Sep 22 / Simcha

What if the Secret to Success Is Failure?

KIPP Infinity middle school in Manhattan. (Tape Installation: Stephen Doyle. Photograph: Stephen Wilkes for the NYTimes)

More than anything, kids need a little difficulty, some challenge or deprivation that they can overcome, even if just to prove to themselves that they can.  If we take that opportunity away from them, their education – both at home and at school – is “missing out on some serious parts of what it means to be a successful human.”  We also inadvertently shield them from exactly the kind of experiences that can lead to character growth.

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