0:00:10.269,0:00:17.209
I'm here tonight to share my sincere hope[br]for your complete and utter failure.

0:00:17.535,0:00:21.045
I want you to fail,[br]and I want you to fail.

0:00:21.212,0:00:23.605
And in the back row[br]- I didn't forget about you -

0:00:23.605,0:00:25.035
I want you to fail as well.

0:00:25.035,0:00:27.972
I want everyone here tonight to fail.

0:00:28.738,0:00:31.798
Now, as a dad[br]and an elementary school principal,

0:00:31.798,0:00:34.648
I wish for the same thing[br]for all my kids.

0:00:35.499,0:00:39.309
I not only hope that they fail,[br]I encourage them to do so.

0:00:39.309,0:00:41.119
The reason for this is simple.

0:00:41.119,0:00:43.289
I believe that the way[br]society views failures

0:00:43.289,0:00:45.789
to be totally and completely wrong.

0:00:45.789,0:00:50.259
Most people, they view failure as final,[br]as a conclusion,

0:00:50.861,0:00:53.269
as a reflection of who and what they are.

0:00:53.269,0:00:57.269
In a word, for most people,[br]they think failure sucks.

0:00:57.526,0:00:59.056
But it's not their fault.

0:00:59.056,0:01:02.506
We've had this drilled into our heads[br]from our earliest days in school.

0:01:02.506,0:01:04.036
Some of you might remember

0:01:04.036,0:01:06.756
the time you came home[br]from kindergarten without a sticker

0:01:06.756,0:01:08.836
because you didn't master your ABCs.

0:01:08.836,0:01:11.786
Or maybe it was an F[br]that you got on a homework assignment,

0:01:11.786,0:01:14.966
or possibly a below-average score[br]on a standardized test.

0:01:14.966,0:01:19.286
Failure has been seen as frightening,[br]and worst of all, defining.

0:01:19.737,0:01:23.737
My position is these attitudes are sending[br]dangerous and destructive message

0:01:23.737,0:01:27.787
that tells that the failure is bad,[br]and that we should avoid it at all cost.

0:01:27.787,0:01:30.067
I'm here to tell you[br]that message is wrong,

0:01:30.067,0:01:33.277
and our views of failure[br]are all wrong as well.

0:01:33.277,0:01:36.797
After all, history is filled[br]with famous failures,

0:01:36.797,0:01:39.267
from the student whose teacher said

0:01:39.267,0:01:42.927
was too stupid to learn anything,[br]Thomas Edison,

0:01:42.927,0:01:45.527
to the newspaper man[br]who was fired by his editor

0:01:45.527,0:01:50.977
because he lacked imagination[br]and had no good ideas, Walt Disney.

0:01:50.977,0:01:54.747
Of course, this gentleman,[br]perhaps the most famous failure of all,

0:01:54.747,0:01:58.747
who was defeated when he ran[br]for state legislature, failed at business,

0:01:58.747,0:02:00.837
who was defeated when he ran for Congress,

0:02:00.837,0:02:03.037
and defeated twice[br]when he ran for U.S. Senate,

0:02:03.037,0:02:04.267
but who overcame all that

0:02:04.267,0:02:07.737
to change the world[br]as our 16th President, Abraham Lincoln.

0:02:07.737,0:02:10.747
Now, of course, not all failures[br]can be this famous.

0:02:10.747,0:02:14.067
I failed many times in my life,[br]and I bet if I ask each of you,

0:02:14.067,0:02:16.247
you would have your own story to tell.

0:02:16.247,0:02:19.297
The story I'll tell you here tonight[br]comes from my own education.

0:02:19.297,0:02:23.787
You see, I breezed through elementary[br]and middle school, earning only As and Bs,

0:02:23.787,0:02:26.777
always thought of as one[br]of the smartest kids in my grade.

0:02:26.777,0:02:28.307
And then I hit high school.

0:02:28.307,0:02:31.777
I can remember specifically[br]Mr. Malone's calculus class

0:02:31.777,0:02:36.467
because that's when I earned my first C,[br]and then the Ds and the Fs followed.

0:02:36.467,0:02:38.807
I hadn't learned how to struggle[br]with school work,

0:02:38.807,0:02:40.517
or really anything at all.

0:02:40.517,0:02:44.557
So I started to pull away from the area[br]where I had previously excelled.

0:02:44.557,0:02:46.057
I did finish high school,

0:02:46.057,0:02:49.122
and I went on to Montclair State College[br]in New Jersey,

0:02:49.122,0:02:51.252
and then I promptly quit after one month.

0:02:51.252,0:02:53.712
Sorry mum and dad. Love you.

0:02:53.712,0:02:55.822
I didn't want[br]to be associated with something

0:02:55.822,0:02:58.012
that made me feel worthless.

