Matt Hamilton is a seventh grade social studies educator and middle and high school video production educator at East Jordan Public Schools, in East Jordan, Michigan. He is also one of the five educators receiving the 2025 Horace Mann Awards for Teaching Excellence.
Failure is often seen in a negative light, but it doesn’t have to be. While failure can bring challenges, it can also offer valuable lessons and lead to success. The fear of failing holds many people back from taking risks or chasing their goals. But I have come to learn that often success doesn’t come without some setbacks along the way.
I recently came across a book for children that celebrates failure called Fail-A-Bration! by Brad and Kristi Montague. It gives a voice to why we need failure and emphasizes that through failure we learn some of the best lessons. It’s a normal part of life. I was so happy to see the authors promoting this concept for children.
I started a Shoe Club, which is all about teaching middle school students to value themselves and others, while living out that adage of walking a mile in each other’s shoes. The Shoe Club inspires students to dream big, set goals, work hard and give back. Over the years Dolly Parton, Bruce Springsteen, Oprah Winfrey, Jane Goodall, Steph Curry and many others have supported us by donating their shoes to my classroom.
One aspect of the club is carrying out projects that let us live out the values of the club. I want my students to dream big enough to fail. By this I mean I don’t want them to do what’s easiest, but rather set goals that are challenging and rewarding. Our first big project consisted of planning, organizing and raising $70,000 to put a solar array on our school roof. The following year we raised $75,000 to expand our elementary school garden. Last year we raised $160,000 to enhance a local veterans park, publish a book highlighting veterans and take a trip to Gettysburg. I’m not going to lie – these projects felt a bit scary and overwhelming in the beginning. For each project, we devised a plan and worked hard to implement that plan to ensure success. Sure, there were failures along the way, but we used these failures to learn, strengthen us and ultimately inspire us to reach the finish line.
The term I like to use with my students is “failing forward” – every failure is an opportunity to grow. This idea is so important to me that I started a podcast with the Shoe Club students this year called “If Shoes Could Talk: Epic conversations with icons of success about failure”. Successful people have plenty of failures along the way. In fact – failure is an ingredient for success and I love the idea of getting these stories out there.
So, don’t be afraid to dream big, whether in your classroom or in your personal life. To quote Fail-A-Bration! “If you’ve ever tried to do anything, you’ve likely messed up a time or two. If you’ve ever been disappointed or discouraged, I have great news for you…you are not alone!”
