Failure to leave one’s comfort zone in learning is the saddest kind of math failure. It is sad because an incredible amount of learning and achieving never happens when kids don’t risk “failing.” A lot of true mathematics involves failing and discovery, not the arithmetic most of us associate with math! Failing to take risks is a pervasive and epidemic problem. To achieve skills in math, and other subjects, we must constantly push ourselves out of our comfort zone.
Every time we reach outside of our comfort zone we grow …even if we fail to execute the new skill well the first time, or the eighth time. When we successfully get out of our comfort zone we feel a mixture of apprehension and excitement.
What does getting out of your comfort zone look like?
Let’s imagine you want to jump off the high dive for the first time. You climb the ladder, look down, and have second thoughts. You must choose whether take the risk and overcome your fears, or play it safe and not try. In other words will you leave your comfort zone, or not?
What happens if you lean forward when you jump and do a bit of a belly flop? It will hurt. What happens if you decide not to jump and spare yourself from possible pain and “failure”? You cannot succeed. You can’t learn. You are stuck in your comfort zone accepting failure as inevitable. If you don’t try, you have committed to failure. As the classic American actor Kirk Douglas said, “In order to achieve anything you must be brave enough to fail.” Many of the greats in any field strive for failure and many well-known athletes and business people have failed greatly before becoming hugely successful. Think Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls in the 90's, Oprah Winfrey and Walt Disney!
How Does this Relate to Kids Learning Math?
Treating failure as a learning opportunity gives kids a chance to keep going for more and more advanced math skills. Without occasional failures, how does a kid know he or she is working up to their potential?
Starting an advanced math class, coming to Mathnasium, or joining a math club, will probably push your children out of their comfort zone. They are risking making math mistakes. Let us put you and them at ease. They WILL make mistakes. They will experience some discomfort. But if they have support, they will also grow tremendously.
Transform Mistakes and “Failure” into Success
Ralph Nader once said, “Your best teacher is your last mistake.” Mistakes or “failures” in math (or life) are helpful only if you choose to learn from them.
It is sometimes difficult to figure out what mistake was made. That’s why knowledgeable instructors make a huge difference in someone’s learning curve. They provide constructive feedback so you don’t keep making the same mistake.
Imagine you are back at the diving board looking down. Now instead of being alone you have a coach there urging you on. That might be just enough to get you out of your comfort zone. You jump. You make a mistake and it hurts. Your coach explains how to correct your mistake. You try again. It doesn’t hurt. You keep jumping successfully and eventually decide to dive. Feedback provides the opportunities to grow, without the repeated failures that lead to insecurity.
Why do Some Kids Avoid Reaching Out of their Comfort Zone?
If you don’t learn from your mistakes, you will repeat the mistake and it will keep hurting. How many times would you jump off the diving board if it hurts every time? The repercussions for giving up in math are much worse than deciding not to jump off a high dive. Many of our students who come to Mathnasium as high school students have years of repeated mistakes which have completely turned them off from math.
These students struggled with math and it “hurt” in early grades. Now they feel anxious about math and even "hate" it. Before they are ready to succeed, they have to feel courageous enough to overcome the possibility of failure. That is a big reason why at Mathnasium of Littleton we create an emotionally safe learning environment.
Our Individualized Curriculum and Caring Instructors Eases Kids Out of their Comfort Zone Gently
Our qualified and caring instructors give students plenty of feedback so they don’t keep repeating the same mistakes. Each time they make a mistake, they will get the support they need until they master the skill. Then they will have to get out of their comfort zone again to progress to the next skill. And they will make new mistakes. This is a positive cycle of advancement only possible when kids use their “failures” as opportunities to grow and learn.
With enough persistence, or grit, your child will achieve more in math than they (or you) ever thought possible. We have seen this happen many times.
What Can Parents do to Help Kids out of their Comfort Zone in Math?
Referenced and Related articles
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