Would you take a class in failure?
- M. Joseph Benric
- Mar 11
- 2 min read
Updated: Mar 13
Life, Money and Gratitude # 61 Would you take a class in failure?
Imagine going into a classroom and the teacher says, "The highest grade will go to the person who fails the most."
Here is the story of a pottery class. The teacher split his class into two groups, the first group only had to make one piece but it has to be the best. The second group would be graded on the amount of pieces they made by weight.
The second group jumped right in and started "throwing" clay, literally as well as on the potters wheel. They were having a good old time, telling jokes, making all kinds of goofy creations out of clay, helping each other out. They knew they were going to be graded by weight so they just made a lot.
The first group went into a study session, it was a somber affair they were going to find out who were the best potters ever and dissect their techniques. They were going to come up with a plan to make "the best" piece ever. At first they collaborated, then they figured the masters must have secrets and to make a better piece than their classmates they can't share everything they learned.
Weeks went by, the first group hadn't made anything yet, the second group had made tons of stuff.
Grading time came and the teacher went to the first group to present their pottery. They had made some pottery and the teacher graded them accordingly.
Then the teacher went to the second group and pulled out his bathroom scale to weigh them. Each student presented his pile of creations from the beginning of the class to the end. Some funny looking things went on the scale, the class had a good laugh. But as the second group of students shared their work the quality of the pieces got better and better.
In the end all of the second groups final pieces were of better quality and design than the first group. The second group had "failed" there way to success.
I think we should promote failure, we should praise the people who continually fail. Create an atmosphere where failure is expected and applauded.
Typically we make fun of and put down "failure" and then people stop trying and that is sad because when you stop trying you have failed.
This was my take on a story I read, below is the link to the actual story.
Until next time, God Bless and be well. Would you take a class in failure?
M. Joseph Benric is a Christian, husband, father, small business owner, patriot and believer in helping people help themselves. Through a little book he wrote called Graduation Gift, A Step-By-Step Guide To Financial Literacy he hopes to expand the understanding of money and give a hand up to the next generation.
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