Get The Help You Need: You’re Young. You feel Like a Failure. We're Here to Help

• Why do you think it’s important to trust the process of failure, even when it feels discouraging? How can this mindset help you in the long run?
• How can setting small, realistic goals help you move forward after experiencing a setback?
• What role does patience play in overcoming failures and achieving your goals? How can you remind yourself to stay patient?
• What role does humility play in our development? How can talking about failure with others help you move forward? How can mentors, teachers, friends, or family members support you during moments of failure? Why is it important to accept their help?
• How can building a supportive community of people who encourage both your successes and failures help you reach your goals?
• What qualities make someone a good person to lean on?

• What does it mean to be “antifragile”? How can we develop the belief that we are “antifragile” while respecting others?
• What do you want your life to look like? What are the risks you need to take to achieve that life? And what will you do if those risks don’t give you what you want?
• Dozens of people, mostly real-life figures, come to Tori’s aid when she is having an anxious bit of self-doubt. Of all of the figures that aided her, which of them would be most helpful for you? 

Feel free to explore these additional resources on your own to supplement your knowledge for these lessons or share and discuss these sources with your classrooms.

• The Three Great Untruths (CBS Mornings)
  • Are the environment and the people around you setting you up for success or failure? Explore how college campuses are teaching students to think in ways that will, unfortunately, increase their likelihood of becoming anxious and even hurt as they move into adulthood.
• The Anxious Generation (The Daily Show)
  • How have technology and your upbringing shaped how you go through the world? Watch this video and explore the influence of cell phones and social media, the loss of risk in contemporary childhood, and four norms that can give young people a chance to have a real “human” childhood.
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: Pulling Our Brains in a Good Direction (American Psychological Association)
  • “There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so” – Hamlet (Act 2, Scene 2)
  • We intuitively judge events and situations as “good” or “bad.” The value judgments we place on events and situations has a direct effect on our emotions. Learn more about the opportunities in life that give humans a choice to react that can steer their minds in dramatically different ways long term.
• Information Overload (National Public Radio, Fresh Air)
  • How is it that human beings are living in the information age and yet life seems to make less sense than ever? In The Age of Magical Overthinking, the author says that our brains are overloaded with a constant stream of information that stokes our innate tendency to believe conspiracy theories, mysticism and other fears. Listen to learn more.

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Subject(s): English and Theatre

Goals: Students will be able to:

• Use a variety of strategies to listen actively and speak using appropriate discussion rules with awareness of verbal and nonverbal cues.
• Respond thoughtfully and tactfully to diverse perspectives, summarizing points of agreement and disagreement.
• Develop ideas individually and collaboratively.
• Propose and select alternatives to solve problems while building an ensemble.
• Apply communication and collaboration skills for theatre experiences.

Show Connection: 

When Tori arrives in Failureland, real-life figures from throughout history and pop culture run to her side, ready to share their stories with her. Failureland is the kind of world we all wished existed. The kind where everyone’s stories are known and where every person is ready to share their story if sharing means helping someone else rise up.

Materials: 

A clock or timer.

Description: 

• This exercise may feel very surface level. It can serve as an ice breaker or as a hook introduction to deeper explorations.
• Put students into two-person partnerships somewhere in the room. giving each group a distinct area to work (preferably as far away from other groups as possible).
• Round One - All student partnerships have three minutes to accomplish the following task with one another: Partners share with one another where they are from, where they live now, and how they feel about being from there. (Good, bad, or otherwise.) Then, as a partnership, create a full-body “secret handshake” somehow inspired by the information exchanged.
  • Bring the class focus back together and have several of the partnerships present their handshakes. (If time permits and interest allows, have some students share the stories that prompted the handshakes.)
• Round Two - Students have ten seconds to find a new partner to work with in a distinct area of the room, preferably as far away from other groups as possible. All new student partnerships have three minutes to accomplish the following task with one another: Partners share with one another one recent success or accomplishment (big or small) from their own life. Then, together, they create a celebration / victory dance, inspired by that information exchanged.
  • Bring the class focus back together and have several of the partnerships share their life celebration dances. (If time permits and interest allows, have some students share the stories that prompted the dances.)
• Round Three - Students have ten seconds to find a new partner to work with in a distinct area of the room, preferably as far away from other groups as possible. All-new student partnerships have three minutes to accomplish the following task with one another: Partners share with one another their earliest childhood memories. Then, together, they create playful nicknames for each other, inspired by that information exchanged.
  • Bring the class focus back together and invite several of the partnerships to introduce their partners via their new nickname. (If time permits and interest allows, have some students share the stories that prompted the nicknames.)
• Round Four - Students have ten seconds to find a new partner to work with in a distinct area of the room, preferably as far away from other groups as possible. All-new student partnerships have three minutes to accomplish the following task with one another: Partners share with one another one recent failure (big or small) from their own life. Then, together, they create one shared life motto, inspired by that information exchanged.
  • Bring the class focus back together and have several of the partnerships share their newly-developed life mottos. (If time permits and interest allows, have some students share the stories that prompted the life mottos.)

