One important aspect of mistakes in learning for me is about risk taking.

I often share a fable with students that I was obsessed with when I was a kid. It comes from Leo Tolstoy.

A duck was once swimming along the river looking for fish. The whole day passed without her finding a single one. When night came she saw the moon reflected on the water, and thinking it was a fish she dove down to catch it. The other ducks saw her, and they all made fun of her. From that day the duck was so ashamed and so timid, that even when she did see a fish under water she would not try to catch it, and before long she died of hunger.

I really like it because there is a lot that we can all relate to – we all have both the duck who died and the ducks who laugh inside of us.  It is also a good frame for students to talk about classroom community and how people learn.  The goal is to create a classroom culture of support and risk-taking, where mistakes are part of learning. This story, and the discussion it inspires, allows you and your students to develop a language for talking about mistakes and encouragement that you and they can refer to throughout your time together.

There is a lot you can do with it. Here are a few questions I’ve asked students to write about and discuss.

• Have you ever felt like the duck?
• Have you ever felt like this in school?
• What does this fable have to do with our class?
• What does this fable have to do with learning?
• How important are mistakes?

I’m sure you will come up with even better questions. Please use the story with your students and let us all know how you use it.