To Fail or Not to Fail: A Nation’s Dilemma

Every nine seconds, a student drops out of school in America. By this statistic alone, you can tell that somewhere in the educational system we are failing the students. The primary reason why students are failing is that teachers are not failing students. Due to various reasons, many teachers are known to pass students along - regardless of progress. This problem has become an epidemic, which many have come together to find a solution. There are committees, organizations, and programs to assist with this problem, which despite all their efforts is still on the rise. Sometimes the best solution is also the simplest one - in order to succeed, one must fail.

Some who are opposed to failing worry about the fact that it can be devastating to a student. Some students look at one failure and see themselves as a failure. This can contribute to low self-esteem, and can prevent a person from trying new things, for they think they will fail anyway. I know of a person, who shall remain anonymous, who has been through this dilemma. He had always been the "star" athlete all throughout school. His goal in life was to become a professional athlete and join the NFL. Needless to say, he did not make it to the NFL. Despite all his accomplishments (graduating college, owning a nice home, having a good job), he still feels like a failure to this day. This aspect of failure can keep teachers from failing a student who is doing poorly. But as all things in life, what applies to one person does not apply to all.

Another aspect of failing that those who are against failure take into consideration is the social aspect. It can be socially detrimental to those who are held back and are older than the rest of their class. This is understandable due to the fact that social life plays a big part of a student's life during school years. But while a social life may be important during their school years, education is more important during the years after. By passing students along without them knowing all the material they