Discussion: 

• Several people just told stories to us. Describe to me their approaches. Were there moments where people were excited and full of details to share? Were there moments where there were fewer details or it was harder to share in that moment?
• Have you ever experienced a moment where sharing a personal story had a significant impact on someone else's perspective? What happened and how did it influence the relationship? How might a shift in your perspective affect how you view your own success and failures?
• In what ways can the act of listening be just as important as sharing when it comes to exchanging stories? 

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Subject(s): Social Studies, English and Theatre

Goals: Students will be able to:

• Develop ideas individually and collaboratively.
• Propose and select alternatives to solve problems while building an ensemble.
• Use verbal and nonverbal techniques for presentation.      
• Produce, analyze, and evaluate auditory, visual and written media messages.

Show Connection:

Failureland!’s protagonist ends up in Failureland because she views herself as a failure before she’s even begun her journey. So many of us halt our paths because we don’t see the value we already have and we do not see a way forward toward improvement.

Materials: 

• Large Pieces of Paper
• Arts and Craft Supplies

Set Up: 

• Divide the students into two-person partnerships.
• Give each partnership two large pieces of paper and a marker.
• Substantial floor space is required for this exercise.

Description: 

• Invite the students to reflect on where anxiety, fear, nerves, trauma, stress, neurosis live on their body, especially when connected to thoughts of failure and success. Where do the memories of the past live within them? Where in their body do they feel failure? Where do you feel success? Where and how do you feel different kinds of failure and success in your body? (Personal failures and successes vs. broader, more public ones.)
• After this reflective moment, partnerships should head to the floor, with one partner laying down on the large sheet of paper given to them.  Partners take turns tracing their partner’s body, making sure to trace the region of the body where their partner says they hold and experiences these anxious feelings. If it’s their whole body, that’s fine. If it's just one or two body parts that is also fine as well. Once the tracing is done, invite each person to take the traced sheet of paper of themselves to do more work on.
• Assuming they have some negative space surrounding the actual tracing, invite them to divide the negative space into three areas. The student will be asked three questions. Each question should be answered visually (no words allowed!) within one of the subdivided areas (one area for each question), using the provided arts and craft supplies.
  • How has failing at something served you? How does failing help us?
  • How can failure harm you?
  • What is something in life that you really want to achieve or accomplish? What is the risk of failure in pursuing that?
• Then, within the tracing of their body, students subdivide that area into three sections. Students then visually represent and respond to the following questions with provided arts and crafts supplies. (No words allowed). As before, one question and answer for each subdivision:
  • What is a non-physical quality or trait you like about yourself?
  • What is a non-physical quality or trait that within yourself that you would like to see changed or that you would like to progress past? What are the healthy resources and who are the healthy helpers who could help you?
  • Between the two rounds of visual questioning and subdividing, you’re looking at at least 20 minutes of art response time. Encourage vocal discussion amongst the students as they find the answers to the questions.
• As a class, lay out or post the students’ pieces around the classroom, creating a “Museum of Failure and Success” Have the students wander around their classmates' work, observing it and responding to some of the following questions as they browse the work.
  • If you had to make a noise to represent how this whole class felt about themselves, what would it sound like?
  • What is a message of support you would say to another member of this class, after looking at and interpreting their piece?
  • What is one word you would use to describe how this class feels about themselves and what they are capable of?
• Be sure to hear and see some of their responses to the work.

Discussion: 

• What is a challenge that you feel is uniquely put upon your generation when it comes to succeeding and sometimes failing? (Maybe it is an expectation, a preconceived notion, etc.) Who is responsible for placing those challenges and expectations on you?
• What sort of solutions might there be, short term or long term, in bridging the divides between society, ourselves and the expectations and realities we hold up towards one another? How do we recognize the things we need to improve within ourselves without getting bogged down by them? 

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Subject(s): Theatre

Goals: Students will be able to:

• Use self-evaluation as a tool for growth as a theatre artist.
• Explore theatre as an individual and ensemble art form through group interaction.
• Create and strengthen trust and expand listening skills through theatre games and improvisations.

