Lesson Three: Investing in Loss

Perfectionism is, unfortunately, commonly associated with giftedness. It is difficult for smart kids, who have consistently been successful with relatively little effort, to avoid the association that smart equals perfect. This becomes even worse when they develop this idea further, that smart equals perfect without obvious effort. If young people consistently perform perfectly without struggle, they often develop a lack of perseverance; if they can’t do something well when they first decide to try, they’d rather not do it at all. What’s worse, self-confidence is developed through persevering at tasks that are difficult, and eventually succeeding at them. When these children don’t have the opportunity to do this, the students that seem as if they should have the greatest academic self-confidence may in fact have the least. They have simply had no opportunity to develop the understanding that “investing in loss” is necessary to ultimate success at most worthwhile endeavors.

With this idea in mind, this lesson began with an economics lesson. I explained the concept of “investments” to my students. We considered the growth patterns of various investments. I also brought in a piggy bank, and we discussed how savings accounts work. All of these simple economics ideas focused on the idea that you must put something in, generally over a period of time, in order to get something out. Your “rate of return” is dependent on a number of factors, including the amount that you put in and the time that passes over the course of the investment. Line graphs allow students to see these factors, and how they affect the course of the investments.

Using simple economics as a springboard, it is easy to introduce the concept of investment in loss. When students “fail,” they are making an investment. They must “put in” effort and time in order to “take out” new skills and expertise, and failures – losses – can be more effective in teaching than successes, especially those that come without effort. I shared with my students the fact that I still remember the correct spelling of “mayonnaise,” the word that I incorrectly spelled at a district spelling bee in the 7th grade. These “investments” lead to greater skills and greater success later on.

My students were excited to continue the lesson by sharing their own experiences with things that they have learned through loss. They all have stories to share: losing a Tae Kwon Do match, making a mistake at a dance recital, doing poorly on an exam; by considering these temporary failures as investments in the development of new skills, it is easier for my students to see mistakes in a positive light.

I concluded the lesson with a group activity, in which we developed a “Great Mistakes” poster. On this poster I shared some of my own “great mistakes,” my own investments in loss. I also shared a few famous investments in loss, such as Edison’s thousands of attempts to find an effective filament for his light bulb. In his words (approximately): “I have not failed. I’ve just found 1,000 ways not to make a light bulb.” Students then selected their own “great mistakes,” or “investments in loss” to add to the poster. We hung this on our wall to refer and add to as the year continued.