A new school year is under way. We have been told there will be some significant changes from past years. For example, the Education Ministry has given permission for schools to issue a grade of zero if a student fails to hand in an essay on time. Formerly, the ministry discouraged the zero, with some schools using it as a last resort, and others banning it completely.

Huh? Zero was banned? The very concept is enough to make a lot of us wonder what in the name of common sense has been going on at the top levels of education in recent years. Just how far out of touch with reality did they get? ?

Those of us who attended school in the dark ages, when handing in substandard work resulted in a poor grade, not handing it in at all warranted a zero, and failure to meet grade requirements meant a second chance for success by repeating the year, are mystified. When did concern over a child's self-esteem end up squelching reason?

Trying to imagine a work environment in which protecting the employee's self esteem is more important than productivity, attendance is optional, deadlines are non-existent and work does not have to be completed, is almost laughable. Such a work environment does not exist, with the possible exception of the Canadian Senate.?

Whether Junior ends up with most of the letters of the alphabet behind his name and earns a six-figure salary, or manages to support himself at minimum wage, he will have to meet job expectations. ?

Coaches, bosses and professors require results. They did in the dark ages when teachers were allowed to give failing grades, and they still do. Perhaps one day we will live in a perfect world without competition, where everyone is handed everything he wants on the proverbial silver platter, but we are not there yet. ?

It often seems to those of us who attended school in the bad old days that eliminating the possibility of failure by rewarding every effort, no matter how mediocre, might be doing our children a disservice. We wonder if, instead of fostering high self esteem, it might be doing the opposite.

Because Junior will eventually fail at something, and how he handles it will spell the difference between overall success and disaster.

Reinstating the zero will probably not be a hit with those who endorse the “wrap them in cotton batting” school of thought. But then, most of us would prefer to think that our children are not fragile little figurines who need that sort of care. We see them as resilient human beings who deserve to know the thrill of meeting challenges successfully. ?Bravo for the zero.

— from the Wingham Advance-Times