Is Failure an Option?

I have an admission to make regarding education. I am among those who have a concern that our society is already reaping the results of an education that concerns itself too much with self-esteem. I am not knowledgeable enough to go into the matter extensively here. I want to focus upon a recent bit information that has come my way.[1]

In some school districts across the country, grades of zero are outdated. No more ZEROS! There is a movement afoot in some educational systems that is designed to keep students from feeling the pain of a ZERO. These school districts are creating a grading scale in which failure is not an option. For example, Virginia's Fairfax County Public Schools, middle and high school students can earn a score no lower than 50. Across the Potomac River in Maryland, Prince George's County will limit failing grades to a 50 percent minimum score. All the students have to do is show a "good-faith effort." The result, apparently, is that failure is not an option.

 My concern is the reason offered for this change in grading. Some educators believe such a grading system is more conducive to learning. Thus, getting a score of 50 percent instead of 0 can encourage students to catch up when they fall behind. The zero would encourage students to give up. This result could lead a student down the path of dropping out.

Other educators, however, point out failing needs to be an option. Giving a failing grade can teach the student diligence, prepare them for college, and even prepare them for the real world. Giving nothing lower than 50 percent can mask genuine failure in the classroom. It can also advance students who have not mastered the material, which is the point of the grading system. If we assume that they need to master the material in order to succeed in life, they will never know that they have failed in certain basics.

You have likely seen books in the business world that refer to the importance of failure. We are to “fail forward.” The assumption is that we will fail. Do we succeed all the time? Of course not, but if failure is not an option, the implication is that we succeed all the time. We do not. If we are not failing, we are probably not being creative or taking enough risks. The issue is what we do with failure. One business saying suggests that failure is not only an option, but also a requirement. The point is, failure is an option in life and work. It seems as if it needs to be an option in school.

In fact, studies have shown that people become more careful when they sense greater risk, and less careful when they feel more protected. Students of human behavior call this behavior "risk compensation." For example, motorists drive faster when wearing seatbelts. They drive closer to the vehicle in front of them when they have anti-lock brakes. In the sport of skydiving, equipment has become steadily more reliable but the fatality rate has remained constant, since skydivers are now engaging in riskier behavior. The conclusion from such behavior is simple. People make better choices when failure is an option.

Yet, I am not just concerned about education. You see, spiritual failure is serious business because it involves your life. We discover in Genesis 2 and 3 that even if human beings are in an ideal situation, they will chose wrongly. They will fail to live the way God wanted them to live. They will not fulfill the purpose God had for them. Of course, the issue is what we do with such failures.

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[1] Balingit, Moriah and Donna St. George. "Is it becoming too hard for students to fail in school?" The Washington Post, July 6, 2016, A1, washingtonpost.com.

What Failure Can Teach

This country has learned some of its greatest lessons through failure and struggle.

‚          Why is it that we look back at the leanest, cruelest years of the Great Depression and see in them the time of greatest strength in our communities and families?

‚          Why is it that we recall our single greatest naval defeat, the attack on Pearl Harbor, and see exhibited in it the greatest spirit and loyalty of this nation?

‚          Why is it that we remember the darkest, most evil years of legalized segregation, discrimination and Jim Crow and see in them the greatest demonstrations of love, commitment, bravery and selflessness among the Civil Rights workers?

‚          Why is it that we made a movie to re-live the tension and the helplessness of watching a crippled Apollo 13 hobble slowly back to Earth, and see in it the prayers and the hopes of the whole country?

            Some people want to suggest that some failures are in our DNA. If so, we could do nothing about them. Fortunately, we do not have to repeat the failures of our past.

            To refer to a sports analogy, Tom Landry, Chuck Noll and Bill Walsh accounted for nine of the 15 Super Bowl victories from 1974 to 1989.  What else do they have in common?  They also boasted the worst records of first-season head coaches in NFL history.

            Here is a bit of wisdom from Theodore Roosevelt:

"Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat."

            Cardinal Newman, in the last year of his life, wrote in his journal, "Fear not that thy life shall come to an end, but rather fear that it shall never have a beginning."

            I came across the following advice when it comes to failure. 1) Get back on your feet.  Mike Singletary of the Chicago Bears, a linebacker, had the knack of making the tackle even when someone initially blocked him out of the play.  The way he did it was by getting up quickly after someone knocked him down the first time.  2) Take a break.  Most defeats are not earth-shattering.  Reduce tension by doing something fun for a while.  3) Find a friend to whom you can talk.  When you feel discouraged, keep in mind that God is still sovereign and people will do what they want to do. 

            Christians can learn to forgive themselves and others, and even the nation in which they live. They do not have to be afraid to lead "error embracing" lives.  We have to know when it is time to blow the dust off (read Mark 6:11), roll up our sleeves and start working; and when it is time to shake the dust off, redirect our energies and go on our way.

Failing is OK

Microsoft is one of the most successful companies in history, creating three billionaires and 12,000 millionaires among its employees. But the company has had some major design flops. Fast Company magazine (October 2012) lists a few:

Bob. Remember Bob? Released in 1995 Bob, was a software product designed to make it easier to use the computer. Bob featured a cartoon character named Rover the Dog who would exclaim, "Looky! Camper” and try to explain everything. Bob was "childish, convoluted, ridiculous, [and] despised,” according to Fast Company. Even Microsoft executive Steve Ballmer said Bob was an example of a situation where Microsoft "decided that we have not succeeded and let's stop.” Please.

Office Assistant. This program came out just two years later, in 1997. It featured an animated character named Clippy who would tap at the screen and try to guess what you were working on. Clippy always smiled and cheerfully offered to help, even if you were working on a funeral service. Clippy drew intensely negative responses from many users. Even its creator called it "one of the most annoying characters in history.” Although Office Assistant has been replaced, Clippy lives on. In an episode of the television show Family Guy, Stewie sneaks into CIA headquarters and uses one of its computers. He becomes annoyed when Clippy appears on the screen and says, "I see you're trying to take over the world. Can I help?” Stewie yells, "Go away, you paper clip! No one likes you!” Poor Clippy. A major design flop.

The list goes on to include the famous "Blue Screen of Death” and Windows Vista 2007, which was such a mess that some people thought good old Bob was hiding inside. But let's not pick on Microsoft -- every company has its flops, including many incredibly successful corporations. Apple is often given credit for excellent design, but do you remember its personal computer "Lisa” from the early 1980s? Most people don't. It was a commercial failure. And, of course, you remember the recent debacle with the introduction of its latest iPhone and the problem with the GPS map app.

Henry Ford was a genius at designing supply chains and assembly lines. His cheap, reliable Model A and Model T cars became instant, iconic symbols of the automobile age. Yet, Ford failed to understand that consumers were looking for something just a bit more attractive than his drab, boxy, utilitarian vehicles. Someone once asked him if he had ever consider producing cars in different colors, to which he cheerfully responded by saying he would make cars in any color, as long as it is black. That cavalier attitude cost his company a big chunk of its once-dominant market share. Competing auto manufacturers did not limit themselves to "any color as long as it is black.” They ate Ford's lunch. Eventually, even the Ford Motor Company came 'round and began paying attention to how their cars looked. They began manufacturing them in a variety of body shapes and colors. For such a great designer of factories, Henry Ford proved to be not such a good designer of cars the next generation of consumers actually wanted.

If you have tried something new, and it did not work, it is not a sign to stop. It is time to let go and move forward.