I start almost every day in Rm. 202 by saying something to my students that still had some of them very confused:

I remember the first time I said it.  No kidding, some of their eyes were as big as saucers and they thought I was kidding.  “You mean you want me to mess up?”  “You want me to fail?”  Well….yes, actually I do.  Not because I want you to feel badly, or because I want anything negative for you, but because I want you to learn something.  When we make mistakes, we learn what NOT to do, or we learn how to do things differently, which helps us next time.  If we’re always comfortable, and everything is easy, then we’re coasting and not learning.  And THAT is not ok with me.

We have been talking a lot about our brains and how they work, and a couple of these videos have helped some of my friends look at me a little less crazily when I mention mistakes:

All of this fits in perfectly with our YET talk, and helps us all get on the same page as we learn and grow together.  Not everyone is there yet, but I know that as we continue to understand how being perfect is not the goal, but learning new things is, more will get on board.  Their new successes will help spur them to WANT to make mistakes, for that is when they LEARN something new. 🙂