The Human Algorithm

Nov 7, 2024

Making mistakes is not only the way we learn, it's integral to living and breathing as humans. We all know this intellectually, but recently a Kansas City teacher made me see it through a different lens.

Last month, during an intense period of preparation for our private and alternative education showcase, I sent a Milwaukee invitation to Kansas City school administrators by mistake... not once, but twice. I didn't realize it until after I’d hit "Send" for the second time, and quickly followed it with an apology and correction... the email's subject was <Argh!>. A few minutes later, I got a note from Aaron Bratcher, the lead instructor at GlenHaven Academy, saying, "No worries, Deb. Thank you for the warm reminder that there are organizations where these things are handled by actual breathing people and not simply by an algorithm!" 

See what he did there? Aaron had transformed my error into a reason for me to feel good. It reminded that wherever we look, the people we see are humans who also make mistakes... and that when these occasions arise, we can choose to connect rather than point fingers.

Looking back, I wonder how different things might have been if, instead of pointing out my kids' errors in their early years, I had used those moments to acknowledge their value the way Aaron did with me; maybe they would fear mistakes less and recover from them more quickly. Fortunately, each day brings us a fresh slate on which to write our future, to practice being like Aaron the next time an excuse arises.

We each have immense agency to add value to the world: Just look right and left and you'll find endless occasions to use Aaron's powerful algorithm for sprinkling grace and generosity. It’s truly as much a part of being “only human” as the mistakes themselves.

—Deb