Teachers say no-one should 'fail'

BBC reports Education Secretary Ruth Kelly has dismissed suggestions that the concept of "failure" should be removed from school in favour of "deferred success".

If you dont want to say the student has failed, what about saying the teacher has failed, and punishing the teacher?

She said she gave the idea - which will be discussed at a teachers' conference - "nought out of 10". The Professional Association of Teachers will be told at its meeting next week that the label of failure could undermine pupils' enthusiasm.... She argues that repeated failure, such as in exams, can damage pupils' interest in learning.

We have stupid teachers unions here in the USA too, and they have equally foolish ideas.

She told the Today programme on BBC Radio Four she had deliberately made the motion provocative to spark a good debate, but said it reflected the way the education system was developing. "We have made so much development in recent years in making examinations more flexible, doing them in modules so you can concentrate on different parts of them at different times," she said. "What happens when an exam is failed but, for example, three-quarters of it is perfectly satisfactorily done?

If you do 3/4 perfectly and get 1/4 wrong, you get a grade of 75 which is a C

It should be possible to do the other bits as add-ons afterwards and to defer the success of the exam."

Damian Penny blogged I'm not Catholic, but if I ever have kids, I'm leaning strongly toward having them taught by nuns. Strict nuns.

Chris Lawrence blogged The new term for failure: “deferred success.” My observation: in some students’ cases, their success seems to be deferred post mortem. Following this logic, we can also call dropouts “deferred graduates,” which should at least swell alumni association membership rolls.

Jan Haugland blogged Yeah, that will really make the kids well-prepared for life.

Orrin Judd blogged You know the old saying, "the war for England was lost on the levelled playing fields of Eton."