It's official, Britain is doomed.

[K Frame]

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."


I'd suggest that they also remove the word "retarded" from the dictionary, but unfortunately then we'd be left without a proper word to describe these morons.

Oh, wait, there are other good words.

[Fjolnirsson]

The word "fail" should be banned from use in British classrooms and replaced with the phrase "deferred success"

Bwah hahahaha hahaha!!!!

Idiots.

[K Frame]

I went to school with some kids who, 30 years later, are STILL "deferring success."

[SalukiFan]

When I taught undergraduates at a university as an associate instructor, I remember the day one of my colleagues came storming into the lounge after having problems with some of his students:

"Does it seem like everyone has a 'learning disability' now?  Isn't anyone just dumb anymore?"

Of course there are such things as learning disabilities and they can be crippling, but I know what he meant.  

A lot of afterschool programs and school districts are very into the idea of promoting "self-esteem" through various means.  Sometimes, however, encouraging young people to value themselves can have negative effects.  Although they hope that children with self-esteem will be more likely to succeed, they may be more complacent too:  They have learned to value themselves "just how they are" and there is no need to strive to improve themselves.  

A certain amount of self-worth is important but I've run across too many kids who think very highly of themselves despite the fact that they are failing school and getting into trouble.

True self-esteem should come from pride in your accomplishments, not hollow self-satisfaction.

[roo_ster]

If looked at in groups, the relationship between self-esteem and success is inverse.

If divided along racial/ethnic and sex lines we see that oriental females have the lowest self-esteem, but the highest level of academic success.  On the flip side, black males have the highest self-esteem and the lowest level of academic success.

I guess if you defer your narcissism, you don't have to defer success.

[grampster]

I heard a guy on the radio talking about "self esteem" and how the edumacation system has this as a prime directive.  His point was that as a result kids have great self esteem;  they feel really, really good about being a failure.

[Werewolf]

Hey GUYS!

Let's look at the bright side of this.

At least in the future the domicile challenged among us still waiting for that deferred success will feel good about it. Right? RIIIIIIIGHT!

[Ben]

I guess I've never understood why "failure" was such a bad word to begin with. I've learned some of my most important lessons from failure, and failure has often helped me to succeed in my life.

I failed Algebra in the 7th grade. It was the first time I'd failed anything, having breezed through grades 1-6 with pretty much all "A" grades. But Algebra kicked my butt. I was pretty devastated to learn there was something I was not naturally good at. I went through a couple of years of, "who cares, and who needs it", but finally conquered it with a "B" in the 10th grade. I practiced it and other math on my own time until  I got better at them. Today at 45, though I'm not a math genius, I'm better at math than most of my friends and coworkers, including those who breezed through math in school with "A" grades.

When I built my first computer, back in the day before they color coded the power connectors to make them idiot proof, I immediately fried the motherboard because I was an idiot. Never made the same mistake again. Today I'm considered a "computer guru" by friends and coworkers (though reading computer related posts by some of you here, I still scratch my head and think I'm an idiot).

Failure is often one of the toughest of lessons, but it's also often one of the best learning tools we have.

[jefnvk]

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

If the kids are giving up at life after failing somthing, it isn't exactly like they are the achieving type.

[P95Carry]

Read about this Mike!  Shucks - yet another euphemism gets coined, ''in case feelings get hurt''.

Just when I think they can't come up with something else - they do!  Much goes back to when short folks became ''vertically challenged'' - people with poor eyesight became ''optically disadvantaged'', baldies (like me) changed to ''follically challenged, and slow learners were permitted to have ''attention deficit disorder'' or some such.

PC knows no bounds.

Thinking of antonyms - pass/fail - simple enough.  Gotta gas problem - pass wind, or suffer ''deferred success'' wind

Hmmm - are there bullies in the school yard any more?  Maybe they are now just kids with ''Anti-peer attitude''

Maybe too now kids will not be late for school any more - ''LATE'', such a traumatic word that would make them feel so bad - instead they will ''temporaly challenged'' on arrival.

All too often I am ashamed at what my ''old place'' does.  Way back some councils banned skipping ropes in school yards - ''lest the children get hurt''. Oh my.

[Guest]

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.

I can't wait to hear what they come up with next.  

At least whores, drunkards, and thieves have some honesty in their professions - they are what they are. What do we call the folks doing all the PC crap?  *ThinkPolice* has already been taken.

I mean not even the whores, drunkards, and thieves want to be called *Politicians* or members of *Ministry of Education* - matter of principle to them, they have their ethics too.

[P95Carry]

Steve -

What do we call the folks doing all the PC crap?

.
I cannot print it!  It would offend!

[HForrest]

Speaking from the point of view of a 15 year old who absolutely hates school and gets horrible grades...

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! That's FRIGGIN PATHETIC!!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!

[Antibubba]

Fjolnirsson,

   No no no!  They're not Idiots!  They're merely suffering from "deferred intelligence".

   If you persist in de-esteeming them like that, they'll never have hope of achieving mental non-failure.

[Standing Wolf]

...I recognize that we can't just strike a word from the dictionary...

Not in America, perhaps, but I'm sure it could be done in England.

[XLMiguel]

Heh.  The real world does NOT rewared failure or self-esteem.  I used to enjoy tightening-up the arrogant little slacker/twerps I supervised who were 'legends in their own minds' and  sufffering from no shortage of 'socially engineered' self-esteem when it came to 90 day review time.  I was big on MBO, and when it came time to list real accomplishments with quantifiable results, well, it was always a most "enlightening" (and sometimes kind of brutal) event.  Some saw the light and learned how to work, the rest either moved (or were moved) on to try and sham someone else.

Bottom line: These so-called "educators" are doing neither the kids or society any service with this crap.

[grislyatoms]

George Carlin ranted about this some years ago, in one of his anti- pc movement monologues.

"And there are no stupid people anymore. We have people with 'learning disorders' or they are 'minimally exceptional'. There are no ugly people anymore, they have 'a severe appearance deficit'."

He went on to say that the pc movement made him want to vomit. Then he detracted, stating that instead he would "engage in an involuntary personal protein spill".

[Chris]

Out of curiosity, in a class with several students who are "deferring success", what do you say about those who are doing very well?  Are they "prematurely successful" if doing above-grade level work?  Instead of the Honor Roll, would there be an"Early Achievers" list?  I mean, if it hurts their feelings to say they fail, it might hurt their feelings to hear that someone else excelled...

[Ben]

what do you say about those who are doing very well?  Are they "prematurely successful"

Then they would be labeled as "Harrison Bergeron."

[SalukiFan]

what do you say about those who are doing very well?  Are they "prematurely successful"

Then they would be labeled as "Harrison Bergeron."

Yeah, no kidding.  Vonnegut gives me chills sometimes...

[Lee]

if I didn't fear failure- I would fear very little - and achieve even less.