Failure | Testing | Student

Juliet was a high school student who studied hard and usually achieved excellent grades. She had taken “chemistry” as a college requirement, but even though she did her best, “chemistry” just wasn’t her thing. She flunked the course. Her teacher was an unusual person. She did not feel threatened by Juliet’s failure. (Failing an otherwise good student who has tried very hard can easily be a threat to some teachers because, somehow, it reflects on their teaching.) Because she was a sensitive woman, aware of other people’s feelings, the teacher ’s only thought was for Juliet and what the “F” would mean to her when she took it home on her next report card. She put the “F” next to “Chemistry” on the card, but out in the margin she wrote these words: “We can’t all be chemists but how we all would love to be Juliet’s!”