Failure is one of the most valuable lessons that anyone can learn. Thomas Edison failed and failed again to perfect the filament for the incandescent light bulb. But in the end, those failures helped Edison; even he admitted that he had discovered exactly how not to make a light bulb.

 Needless to say, a student can learn the same lesson from failure that Thomas Edison learned. Failing in any task teaches a person what not to do to be successful. Everyone fails at some point or another in their life. Shielding students from failure in high school will only leave them shell shocked and ill equipped for later on in life.

Mr. Komondor sited having one hundred percent graduation as one of his goals in an interview with the Bellarion staff.  He admitted that this was a “lofty” goal, but believes that it can be achieved. However, this plan could do more harm than good if it is executed poorly. In the end, teachers may be encouraged to pass students who are not necessarily prepared to graduate, solely for the purpose of having one hundred percent graduation. This is a case of means not justifying the end goal.

 It is highly unlikely that the situation at Bel Air would ever escalate to that. But failure is a lesson that helps a student or an adult (or even an entire organization) learn. An unprepared senior who is held back instead of graduated learns a valuable lesson as far as what is going to be required of them in the real world. The whole concept of leaving no senior behind must be approached carefully by the school. Every member of the staff, and every student as well, need to remember that failure is often the most valuable lesson a student can learn. Students failing can also help the school learn exactly how not to “leave no senior behind”.