Assuming Everyone Can Succeed...

Deferred Success, ya'll.

LONDON (Reuters) - The word "fail" should be banned from use in British classrooms and replaced with the phrase "deferred success" to avoid demoralizing pupils, a group of teachers has proposed.

Members of the Professional Association of Teachers (PAT) argue that telling pupils they have failed can put them off learning for life.

A spokesman for the group said it wanted to avoid labeling children. "We recognize that children do not necessarily achieve success first time," he said.

"But I recognize that we can't just strike a word from the dictionary," he said.

The PAT said it would debate the proposal at a conference next week.

Your Honor, I did not fail the breathalyzer. I was merely entrenched in a situation of deferred success.

I bet the Bush administration finds a way to use this phrase within the next 24 hours.