Show Connection:

Often the characters, both historical and otherwise in Failureland! feel like they are floating in a sea of failure all on their own. In actuality, they are and have long been a part of an interconnected web of shared successes and failures in their community. Through this exercise students will better comprehend the strength that can be found in leaning on those around them when they feel like they are scrambling in the dark when failing, rather than striking it out alone.

Materials: 

• Blindfolds

Set Up: 

Clear as much open space in the classroom space as possible. Desks and chairs should be pushed to the side and any other obstructions in the open space should be minimized to promote open space to move and work for the students.

Description: 

• Everyone stands in a circle (or in two or more lines if the group is very large), with their hands on the shoulders of the person in front of them.
• With their eyes closed (or blindfolded!), they use their hands to investigate the back of the head, the neck and the shoulders of the person in front. This is the glass cobra in one piece.
• Then, on an instruction from the teacher, the cobra is broken into pieces and each person sets off around the room, still with their eyes closed or covered.
• Tell the students the following legend:
  • In the legend of the Chilean araucanos Indians, this ‘glass cobra’ shattered into a thousand pieces when their nation was invaded by the Spaniards; but one day the pieces will find each other again, and these small fragments, harmless on their own, will become dangerous the moment they are reunited, because then they will turn into the steel cobra and expel the invaders.
  • The cobra in the legend is the people, obviously!
• In the game is the participants, who, after a few minutes of blind locomotion around the space, on a signal from the Joker must find their way back to the person who was in front of them before the cobra broke up. The circle must be recreated. They must reconstitute the cobra(s). As in the legend, this may take time…

Variation: The same thing except that the whole exercise is done with the participants lying on the ground and dragging themselves around like snakes.

Notes:

• We strongly encourage blindfolds. It’s too easy to cheat!
• This game only succeeds if performed silently. Voices are not what we are looking for! Physical observation and focus are the name of the game.

Discussion: 

• What was your experience of searching for the person you started with? Difficulties with this? What skills were needed to be successful at this exercise? Why should we aim to use our other senses more?
• How did the glass cobra become a steel cobra in the story? What’s the message here? Why is unity important? How can unity with others help you gain perspective on successes and failures in your life?
• What may be some good ways to foster unity in class? How can you encourage it to flourish? Why is it important and how does it affect the work you do, the life you live?

Source: Games for Actors and Non-Actors (Augusto Boal)

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Subject(s): English and Theatre

Goals: Students will be able to:

• Use reading strategies as needed to aid and monitor comprehension when encountering challenging sections of text.
• Develop and accurately use general academic and content-specific vocabulary through reading, discussing and writing about grade-level texts and topics.
• Use context and sentence structure to clarify the literal and figurative meanings of words and phrases.
• Use textual evidence to demonstrate comprehension and build knowledge from a variety of grade-level complex literary texts read to include narratives, literary nonfiction, poetry, and drama.
• Adopt an organizational structure that clarifies relationships among ideas and concepts.
• Document inquiry, research and ideas for theatre.
• Propose and select alternatives to solve problems while building ensemble.
• Refine physical and vocal techniques for theatre performance.

Show Connection:

Each of the poets featured in this exercise are either a featured character in Failureland! or were a featured character in an early draft before being cut for length and clarity. Even if they hit the cutting room floor, their input on the conversation about failure and success matters. Studying the poetic expressions of these geniuses allows us the opportunity to expand our understanding of these issues and to generate empathy for others’ experiences.

Materials: 

• Poems - (Several Printed Copies for Each Group)

Set Up: 

Before class begins, preselect group assignments for the students in class. These groups should be equal in size and should feature a strong mixture of student learning styles.

Description: 

• Instruct students to sit with their assigned group. Each group should be assigned a different poem than the other groups; each group should be given several copies of their poem.
• Students have ten minutes to read their poem as a group and to begin analysis and group discussion to some of the following questions:
  • What is the poet's perspective on success, failure, the process of working on something in life?
  • Does the title fit with the poem? Why or why not?
  • Do you agree, disagree, or differ from the poet's perspective? How do you interpret this piece of writing?
  • What did the poem make you think about in your own life and experience?
  • What is the main image of the poem? What do you see?
  • What physically do you feel? What verbs would you associate with this bit of text? What actions take place in the writing?
  • Psychologically, what is the poet's perspective on success and failure? What is their relationship to it like? (Healthy, complicated, etc.)
  • What would you write as the next few lines of this poem? If there was a sequel to this poem what would it contain as far as content, mood, vibe?
• Each group, following analysis and chatting about their poem, is to create a three-minute long performance piece that features the following:
  • The performance piece begins with at least one person stating the group's title of their piece. (The title of the piece cannot be the same as the title of your assigned poem.)
  • All members of your group must be involved in the live performance piece in some capacity. (Spoken or otherwise, each person must be a physical presence on stage at some point.)
  • At least three members of your group must be on stage at all times. (Keep in mind you have the whole classroom to play with, so closeness / proximity can always be played with for dramatic effect.)
  • There must be at least three moments where everyone on stage does the same physical action at the same time.
  • The objective of performing this piece should be “What does success and/or failure look like and feel like to you as a group? How do we respond and push through, or past, failures and successes that come into our lives?” Your assigned poem and the associated group discussion must be an influence on the work.
• Students are given sufficient time to work on these with the instructor rotating to help them and offer insight. (If space allows, send them away to different rooms to work.)
• Have students return and present work when ready.

