The prodigy was afraid of trying.  “Everything I was going through boiled down to fear.  Fear of trying and failing….If you go to an audition and don’t really try, if you’re not really prepared, if you didn’t work as hard as you could have and you don’t win, you have an excuse….Nothing is harder than saying ‘I gave it my all and it wasn’t good enough.'” (Dweck, 42 pag.)

I wonder how many learners (student-learners and teacher-learners) are afraid of trying and failing.

The result is a violent aversion to risk. You have no margin for error, so you avoid the possibility that you will ever make an error. (Deresiewicz, 22 pag.)

This means there’s a lot of intelligence out there being wasted by underestimating students’ potential to develop. (Dweck, 64 pag.)

When people believe their basic qualities can be developed, failures may still hurt, but failures don’t define them.   And if abilities can be expanded – if change and growth are possible – then there are still many paths to success.” (Dweck, 39 pag.)

How might we highlight many paths to success? What if we make paths to success visible enough for learners to try, risk, question, and learn?

Deresiewicz, William (2014-08-19). Excellent Sheep: The Miseducation of the American Elite and the Way to a Meaningful Life. Free Press. Kindle Edition.

Dweck, Carol S. Mindset: the New Psychology of Success. New York: Random House, 2006. 39. Print.