It Is Okay to Make Mistakes

It Is Okay to Make Mistakes

Daniel is nine years old and he goes to school every day. Today, his teacher Mrs. Chen is teaching the class about multiplication. Daniel listens carefully because he wants to learn.

Mrs. Chen writes a multiplication problem on the board: 7 times 8. She asks if anyone would like to try solving it. Daniel raises his hand because he thinks he knows the answer.

Mrs. Chen smiles and calls on Daniel. Daniel walks to the front of the class and writes the number 54 on the board. He feels proud that he tried. Mrs. Chen looks at Daniel's answer kindly. She says, "Thank you for trying, Daniel. Let's check this together." She counts out loud with the class: 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42, 49, 56.

Daniel realizes his answer was not correct. The right answer is 56, not 54. He feels his cheeks get a little warm. This feeling is normal when someone makes a mistake. Mrs. Chen puts her hand gently on Daniel's shoulder. She says, "Making mistakes is how we learn. Your answer was very close, and you were brave to try." Daniel takes a deep breath and feels a bit better.

Daniel walks back to his seat. Some of his classmates smile at him in a friendly way. One classmate gives him a thumbs up because trying is important. Daniel thinks about what happened. He tried his best, and even though his answer wasn't right, he learned something new. Now he knows that 7 times 8 equals 56.