0:02:58.012,0:03:03.402
It took eleven years of soul-searching,[br]bad decisions, and lots of struggle

0:03:03.402,0:03:05.782
before I earned[br]my elementary education degree

0:03:05.782,0:03:07.142
and ended up doing something

0:03:07.142,0:03:09.242
that I'm passionate about[br]each and every day.

0:03:09.242,0:03:12.782
It took those years of failure[br]to pave the way for my success.

0:03:12.782,0:03:15.282
But I don't want our children[br]to wait that long.

0:03:17.244,0:03:20.474
Because these examples,[br]the famous and the not so famous,

0:03:20.474,0:03:23.294
they teach us that there's no reason[br]to fear failure.

0:03:23.294,0:03:26.254
It is not a character trait;[br]it's an event.

0:03:26.254,0:03:31.524
It's not an end; it's an opportunity[br]to learn, explore and improve.

0:03:31.524,0:03:34.104
And most importantly,[br]it's not the opposite of success,

0:03:34.104,0:03:35.544
as most people believe;

0:03:35.544,0:03:37.774
it is a key component of it.

0:03:37.774,0:03:40.064
Being able to fight through,[br]pick yourself up

0:03:40.064,0:03:45.054
and get yourself back on track[br]in and of itself is success.

0:03:45.054,0:03:47.514
And we must teach this to our children.

0:03:47.514,0:03:49.474
In fact, I believe, out of all the things

0:03:49.474,0:03:51.664
we should be teaching[br]in our schools right now,

0:03:51.664,0:03:55.754
the most important thing of all[br]is teaching our children how to fail,

0:03:55.754,0:03:58.504
showing them[br]there's nothing wrong with failure.

0:03:59.064,0:04:01.524
You know that famous phrase[br]about death and taxes?

0:04:01.524,0:04:02.994
That's all wrong.

0:04:02.994,0:04:07.294
They are not the only certainties in life;[br]failure is also a certainty.

0:04:07.294,0:04:09.344
Every single one of us will fail,

0:04:09.344,0:04:12.354
but being able to accept it,[br]learn from it, and move on

0:04:12.354,0:04:15.064
is the life lesson[br]that each of us must learn.

0:04:15.064,0:04:17.444
And you're never too young to start.

0:04:17.444,0:04:19.544
Therefore, encouraging[br]and embracing failure

0:04:19.544,0:04:23.744
is the single most important change[br]that we need in education today.

0:04:23.744,0:04:26.814
What happens in schools[br]is previous failures,

0:04:26.814,0:04:29.294
they add up to doom[br]a student to fail again.

0:04:29.294,0:04:32.254
Or even worse, to get it lodged in here

0:04:32.254,0:04:34.794
so they're even afraid[br]to try again tomorrow,

0:04:34.794,0:04:36.044
and what a shame that is,

0:04:36.044,0:04:39.784
at the lost opportunities[br]because people felt labeled as failures.

0:04:39.784,0:04:44.224
But just imagine if schools started[br]teaching failure for what it really is,

0:04:44.224,0:04:46.781
a stop along the road of success,

0:04:46.781,0:04:51.247
a moment to pause, rethink and re-imagine.

0:04:51.731,0:04:53.049
Or how about this one?

0:04:53.049,0:04:55.289
An event exploding with opportunity

0:04:55.289,0:04:58.009
to acquire knowledge,[br]deepen understanding,

0:04:58.009,0:05:01.019
and to emotionally and intellectually[br]prepare for life.

0:05:01.294,0:05:03.119
Do you like the sound of that one?

0:05:03.119,0:05:05.789
It happens to be the definition[br]of the word "education".

0:05:06.154,0:05:07.929
So, what I’m saying to you tonight

0:05:07.929,0:05:10.529
is that education and failure[br]are synonymous.

0:05:10.529,0:05:14.249
If we accept that as true,[br]schools have an unbelievable opportunity

0:05:14.249,0:05:17.059
to not only change what happens[br]within their own walls,

0:05:17.059,0:05:21.059
but to spill out into society[br]and affect change within all of us.

0:05:21.059,0:05:25.059
So tonight I am advocating[br]for the express inclusion of failure

0:05:25.059,0:05:28.389
into all schools curriculum[br]at each and every level.

0:05:28.772,0:05:30.122
So what does that look like?

0:05:30.559,0:05:32.512
It's not as if I'm asking my teachers

0:05:32.512,0:05:35.042
to give a test or material[br]they haven't covered yet,

0:05:35.042,0:05:37.162
but there are ways[br]we can intensely provide

0:05:37.162,0:05:38.712
experiences for our students,

0:05:38.712,0:05:40.772
to both know and grow from failure.

0:05:41.233,0:05:44.769
Let me give you an example of a person[br]whom I think is on a right track.

0:05:44.769,0:05:46.189
His name is Edward Burger.

