes failure it’s important that we don’t forget that failure doesn’t feel good! The topic of failure reminded me of the writings of Acton co-founder Laura Sandefer. So I searched in her archives and here are her wise words to the Austin Acton parent community.
“Why talk about failure being a good thing? It is not good. It’s terrible. Real failure hurts. But it is necessary. For deep, lasting learning to happen, failure is necessary.
At Acton Academy, we don’t avoid it. We own it. Sometimes it’s the [learners] who need to own the failure. Other times, we as their Guides need to own it because we didn’t make the “why” strong enough, or clear enough to follow, or provide the right incentives.
The key is that failure needs to sting. And after feeling the pain, there are two specific action steps we must take:
Reflect on the failure and talk about it
Figure out what we’ll do differently next time.
What then? We don’t quit even though we want to. We get back in the game. There are no participation trophies allowed at Acton Academy. Instead, our [learners] carry around badges of courage, perseverance and honor etched into their hearts to last a lifetime. Not so much fun. But definitely a win.”
Whether it is a failed experiment this session, a question wrong on a Khan Academy Math course challenge, a rejection from a friend that you can’t play the game, or missing the deadline for your project, any failure hurts. As a parent myself it truly sucks to see my children sad and frustrated but the bright spot for me is seeing the lightbulb that comes after they struggle. The light bulb is imperative for me and Guides to remember when we deeply desire to jump in and help. So, if you are looking for more light bulbs here are a few things to try.
First, offer empathy and perhaps a hug. Feel the feelings and invite your learner to talk about the failure, what went wrong, and how they feel. Second, ask what one change they could try. If it’s Math, ask specifics about resources and process, if it’s friendship ask about helpful fellow travelers, options, and talk through how and when to share feelings. Sometimes, I even ask: “Do you want my help brainstorming ideas or do you want to try again on your own?” Sometimes trying again leads to the light bulb moment for the future Edison!