It is the last period on a Friday. One would expect the energy in the room to be buzzing; it is not. I file into the class from second lunch, the dreaded moment I’ve been anticipating finally at my doorstep. In a way, I have neither a cold sense of fear nor an eagerness for what’s to come; it is more of a quiet resignation to the truth of the situation I now face. The bell rings, and the test is placed before me. The bell rings, and I hand the test back. Such a simple exchange—a little over an hour spent—and yet an onslaught of emotions still swirl around and around my mind.
As I step outside the door to the classroom, one emotion overtakes the others, grabbing me and forcing me to look it in the eye. It seems like it should be distant, far away, not here. Yet it is here, threatening to overwhelm me. It is the feeling of failure.
“The most common thing many students face is the fear of failure,” Britin McCarter writes on Medium, a website for sharing articles, stories and knowledge. “For many college-bound students, their entire life-long dream hangs in the balance… Failing in schools often means fearing they will fail in life generally.”
For me, fear that academic failure will jeopardize my future has often reared its head. Specifically, in challenging AP courses, it often seems like my classmates and I are constantly in an environment where every assignment, every test, feels high-stakes. The thought of potentially risking what lies ahead is what spurs this obsession over failure.
“I think it’s a very common feeling [and] it can be upsetting to a lot of students,” ETHS psychologist Delaney Roegner said. “I would say almost every student has probably felt this way at some point.”
Being constantly fixated on the potential of failure in school does not come without a cost. It causes students to be afraid of making mistakes, risk-averse and most critically, it often leads to students questioning their ability and believing that their self-worth is tied to their academic success.
According to an international study by the Programme for International Student Assessment, 56 percent of students agreed or strongly agreed that when they fail, they worry about what others think of them, and 55 percent believed that they do not have enough talent.
“It depends on the classes you take, but I feel like some of the classes I’m in, even just not getting an A, you’ll feel like a failure,” junior Maya Vincent said.
There is simply no doubt that with challenging classes and high expectations from colleges, failure is one of the biggest roadblocks for students today. Not only does it impact our learning now, but it sometimes seems like these constant feelings of disappointment will follow us into the future. It can be demoralizing to feel like your own psyche is against you when dealing with failure. Luckily, there is a simple solution: you have to change your mindset.
“Failure is human. Everybody’s going to fail at something in their life for their own definition of failure,” Roegner said. “[However], there are those components of positive self-talk that can feed into a growth mindset.”
Specifically, Roegner pointed out two key concepts for building a strong, uplifting mindset: self-efficacy and resiliency.
“Self-efficacy is your own belief in your ability to accomplish something or handle something. And then resiliency is your ability to be flexible and adapt to whatever comes your way.”
Using these tactics, she explained, will ultimately help students improve their mindset on failure.
“When a student believes they can do something, it can get them pretty far… [It’s] a really good skill and mindset to have.”
She also noted that viewing failure as a growth opportunity can “help students figure out what to do next time and build their resiliency.”
Another big point for students is realizing that our teachers aren’t out to get us. Some may be harsher than others, but more often than not, they understand the challenges that students face and value the idea of growing from failure.
“[Teachers] do a good job checking in… They’re welcoming these questions,” junior Josephine Bonney said. “If I didn’t really feel good about [a test], or I need more resources, they will definitely provide that.”
Moreover, there are many ways teachers can be intentional about their approach to failure. According to Continental Press, an education blog, explaining the science behind a growth mindset and having discussions about failure before or after challenging exams are two major ways that teachers can help students feel less afraid of failing. Several of my teachers have done this, and there is no doubt it helped change the class mindset going into the test.
As I’ve grown, I have become less focused on my failure. Rather, I seize every opportunity for improvement; I appreciate every opportunity to learn from my mistakes. The power of a growth mindset helps not only to fight anxiety but also to lead us as students away from the idea of failure and more towards a culture of self-learning.
Additionally, while school is admittedly stressful at times, it is crucial to shift your mindset and realize that this is the time to fail, and not just fail, but fail successfully.
“I like to tell myself, ‘One bad grade on a test, one bad grade in a class, is it gonna ruin everything?’” Bonney noted. “I think school is a very good environment to learn to fail in a way where there’s not any insane real-world consequences.”
At the end of the day, there are many ways to fix your mindset. Roegner suggested journaling, reflecting on your mistakes and talking to friends as additional methods for growth. Most important, however, is to know that you aren’t alone.
“I think, if a student were to talk about it with a friend, they would be surprised at how many other students feel the way they’re feeling,” Roegner said. “There’s a lot of power when you share it with someone, and they receive it with empathy.”
There is no doubt that the feeling of failure will show its face in every student’s academic journey for the rest of high school and into college. Those moments after a rough test may feel overwhelming. But with a simple mindset switch, failure becomes a stepping stone towards success.
“I’m still on that journey of realizing my self-worth is more than just a grade,” Bonney said. “But I kind of have told myself, you know, it’s not the end of the world. And whatever happens here, I always have another chance.”