0:05:46.189,0:05:48.699
He's a professor of mathematics[br]at Williams College.

0:05:48.699,0:05:50.469
Professor Burger tells his students

0:05:50.469,0:05:53.829
that if they want to earn an A,[br]they must fail regularly,

0:05:53.829,0:05:58.739
because he bases 5% of the final grade[br]on the quality of their failure.

0:05:58.739,0:06:03.489
They must disclose, accept, discuss,[br]and reflect upon each failure.

0:06:03.489,0:06:08.319
I love this practice because it encourages[br]creativity and risk-taking.

0:06:08.319,0:06:12.799
And don't we need more of both of those[br]in the world in which we live in today?

0:06:12.799,0:06:16.579
This world is aching[br]for innovators and innovations.

0:06:16.579,0:06:18.109
When I think along those lines,

0:06:18.109,0:06:20.009
I think about some aspects of our world

0:06:20.009,0:06:22.959
that wouldn't be here[br]without some form of failure,

0:06:22.959,0:06:27.529
like the engineer at 3M, who was trying[br]to create a super strong adhesive,

0:06:27.529,0:06:29.579
but instead got just the opposite,

0:06:29.579,0:06:32.999
an adhesive that barely stuck[br]and could easily be lifted off,

0:06:32.999,0:06:34.989
and post-it notes were born.

0:06:34.989,0:06:37.819
Or Alexander Fleming, who was working[br]in his lab one night,

0:06:37.819,0:06:38.978
and before he left,

0:06:38.978,0:06:42.538
he forgot to properly clean[br]the bacteria that filled Petri dishes.

0:06:42.808,0:06:45.528
He left town and in return,[br]he noticed there was mold

0:06:45.528,0:06:47.818
that was blocking[br]the growth of the bacteria,

0:06:47.818,0:06:49.968
and thereby discovered penicillin.

0:06:49.968,0:06:51.788
Or how about Willson Greatbatch?

0:06:51.788,0:06:54.368
He was trying to create[br]a heart rhythm recording device

0:06:54.368,0:06:57.268
and he pulled the wrong part[br]out of a box of equipment.

0:06:57.268,0:06:58.768
And he plugged it in a circuit,

0:06:58.768,0:07:00.548
and he noticed he had created a sound

0:07:00.548,0:07:02.998
that was remarkably similar[br]to a heartbeat,

0:07:02.998,0:07:04.998
and the pacemaker was invented.

0:07:04.998,0:07:09.038
Today, more than half a million pacemakers[br]are implanted each and every year.

0:07:09.038,0:07:11.258
Not bad for a mistake.

0:07:11.258,0:07:12.788
When I think along these lines,

0:07:12.788,0:07:14.228
I wish I could snap my fingers

0:07:14.228,0:07:17.578
and make the view of failure change[br]in all of our minds just like that.

0:07:17.578,0:07:19.268
But I know we have to start small.

0:07:19.268,0:07:21.238
Let me give you an example from my school

0:07:21.238,0:07:23.188
that I hope illustrates this approach.

0:07:23.188,0:07:25.248
It was our first school-wide STEM day,

0:07:25.248,0:07:28.398
and the boys and girls in this[br]4th-grade class I'll tell you about,

0:07:28.398,0:07:31.918
they were trying to build a zip line[br]that would drop a marble onto a target

0:07:31.918,0:07:35.298
using a paper cup, paper clips,[br]tape and string.

0:07:35.298,0:07:38.268
I watched as the boys and girls[br]built their contraptions,

0:07:38.268,0:07:40.518
and after each miss,[br]they would huddle together,

0:07:40.518,0:07:43.778
make a change or two,[br]and then try again.

0:07:43.778,0:07:46.258
When Sofia's group failed[br]for the fourth time,

0:07:46.258,0:07:47.764
she turned to me and said,

0:07:47.764,0:07:50.784
"Mr. Peters, hashtag,[br]the struggle is real."

0:07:50.784,0:07:52.244
(Laughter)

0:07:52.244,0:07:55.014
I love that sentiment because it shows me

0:07:55.014,0:07:59.014
that Sofie and her classmates were never[br]at the end of a failed experiment.

0:07:59.014,0:08:01.684
Rather, they went in the midst[br]of ongoing struggle.

0:08:01.684,0:08:05.284
They never felt defeated or demeaned[br]because they couldn't hit their target.

0:08:05.284,0:08:08.544
They were motivated and inspired[br]to keep on going with the challenge.

0:08:08.746,0:08:10.194
We need to be at the forefront

0:08:10.194,0:08:12.944
of creating these types of opportunities[br]for our students.

0:08:12.944,0:08:15.814
The sooner they experience[br]and learn from their own failures,

0:08:15.814,0:08:17.954
the sooner we will have students

0:08:17.954,0:08:21.264
and individuals capable of overcoming[br]any obstacle in their way

0:08:21.264,0:08:24.264
and handling any adversity[br]that's thrown in front of them.

