Failure...the secret to success??!!

love, love, loved the lecture/presentation i attended last night at St. John's school (Houston, TX)...  KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program...my former employer) co-founder Dave Levin and the writer Paul Tough shared some intersting info based on Paul's latest book How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiousity, and the Hidden Power of Character...

basically their findings coincide with where i'm currently "sitting" in regards to the importance of knowing/understanding the stages of development for infants/toddlers...what is developmentally appropriate in terms to how we guide the learning...and how we, the adults, react, guide, mentor, challenge, or just get out of the way as he or she explores and discovers to learn. 

so put the "my baby can read" away...turn off the zombie-maker, i mean the tv... ditch any program/dvd/cd that will have your child reading by 2 yrs....and yes stash the ipad....    what infants, toddlers & preschoolers need the most...is safe place to play, discover and explore, with music, movement, rich language, books, AND adults who guide with appropriate words, questions, modeling, observation, patience, love, and logic...

in the end, it's not just "getting the grade"...but ALSO being a "good citizen" of the world...by having had the chance to "fall and skin a knee," not "make the grade" and coming up with own solution... to not win first place and come up with a plan to win next time...  and most important, learning how to deal with emotions that come with failure.  we have far too many humans who are unable to deal with let-down, failure, loss, change... turn to unhealthy, unproductive, drastic measures...sometimes life-ending...