CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF :

WHY WE SHOULD EMBRACE MISTAKES

IN SCHOOL
WRITTEN BY: AMY L. EVA

Presented by : Dwi Raranisa

About
Title: Why We Should Embrace Mistakes in School
Website: www.greatergood.berkeley.id
Posted on: November 28, 2017
Written by: Amy L. Eva
Opening
If students can see the beauty in spilled milk, research suggests they’ll learn better.

When my daughter was a toddler, I regularly spilled milk in front of her during meal
time. “Oops, oh well, no big deal, let’s clean it up!!” I would say in my high-pitched,
goofy mom voice.
Before she could speak, I sensed that she was wired for perfectionism (something
very familiar to me), so I attempted to normalize day-to-day mistakes and to show
her how easy it was to bounce back from them.
Problem
When my daughter was a toddler, I regularly spilled milk in front of her during meal time.
“Oops, oh well, no big deal, let’s clean it up!!” I would say in my high-pitched, goofy
mom voice.
Before she could speak, I sensed that she was wired for perfectionism (something very
familiar to me), so I attempted to normalize day-to-day mistakes and to show her how
easy it was to bounce back from them.
Resolution
Mistakes help us to learn
In her 2017 paper “Learning from Errors,” psychologist Janet Metcalfe claims that avoiding and
ignoring mistakes at school appears to be the rule in American classrooms—and it may be
holding back our education system. Drawing on research, she argues that students may actually
benefit from making mistakes (and correcting them) rather than avoiding them at all costs.
1. Focus on errors; don’t ignore them
2. Fail first, then learn
3. Be confident and be wrong
4. Adjust the learning context: “Let’s try this another way.”
5. Encourage persistence: “Keep trying. Don’t give up!”
6. Model self-compassion: “Be kind to yourself when you’re confused; it’s okay.”
7. Build positive relationships with students: “I see your strengths, and I believe in you.”
8. Focus on resilience: “Even though this is tough, you will find your way.”
Closing
If teachers can help their students focus on skills and strategies that enhance
resilience, students will learn to cope better, recover more quickly, or at least start
heading in that direction.
Maybe we shouldn’t be surprised that American teachers and students tend to avoid
talking about mistakes at school. However, there are good reasons to rethink our
approach to mistakes so that we can help our students to ultimately benefit—both
academically and emotionally.
It’s okay to “mess up” and spill the milk. There is even beauty in vulnerability. It gives
us space to find our strength.
 Advantages
1. The writer provide examples of learning by error in Japan and learning with help from the teacher in America.

2. The writer explain about emotional response of the students when they make mistakes in school. The explaination is very clear and relateable.

3. Th article is beautifully written.

4. The author give quotes from herself and also from experts.
Disadvantages
1. The writer only support her prespective of learning by mistake without supporting
another prespective of the other method.