0:08:24.264,0:08:27.044
I wish I had a classic[br]Hollywood happy ending for you

0:08:27.044,0:08:29.164
about Sofia and her group's efforts,

0:08:29.164,0:08:30.794
but that's just not the case.

0:08:31.045,0:08:34.264
Try as they might, they just couldn't hit[br]that red and white target.

0:08:34.831,0:08:36.104
I lost track of time,

0:08:36.104,0:08:38.714
I lost track of how many attempts[br]they made that day,

0:08:38.714,0:08:41.754
and through it all, they didn't approach[br]anything near success.

0:08:41.754,0:08:44.254
By every accepted definition,[br]they had failed.

0:08:44.254,0:08:47.744
However, there is hope,[br]because before I left class that day,

0:08:47.744,0:08:50.464
I watched as Sofia and her group[br]approached their teacher,

0:08:50.464,0:08:53.504
begging to give up[br]the recess time the next day.

0:08:53.504,0:08:56.694
These boys and girls were willing[br]to give up their own free time

0:08:56.694,0:08:58.394
to give the challenge another shot.

0:08:58.394,0:09:01.594
If that's not the definition of success,[br]then I don't know what is.

0:09:02.747,0:09:04.617
There are many ways that we can provide

0:09:04.617,0:09:06.797
these types of opportunities[br]for our students,

0:09:06.797,0:09:10.507
but the most important aspect of all[br]is the attitude with which we,

0:09:10.507,0:09:13.137
the adults and the educators[br]approach failure.

0:09:13.137,0:09:16.077
At my school, I talk to my teachers[br]about this concept,

0:09:16.077,0:09:19.547
and ask them to go back to the class,[br]and to celebrate, share, and learn

0:09:19.547,0:09:22.127
from their failures[br]and their students' failures.

0:09:22.127,0:09:26.407
Our teachers and students need[br]the freedom to be fearless risk-takers.

0:09:27.094,0:09:31.574
Too often, needed change in schools,[br]it's hampered by a lack of money,

0:09:31.574,0:09:34.674
supplies and resources[br]that are not always easily accessible.

0:09:34.674,0:09:37.064
But this change[br]doesn't require any of that.

0:09:37.064,0:09:40.504
It simply requires to change[br]both here and here,

0:09:40.504,0:09:43.914
how you think[br]and how you feel about failure.

0:09:43.914,0:09:46.334
The other great thing[br]about this change is that,

0:09:46.334,0:09:48.674
while we can celebrate failure[br]on a STEM day,

0:09:48.674,0:09:51.214
it doesn't matter[br]if you're in a 3rd-grade math class,

0:09:51.214,0:09:52.734
or a high-school history class,

0:09:52.734,0:09:54.904
or at master's level course[br]at the university,

0:09:54.904,0:09:58.564
failure can and must be celebrated,[br]learned from, shared

0:09:58.564,0:10:00.584
each and every day[br]in each and every class.

0:10:01.228,0:10:03.384
And we start thinking along those lines.

0:10:03.384,0:10:06.674
We need to start incorporating[br]the word "yet" into our vocabulary,

0:10:06.674,0:10:08.884
both with our students and with ourselves,

0:10:08.884,0:10:10.974
and with their goals and with our goals,

0:10:10.974,0:10:13.944
as in, "You did not meet[br]that objective yet,

0:10:13.944,0:10:17.024
but with effort and analysis,[br]thought and commitment,

0:10:17.024,0:10:20.534
you can overcome any obstacle[br]and ultimately find success."

0:10:21.226,0:10:23.146
I wish I could stand up in front of you

0:10:23.146,0:10:25.786
and say, "I really hope for your success,

0:10:25.786,0:10:27.976
and I want to hand the world off to you."

0:10:27.976,0:10:31.766
But that's just not the case,[br]because I want you to know struggle.

0:10:31.766,0:10:35.996
I want you to experience the frustration[br]of not solving your problem,

0:10:35.996,0:10:39.286
or creating your idea on the first try,

0:10:39.286,0:10:40.796
or the second try,

0:10:40.796,0:10:42.526
or even the fourteenth try.

0:10:43.125,0:10:45.506
I want each and every one of you to fail.

0:10:45.506,0:10:49.266
Fail magnificently. Fail spectacularly.

0:10:49.266,0:10:52.874
Fail gloriously,[br]mind-blowingly, amazingly.

0:10:53.266,0:10:55.256
Failure is not only an option;

0:10:55.256,0:10:59.256
failure is a necessity[br]so that you may succeed.

0:10:59.668,0:11:00.676
Thank you.

0:11:00.676,0:11:01.999
(Applause)