Arkansas High School Teaches Importance of 'Soft Failures'
You probably won't see signs like this in the doorways of most high schools.
— -- A high school in Little Rock, Arkansas, is teaching more than just history and math.
At the start of this school year, Catholic High School for Boys posted a sign in its doorway reminding parents of one of the school’s most important policies.
“If you are dropping off your son’s forgotten lunch, books, homework, equipment, etc., please TURN AROUND and exit the building,” the sign reads. “Your son will learn to problem-solve in your absence.”
The school also posted a photo of the sign to Facebook, and captioned it, “Welcome to Catholic High. We teach reading, writing, arithmetic, and problem-solving."
According to the high school’s principal, Steve Straessle, the school's policy has been in place for decades.
“Many teenage boys are prone to hitting the default switch when problems arise,” Straessle explained to ABC News. “The default switch is calling mom or dad to come fix it. And we’re asking that the default switch be removed from a situation like this, so that a boy has to think through how he will solve it.”
Straessle calls mishaps such as forgetting a homework assignment at home or having to borrow lunch money from a friend as “soft failures,” and notes their importance in molding boys into accountable young men.
“We as parents rob our kids of the experiences that they need to build on in order to become good, functioning members of society when we step in to fix soft failures,” he explained.
“All we’re asking is that kids think a little deeper than calling mom or dad."
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