Discussion: 

• What similarities of perspectives did we see across the pieces as they were presented? What differences did we note?
• Are we a hopeful people in 2025? Are we not? Somewhere in between or one that depends on time and place? Based on the pieces presented today, what is our collective definition of success? Of failure?
• How can we be kinder, more productive to ourselves when we confront failure or success in our own lives moving forward?
• How can we do the same to others who are dealing with failure and success?

Download PDF of this Exercise

Subject(s): English and Theatre

Goals: Students will be able to:

• Adopt an organizational structure that clarifies relationships among ideas and concepts.
• Use background knowledge to expand ideas and add depth, utilizing reference materials when necessary.
• Use reflection to evaluate one’s own role and the process in paired or small-group activities.
• Describe how theatrical works can entertain, inform, and interpret the human experience.
• Explore theatre as an individual and ensemble art form through group interaction.
• Create and strengthen trust and expand listening skills through theatre games and improvisations.

Show Connection:

Human beings can’t help but fail. It is simply bound to happen in each and every one of their lives at some point. Some times in big ways and some times in small ways. Regardless of the size of the failure though, there is always some glimmer of knowledge or progress that can be taken from the failure. Through this exercise, students will better understand the failures that have come their way and the supremely useful knowledge that these failures have left them with to further navigate life with.

Materials: 

• Paper
• Writing Implement (Pens, Pencils, Markers, Etc.)

Description:

• Divide the class into groups of four or five students, and give each group enough pieces of paper so that every student has their own personal piece of paper as well as one for each group.
• Ask the class to define “failure.” Groups should notate highlights of the classes’ responses on a sheet of paper. Now, discuss the definitions of “failure” as a class and share a couple of your own failures to get the students thinking about their own failures.
  • See if you can get a couple of students to share with the rest of the class any failures they feel that they have had lately. (No pressure if they do not feel like sharing.)
• Ask each student to fold a sheet of paper in half vertically, creating two columns. Demonstrate if necessary (and it’s one per student! Not one per group!)  At the top of the left-hand column, have them write the word “FAILURES”.  Below that, have the students write a list of their failures in school and in life.  Tell them that no one else is going to see their failures, and even though they are in groups, this part of the exercise will not be shared.  Have them number each failure. Give students five to 10 minutes to work on populating this Failure list.
• At the top of the right-hand column, have them write the word “WISDOM”.  In that column, have them write any valuable wisdom they gained from their failures.  Give an example such as: “Wisdom #1: I learned that I can never look to someone else to make me happy.”  Tell them they can have many “wisdoms” for each failure. Give students five to 10 minutes to work on populating this Wisdom list.
• Now, in the privacy of their own groups, have a volunteer in each group read one piece of wisdom to the rest of their group (not the failure).  Instruct them to keep going around the group clockwise, with each person reading one “wisdom” each time. Tell them to read only the wisdom and not to go into detail about how they learned the wisdom.  Encourage them to keep going around the group until all in the group have shared all of the collected “wisdoms”.  
• Instruct the students to tear their papers in half along the fold. This leaves them with their FAILURES in one hand and their WISDOMS in the other. Have them choose from the following four options:
  • Keep your FAILURES and your WISDOMS.
  • Throw away your FAILURES and keep your WISDOMS.
  • Throw away your WISDOMS and keep your FAILURES.
  • Throw away both your FAILURES and  your WISDOMS.
• After students make their choice, tell them that if they chose to throw anything away, to ball up the papers and toss them in the trash can. 

Discussion: 

• What choice did you make when it came time to possibly throw away your Failures and Wisdoms? Why?
• What is the life lesson in this experience? What might be the benefits to forgetting your failures and remembering only the wisdom gained from them? Or the opposite? Why might we want to remember both the failures and the things we learned from them?