Avoidance of Failure Reflection

In kindergarten, I have had experience with students who pretend they do not feel well, procrastinate,
or say that the activity is too hard. With the students who claim they do not feel well, I usually give them
some choices like getting a sip of water, eating a snack, or going to the bathroom. Choices usually helps.
I did have one student who said their legs did not work. Once it came down to recess, his legs were
working fine. With students who avoid tasks in my classroom, I usually tell them if they do not use their
time wisely, they will have to complete the assignment on their own time. That would be at lunchtime,
recess time, or center time. Most students do not want the best part of the day taken away so they
complete the assignment.

It is most frustrating to me when I know the student can do the work and I cannot understand why they
think they can’t. Sometimes, the student just wants me to sit with them and assist them in completing
the assignment. This would be attention seeking behavior. In other instances, I can tell that a student
believes that their work will not be good enough. I am always promoting a growth set mindset with my
students and sharing mistakes that I make. In the future, I want to really prioritize making mistakes okay.
I want to encourage my students to talk about their mistakes freely and comfortably. I want to share
strategies for asking for help and problem solving. From the video, I loved the teacher that had his
students share a mistake as the password to leaving the classroom. That was a technique I could really
see myself using. I think for my students who struggle with academic tasks, I can modify or break down
the task for them. I already have positive signs in my classroom, but I want to be more aware of
requiring two put ups for every put down. Recognizing this behavior will help me use these strategies
more frequently and deliberately.