Hard maths

Some of the senior class were involved in an Otago Problem Solving test this morning. It consists of 5 mathematics questions which start hard and become fiendish. I managed the first four but got the fifth one wrong, as opposed to Kaspar who got them all right, nice work Kasper.  I have no problem with the fact that a student got one right that I got wrong.  In the school there are students who are faster, play instruments better, draw and create better than me so why shouldn't there be students whose problem solving approach to a particular problem is better than mine? As teachers it is important that we are able to show students we don't know everything and we don't always get it right. Mistakes or failures are a hugh part of learning. Very successful companies such as Pixar celebrate their failures as much as their successes as they realise the value of them and the learning that can be gained from them. There is no shame in making a mistake, getting something wrong or just failing completely, the shame is in not taking the opportunity to learn from it.