We agree that all children need to succeed; but do we mean the same thing? My own feeling is that success should not be quick and easy, and should not come all the time. Success implies overcoming an obstacle, including, perhaps, the thought in our minds that we might not succeed. It is turning “I cant” into “I can, and I did.”

We ought also to learn, beginning early, that we don’t always succeed. A good batting average in baseball is .300; a good batting average in life is a great deal lower than that. Life holds many more defeats than victories for all of us. Shouldn’t we get used to this early? We should learn, too, to aim higher than we think we can hit. “A man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s a Heaven for?” What we fail to do today,  we, or someone, may do tomorrow. Our failure may pave the way for someone else’s success.