The Kate Languages Podcast - S8 Ep5 - Learning from my biggest failures

In Episode 5 of Season 8 of the Kate Languages Podcast, I revealed three of my biggest failures... and more importantly what I learnt from them!

Here is a summary of the episode - to listen to the whole episode, click "play" above.

Why Talk About Failure?

As Carol Dweck says, "Failure is information. We label it failure, but it's more like this didn't work. I'm a problem solver and I'll try something else."

I'll be honest - I felt really nervous about this episode. Similar to my Teacher Wellbeing and Burnout episode from Season 1 (which many of you have told me is your favourite), it feels vulnerable to share these stories. But I think it's important to remind people that everyone fails, even those who might seem successful.

When I was younger, I was terrified of failing. I tended to only do things I knew I'd be good at. But understanding the growth mindset concept has completely changed my perspective. Now I see failure as a valuable learning opportunity rather than something to fear or avoid.

My Three Biggest Professional Failures

1. My Struggle to Get My First Teaching Job

My first significant professional failure was actually failing to get a job in the first place. After completing my PGCE at King's College London, I had approximately six interviews before I finally secured a position - and even then, it was only a maternity cover.

Looking back, I can see several reasons for this struggle:

• I was likely a bit arrogant. Having already taught English in Indonesia and Switzerland, been a language assistant during my degree, and with my mum being a languages teacher, I thought I knew everything about language teaching.
• As an introvert, I don't always shine in interview situations. While I present well on paper and can confidently lead workshops or record podcasts, I can be awkward in person, especially back when I was 25-26.
• Some of the interviews were genuinely strange - like one where instead of teaching a normal lesson, we had to work with small groups in the library without proper preparation.

After my initial maternity cover, I did another maternity cover (interestingly, at a school that had previously rejected me), before finally securing a role as second in department and head of German at another school.

What I learned:

• Trust your gut about a school. Remember, they're not just interviewing you - you're interviewing them too.
• Don't put pressure on yourself to find the "perfect" school. There's no such thing, and situations change. You could interview in April with one head teacher, then start in September with a completely different one.
• Everything happens for a reason. Despite the struggles, I made lifelong friends at these schools and every experience led me to where I am today.

2. How I Left Teaching

My second major failure was how I left classroom teaching - and I absolutely would not recommend this approach to anyone. I literally left from one day to the next.

After working at a school where I'd initially been very happy, things changed. The head teacher changed, and I felt a complete lack of support. After a particularly difficult meeting, I had panic attacks the next day and couldn't get out of bed to go to work. I tried a couple more times - once even getting in my car before having a panic attack while driving and having to pull over.

I was eventually signed off by my doctor, and they kept extending my sick note until I made the decision not to return.

The reason I consider this a failure is because it's not a good way to leave, and I wish I had seen the warning signs of burnout sooner. I also felt like I'd failed my Year 11 tutor group by leaving them halfway through their crucial year.

What I learned:

• Recognise burnout before it occurs. I'm much better at this now - I know when my brain is starting to feel frazzled and when I need to take a step back.
• Take care of my mental health proactively through practices like walking, breathwork, and meditation.
• Teaching in a secondary school classroom wasn't right for me, even though I'm passionate about education. There are many ways to work in education without being a classroom teacher.
• I love working for myself and am not very good at working for other people. This insight has been invaluable for my career path.

3. My Recent Evening Classes Failure

My third failure is more recent and therefore a bit harder to talk about. After previously running successful online evening classes for MFL teachers, I decided around Easter 2023 that I didn't want to work evenings anymore. I switched to offering one-to-one classes during the day instead.

Then, for some reason, about six months ago (February/March 2024), I decided to restart evening classes. I had what I thought was a brilliant idea - people would pay a fixed monthly fee (around £20) for access to as many classes as they wanted, similar to a gym membership.

It was a disaster:

• I started with conversation classes, but it turns out people don't actually want those
• Only about 20 people signed up - not enough to cover costs
• I hired native speakers for French and Spanish (couldn't find a German one so did those myself)
• I paid my tutors £40 per hour, which meant I was losing money
• Often no one would show up for the classes, but I still had to pay the tutors
• Most importantly, I realised I simply didn't want to work evenings anymore

After my son's bedtime (around 7-7:30pm), I'm done. I don't have the energy or desire to work in the evenings after a full day of work and family time. I eventually had to refund people and quietly remove the offering from my website.

What I learned:

• Listen to your audience. No one had actually asked for evening classes - I just thought it would be a good idea.
• Do things for the right reasons, not just because you have a "brainwave."
• Test ideas before fully launching them.
• It's always worth giving something a go - now I know unequivocally that I don't want to do evening classes again, and I won't have that "what if" thought in the back of my mind.

Final Thoughts

Looking back at these failures, I wouldn't change anything. Each experience taught me valuable lessons and led me to where I am today - running a business I love, helping teachers, and maintaining a better work-life balance.

The growth mindset approach to failure has been transformative for me. Instead of seeing these experiences as embarrassing setbacks, I see them as crucial learning opportunities that shaped my path.