Melbourne School Celebrates Failure This Week to Build Resilience

A private school in Melbourne has dedicated an entire schooling week to failure in the name of building resilience.

Every two years, Ivanhoe Girls' Grammar School runs a week that focuses on building resilience and psychological wellness. This year the Melbourne school released a statement that they will be focusing on failure and enforcing "being brave, taking a risk, having a go and trying new things."

The week will host a number of events such as a student and staff spelling bee, a drama workshop and the opportunity to learn a new skill that they will have to perform or showcase at the end of the week in the Failure Festival. The aim is not to perfect the skill, but learn that it's okay to fail while trying.

Head of Counselling at Ivanhoe Girls', Dr Bridget McPherson, explained in a media release that due to the school's high-performing academic reputation, students feel pressed to perform well.

"They often worry about making mistakes, and they struggle to tolerate the uncomfortable emotions that come with failing or being imperfect," she explained.

"Research has shown that fear of failure can lead to a range of behaviours that impede learning, including procrastination, excessive checking and difficulty making decisions."

Dr Heather Schnagl AM, the principal of Ivanhoe Girls', also added that the fear of failure holds students back.

"It is through failure that we genuinely learn. It is very important that girls embrace the opportunities available to take a risk, grow and develop," Dr. Schnagl said.

Like Queen Bey summed up...

Photo: iStock.com/Berezko