Education and Failure Grade

Q: 'The word failure should never be used in education.' Discuss. "Failure is not the end of the journey." was an impactful phrase that Steve Jobs once said in his most eulogised moment of wit. I would dare to say that 'failure' is not a foreign word to anyone in the world and to the large majority, it is never viewed as a pleasant word to hear. In dictionaries, the word failure is often defined as the lack of skill or knowledge to succeed in accomplishing a task, yet ironically, the word failure is very often used in schools, where students attend to acquire skills and knowledge. Therefore, I strongly feel that the word 'failure' should not be used in today's education system most of the time. Firstly, one reason why I feel that the word 'failure' should not be largely used in education is simply because of its demoralising effect. With the advancements in science and technology, education systems around the world have increased its difficulty by leaps and bounds. Hence, examination papers have changed and the syllabus only gets tougher. Students therefore are constantly bombarded with difficult and mind-boggling questions and tests, thus it is only natural that there are bound to be failures within a class. However, for the students that had studied very hard for the test, failing would only crush their confidence and pride. A research carried out by a group of students in Tokyo University had found out that 2 out of 7 students in Japanese High Schools are demoralised after failing their first few semestral assessments and their grades continue to suffer all year round as they had already lost the will to persevere and strive for excellence. This study supports my view that 'failure' demoralises people as it extinguishes the fiery will within students and their drive to excel. More often than not, being called a failure in schools may develop in students a form of self-fulfilling prophecy as their constant failures may have convinced