My 2021 Failing Report
When my students were doing the 20% Project (Genius Hour) in my class we had an “Epic Fail Board” (inspired by a number of people) where they would pin up some of their biggest fails and epic risks.
The 20% project required each student to challenge themselves. They were learning and creating with a purpose, often with lofty expectations and goals, and failing came at every step.
In the first month of the project, I could sense hesitation from many students who did not want to give 100% effort with the possibility of 90% failure. The Epic Fail Board changed the classroom culture from one that shied away from trial and error to one that supported and even celebrated risk-taking.
I know there are many different definitions of failing, but as a class, we adopted a mantra: Sometimes you win, and sometimes you learn.
I’ve kept this as a personal mantra over the years as I left the classroom to become a K-12 Instructional Coach, Director of Technology, Director of Learning and Innovation, UPenn GSE PLN Faculty, and now a business owner. I’ve also used this in my personal and professional life as an author, speaker, husband, and father.
Failing, it seems, is part of the job. Admitting that you’ve struggled is one thing. Sharing how you’ve struggled and learned is what I’m aiming for with this post.
Also, the first time I did this report, I called it “Fail-ure Report” – I’ve since changed it to “Fail-ing” which you can learn more about in this video:
Today I’m continuing my annual tradition (I missed 2017, typical fail) where I share my failings, and what I’ve learned from them, publicly on this blog. I’m hoping this can do a tiny part to change a culture of education that still denounces risk-taking and help to shape it into one that supports and celebrates it as my students did during that 20% Project.
MY 2021 FAILING REPORT
Goals…
So, 2020 was the year everything changed. But 2021 was the year those changes (and unpredictability) became a reality. At the start of 2021, I wrote down seven goals for the year. Some were more “habits” than goals, but nonetheless, they were what I wanted to achieve this past year.
Here they were in no particular order:
Publish Adaptable and get 100 reviews.
Win 3 Duke’s Lacrosse Tournaments (my son’s club lacrosse team I coach)
Exercise at least 4 times a week
Grow email/blog by 50%
Launch “Be More Chef” Brand to raise money
Develop projects and curriculum for teachers
Create consistent Youtube channel content
So, how’d I do?
Well, let’s just say there was a lot of failing to go around this year! In all honesty, I accomplished some of these goals, and others I started, while a few did not even get off the Trello board. I’ll break it down for you.
Write A New Book: Publish Adaptable
Throughout 2020 I was researching, writing, and trying to share as much content (blog posts, videos, webinars etc) on hybrid, blended, and online learning. What came out of this work was realizing that so many of the quality practices for blended/online learning were also quality in a face-to-face learning environment.
I set out to write the book, Adaptable, around these ideas and research. The book was built on the foundation of choice, ownership, flexibility, and above all, adaptable practices. The big thing I wanted to do was write a book that had both the curriculum development piece and the instructional piece. I believe I did that with this book and so happy I published with IMPress. It also had a great opening week, landing on the Wall Street Journal and USA Today Digital Best Seller list.
All that to be said, I was pushing for 100 reviews on the book, but I’m sitting at 38 at the time of writing this post. Reviews are a really good indicator of how the book is helping folks, and I did not reach that goal (but still working towards it!).
Win 3 Duke’s Lacrosse Tournaments
If I could choose anything to do in the world and not get paid to do it, it would be coaching. In fact, that’s what I’ve spent a lot of my time as a teacher and now as a Dad. I coached lacrosse and football at Wissahickon when I was an English teacher and Instructional Coach, but stopped when I moved into administration. With 5 kids I think I’ve coached every youth sport, but have been helping to run and coach the Duke’s Lacrosse 2030, 2031, and 2032 teams for the past few years.
Well, this didn’t fully happen. It started off great as we won our first summer tournament, Laxapalooza. Then we had a huge win at the US Club Lax Jamboree, but failed to make the championship, and the same thing happened in our last tournament of the summer. The team then had a really tough opening fall tourney before winning down in Maryland for our second tourney win of the year. We “technically” won the final tourney/play day but still a work in progress. I’m loving this journey of coaching my son and his friends, and can’t wait to see what 2022 brings for this group!
Winning is not necessarily the “barometer” of success we are always going for, but when you enter 6-8 tournaments a year, it should be one of your goals as a team/program!
Exercise at least 4 times a week
I started this year like I do every year, wanting to be healthier, eat better, and be in the best shape of my life.
It has been up and down. A lot of times I got 4-5 work outs in a week. Other weeks I would go without 1.
The failing was all about consistency. For most of this year I did not have that. However, the last 2-3 months have been pretty solid 4 times a week. I’m looking to continue this trend into 2022 and focus more on what I’m eating (and how much I’m eating) than on exercising alone.
Grow email/blog by 50%
This was the year I really wanted to ramp up writing, podcasting, and building our email newsletter community. Looking back this was a straight fail lol. However, it was really due to the lack of habits to consistently create and share content. I spent a lot of time writing the book, which led to less time writing for the blog. My website got hacked twice with malware so I moved it from Wordpress to Squarespace. This process was a drain and led to a big loss in SEO.
This year, I’m not sure this is a goal. I find myself spending a lot of time reading long-form articles or watching videos. So I’m looking to write more long-form content and create more videos!
Launch “Be More Chef” Brand to raise money
Ever since my brother passed away I’ve wanted to spread more awareness around his cause/organization GG (Gabriel’s Gladiators). We’ve done a number of events, shared all kinds of money with those in need, and supported multiple organizations. This past year I also joined the Board of The Breathing Room Foundation which is one of the partner organizations for GG.
When he was in the hospital and after his death, I couldn’t think of a better way to describe my brother than a “chef”. I wrote about it a few times, most notably in this article and video.
That brings me to an idea for merch last year. I wanted to launch a ‘Be More Chef’ brand of shirts, hats, and merchandise to support this and other charities. It didn’t happen. I wasn’t able to pull it off, but I’m really looking forward to doing something around this in 2022.
Develop projects and curriculum for teachers
This was a big fail…
I did not create ONE project for teachers. Writing the book (and life with five kids) took up a lot of my time. However, I’m going all in on this in 2022 trying to create more resources teachers and students can use right now.
I did spend time putting together the Curriculum Camp Conference and was pleased with how that turned out. It was an online event with amazing speakers and coaches, and the feedback was really solid across the board from most of the attendees.
Create consistent Youtube channel content
This was a major fail. I posted 3-4 videos last year on my Youtube channel! If you are seeing a pattern it is that my content creation was down in 2021. When I try to look at reasons, I think I spent too much time worrying about creating something perfect, when I should have created content just sharing where I was in the process.
One of my 2021 goals that I’m carrying over to 2022 is the Youtube channel. But I’ve shifted it a bit. This year I’m going to branch out and create some videos around the concept of “Teach Wealth” that I’ve been really interested in and learning over the past few years. Partly, I’m doing it for my kids and myself. But, hey, that’s where some of the best creating happens - when we scratch our own itch!
A Personal Note on Failing:
I’ve also failed multiple times this year on a personal level, but thankfully have a wife, kids, and family that supports me no matter how often (or how big) I mess up.
This year we spent more time together as a family and we all had to have grace for ourselves and empathy for each other watching mini-fails happen on a daily basis. How we respond to these setbacks as adults are always being viewed by our youth. Fail and learn, and keep on going. It is sometimes all we can do!
What were your fails this year? Care to share in the comments? If you write up your own Failing Report please link to it below so we can all celebrate our epic fails this year : )
