Life is about more than simply getting to the destination. A journey precedes any destination, and is most times the most influential part. The mistakes that are so often made along the way are what make you and I who we are today. The ability to make mistakes and even fail is incredibly key in the process of maturing as individuals. Of course, the key is to learn from one's mistakes. However, without even the simple freedom to fail, it is impossible to have and learn from experience.
When the freedom to fail is taken away from an individual, the opportunity to learn and do better next time is also stolen. When a teacher gives a student a passing grade for something sub-par, that teacher takes away that student's chance to learn from his mistake and study harder next time. Education should not just be about learning from books and professors; it should also be about learning from life and the mistakes made and experiences along the way.
In keeping with what Michael Goodwin said in his video on the loss of the freedom to fail, what is success without failure? Success is attaining a pre-defined goal. In other words, success is reaching the destination. Without the journey to the destination, the destination is nothing. Without mistakes and failures along the way, the journey is nothing but a waste of time, a means to an end. The mistakes and the failures are what make the journey worthwhile. They are what we learn from and strive to improve upon. How can a person ever truly succeed if his ability to fail is taken away?
Along the same lines, if everyone 'succeeds,' how can one truly define success? If everyone is told that they are good enough, that they no longer have to work harder to do better, there is just average. There are no particularly successful people, as well as no one who has failed. When average and even below-average is considered the goal, true success is lost. When SATs are made easier in order to cause fewer students to receive poor scores, the sense of achievement for those who do well is lost. If a student can do just as well not studying as he can by meticulously searching his textbooks for every last answer, there is no reason for that student to try hard to receive good grades. A student that has the ability to seriously rise above and truly succeed no longer has any motivation to do so, as it will not benefit him in any way, as he can do just as well being average.
The freedom to fail is a freedom that most people never even consider. And for this reason, it is most vulnerable to attack.
Michael Goodwin on the loss of the freedom to fail
