Info This is a random short-essay I wrote for school. I found it in my email sent folder, probably sent at the time for getting it marked.

Quote: The novelist John Hersey wrote, “Learning starts with failure; the first failure is the beginning of education.

Assignment: What are your thoughts on the idea that failure is necessary for education to take place? Compose an essay in which you express your views on this topic. Your essay may support, refute or qualify the views expressed in the excerpt. What you write, however, must be relevant to the topic under discussion. Additionally, you must support your viewpoint, indicating your reasoning and providing examples based on your studies and/or your experience.

Essay:

Failing at something is the first step in doing something successfully. As human beings we try lots of things. Some of those things we try are smart, some of them are stupid and some of them are the perfect response to the situation we’re facing. This process happened even when we were just a baby. The important thing is, we learn what works and what fails; what achieves our goals and what doesn’t. We learn the perfect response to threats. We notice how much and in what ways we failed so when it happens again we are prepared, we know what to do and we succeed.

This “fail in order to learn” process isn’t limited to humans either. In fact it is the core principle of evolution. A mutation in the DNA of a creature is just like the random things we try. If it fails, it doesn’t survive long enough to reproduce. But if it works, the creature reproduces and this “knowledge” is spread through its kind.

If failing is what made us and every other living thing what we are today, why are we so afraid of failing? This needless fear of us is what halts our advancement. In my opinion, those who are afraid of failing aren’t worthy of the success and the knowledge it brings.