Show 59: Learning From Failure

FAILURE IS ESSENTIAL to the learning process, and learning how to handle failure appropriately without giving up or freaking out is all part of maturing. How can caregivers help kids to “fail” well? Studies show that kids who are praised for their effort instead of their intelligence are more likely to overcome failures, keep on trying and do better in school and life.

IN-STUDIO GUESTS: Joining host Shana Sheehy in the studio is Dr. Carol Dweck, who, for the last 40 years, has been a leading international researcher in the field of developmental psychology and overcoming failure. She is the Lewis and Virginia Eaton Professor at Stanford University’s Department of Psychology and is the author of Mindset: The New Psychology of Success.

Dr. Maria Ippolito from the University of Alaska Anchorage's Department of Psychology also joins us; she is an Assistant Professor of Psychology and has studied psychological resilience in children. She credits her familial status as the eldest of nine children for originally motivating her interest in studying developmental psychology.

RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:

• KTD interview with Dr. Dweck from Show 50: Gifted and Talented Education in Alaska
• "What if the Secret to Success is Failure?" (NYTimes.com)
• "Can a Playground Be Too Safe?" (NYTimes.com)
• "How Can Teachers Develop Students' Motivation - and Success?" (EducationWorld.com)
• Mindset: The New Psychology of Success
• The Brainology Program: Cultivate a Growth Mindset 
• J.K. Rowling's 2008 Harvard Commencement Address: The Fringe Benefits of Failure (Ted.com)
• Self-compassion: Stop Beating Yourself Up and Leave Insecurity Behind, by Dr. Kristin Neff (Self-compassion.org)

FEATURED STORIES: 

- Social Promotion vs. Repeating a Grade - All through our school years there’s are big potential “failures” lurking - flunking a test, or failing a whole grade and being held back. Regular contributor Jessica Cochran found out that like most things, the issue of social promotion versus grade retention isn’t so black and white. 

- Losing the 5th Grade Election -  Kids may not have many places these days where winning is not an option, but one holdout can be found each year in the form of the school election. Contributor Michelle Theriault Boots brings us the story of a kid who ran for office at Northwood Elementary school, lost and ended up teaching his family something about winning, losing, failure and grace.

- The College Rejection Letter - A big part of Senior year is getting ready to attend college - taking placement tests, touring campuses, writing essays, applying to schools... and then all that waiting to find out where you got in. But what if your top university pick doesn't pick you? Our teen blogger, Patrick Walgren, a notorious winner just found out what that feels like to lose.