<p>Some very wise insights in this piece, I think. An excerpt:</p>
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Now is when this kid should be learning to dream big dreams and dare greatly. Now is when she should be making mistakes and figuring out how to recover from them. Instead, we’re telling one of our best and brightest to focus all her talent on coloring within the lines. *
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<p>Implying it is necessary to “fail-out” to acquire knowledge or when trying something new. Sort of a ditzy article.</p>
<p>That is what middle school is for.</p>
<p>Middle schools don’t have many classes to “try out”. You get your core academics and something like band or art. There aren’t any challenging electives.</p>
<p>The author is basically correct - you aren’t going to grow, or challenge yourself, if there is never a chance of failure. She’s not saying you have to fail, but there should be the risk of failure, and if you do, it’s not that bad. We’re starting to define failure as less than perfect, and that’s a bad thing.</p>
<p>Personally, I think any kid who has a 4.0 UW probably never really challenged themselves. I don’t care how much you studied, how hard you worked, if you took every tough class your HS offered, if there isn’t a B+ on your transcript, you never really stretched yourself, because somewhere out there, there is a class you can’t get an A in, and you didn’t find it.</p>
<p>My D’s college advisors were always amazed at the breadth of courses D took, as she tried many things of interest to her, without worrying if she’d get an A or gasp! a B or even lower. She enjoyed learning for the sake of gaining new insights and still got her BA. </p>
<p>S was a bit more focused but took courses in geology and even presented a geology poster, tho his major was EE. </p>
<p>Taking risks with the possibility of failing and picking yourself back up is a crucial life skill. </p>