Dropping Out of College Into Life
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As children, we’re trained to avoid failure, not learn from it. It’s presented as a sign of inadequacy, even worthlessness. I think this is the hidden cost of a K-12 curriculum that is achievement-oriented. Failure is never presented to us as a different kind of educational experience, a universal (and ceaseless) part of being human.
College is often cast as the best four years of your life, but the reality is that too many students are anxious, overworked and paralyzed by the idea that one false move or rough patch will destroy their future. We would be better served if we were told that failure, while normal, is always unexpected, and that it is usually a useful lesson in something bigger.
Most important, students aren’t all alike, and the college experience doesn’t need to be one-size-fits-all. Read the rest of this interesting article on student anxieties by Rainseford Stauffer at nytimes.com.
