Deferred Success...A Rose By Another Name

I am not believing this one:

LONDON (Reuters) - The word "fail" should be banned from use in British classrooms and replaced with the phrase "deferred success" to avoid demoralizing pupils, a group of teachers has proposed.

Members of the Professional Association of Teachers (PAT) argue that telling pupils they have failed can put them off learning for life.

A spokesman for the group said it wanted to avoid labeling children. "We recognize that children do not necessarily achieve success first time," he said.

"But I recognize that we can't just strike a word from the dictionary," he said.

The PAT said it would debate the proposal at a conference next week.

We have got to get rid of this PC nonsense. If a kid fails at something, it can be character building. Yes, believe it or not. Of course, if the parents put pressure on the kid to be a "winner" and that "failure" is not an option, then it can be demoralizing. The wise parent is the one who says, "Okay. You failed this subject. You'll spend more time studying. We'll get you a tutor. You'll go to summer school and bring up your grade." It's not the end of the world for a kid to fail a subject, but it can seem to be if the parent acts like it is.

This is a world where you have to be among the best to compete for the best high paying jobs. However, not every kid is a future doctor, lawyer, or scientist. Most parents expect their kid will go to college and become a Supreme Court justice. There are only nine justices at any one time. There are hundreds of thousands of lawyers who will never even see the inside of the Supreme Court much less sit on the bench.

We need good mechanics, electrians, and plumbers. We need people to deliver our mail and packages and to pick up our garbage. We need people to sell insurance, houses, and cars. We need people to teach our kids, protect our communities, and to provide medical assistance at accident scenes. We need people to ring up and bag our groceries. We need people to entertain us on TV, in the movies, on radio and on the sports field. You get the idea. Many people in the jobs I named have degrees, some even in those fields. Many do not. Some don't require a degree, others require a licensing of some sort.

The wise parent will do what they can to raise successful children. I happen to believe that the successful person provides for their family and raises children who do their best, but aren't "demoralized" by a bad or even failing grade. They learn from their mistake and go on with their life.

The successful person may not have the job or career they once dreamed of, but many of us wanted to be cowboys or rock stars when we were young. Our dreams change with our life experiences. The successful person knows what is important in life. Their spouse and children are the most important things in their lives. They know that their job is what provides for their family, and if they are lucky and make good career choices, their job is something they are satisfied and happy doing. In my experience, the parent who is dissatified with their childrens grades wants the best for their children, either because they want the child to do better than they did, or because they are dissatisfied with their own life. Sometimes, it's one and the same thing.

It's human nature for people to want to compare themselves to other people. Grades are one way of doing that. Some kids will "suceed" some will "fail". It's up to the parents and teachers to make sure that while getting an "F" isn't acceptable, but it's also not the end of the world. Calling a failing grade "deferred success" doesn't change anything.

It just sounds nicer.