Fail to Learn: We need to expose ourselves to failure to succeed

We live in a no-mistake culture:  making mistakes is bad, is wrong, something to avoid anyway, something to punish. Standard Education is one of the big supporter.

Trial and error is the best (I would say the only) way for our brain to learn efficiently. During the learning path, it must be able to make mistakes as often as necessary to understand and learn in a natural way, without guilt or shame feelings.

Mistakes mean action toward progress. It means we are making brain connections and we are identifying areas of weakness to improve. If our brain can identify the mistake and find the solution (self-correction), it will be more likely to commit that information to its long-term memory. 

We must embrace that perfection does not exist, so when our brain stops pursuing perfection, it will be less frustrated and more pleased with small victories and steady progress over time.

As Educators, we must battle the no-mistake culture. We can encourage and leverage mistakes to make them a regular part of the learning process. We must give learners the opportunity to correct their own mistakes and never let them be embarrassed or intimidated by saying the wrong thing.

Mistake strengthens confidence.