Eliminating "failure" failed in England last week.
The Professional Association of Teachers (search), the English national teachers' union, on Thursday rejected a proposal that "failure" be replaced as a grading option by "deferred success."
"For most of my teaching career I have been upset by seeing some children give up on themselves," said the proposal's author, Liz Beattie, a 68-year-old retired schoolteacher from Suffolk, north of London. "If dropping the word 'fail' from our educational vocabulary could help, isn't it worth a try?" she asked.
"Elsewhere we applaud those who persevere, like marathon contestants who take days to complete," explained proposal co-author Wesley Baxton to the BBC. "It's time we made the word 'fail' redundant and replaced it with 'please do a bit more.'"
But other educators rejected the idea as laughable.
"We'll be ridiculed," said another teacher to the union's annual conference, according to the Press Association wire service. "Please do not vote for this motion."
Even Education Secretary Ruth Kelly (search), responsible for all British schools, had weighed in on the issue.
"For that particular proposal, I think I might give them naught out of 10," Kelly told BBC Radio earlier this month.
— Thanks to Out There reader Bryan W.
Dog Dies, Wife Sticks Husband With Sword
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — When taunting over the death of a dog escalated into an argument, a woman said her husband dared her to take a decorative sword above the fireplace to settle things, a police report said.
That resulted in John A. Kurceba, 53, being stabbed through his right bicep and into his right side. His injuries were not life-threatening, authorities said.
Priscilla L. Kurceba, 52, was charged with aggravated domestic battery and booked into the Duval County Jail (search). She was freed on bond, but no information was available on the bond amount. Records do not show if she has legal representation.
According to a police report, Priscilla Kurceba told officers her husband taunted her when he came home about 7:30 p.m. and learned the family dog had been euthanized earlier in the day.
As the argument escalated, John Kurceba told her to "just get the sword, b----," she told police. She lunged at her husband and stuck him.
The couple is getting a divorce, authorities said.
— Thanks to Out There reader Shannon O.
Women Arrested for Allegedly Pushing Car While Drunk
PORTAGE, Ind. (AP) — Two women who took turns steering a disabled vehicle that crashed into a parked car now face drunken-driving charges.
Kaylyn Kezy, 34, was pushing the disabled car, while Melissa Fredenburg, 32, steered from the passenger seat, police said. The two were moving the car into a parking lot at a motel.
Police said the women had blood-alcohol levels of 0.17 percent, more than twice the state's legal limit to drive.
Authorities said they were operating the vehicle while intoxicated even though the car's engine wasn't running.
A prosecutor acknowledged the charges could be difficult to prosecute in court.
Deputy Prosecutor Adam Burroughs said the office has prosecuted drunken drivers who were stopped in restaurant drive-through lanes or who were on private property.
Bicycles and motorized wheelchairs are about the only vehicles in which a person would be unlikely to face a drunken-driving charge, he said.
— Thanks to Out There reader Blake P.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Some people want to get off jury duty so badly they will consider stretching the truth to do so.
Not Celeste Johnson — she lied to get on a jury. Now she's paying the price.
Johnson, 39, was sentenced Tuesday to 90 days of home confinement for lying about her criminal record during jury selection in January for an armed robbery trial. She was also ordered to pay a $250 fine.
Johnson was convicted last month of criminal contempt.
The armed robbery trial ended in a hung jury in February, and Assistant Attorney General Bethany Macktaz said she saw Johnson smiling and nodding to the defendant when the verdict was announced.
The defendant in the case was later convicted on 16 counts.
NASHUA, N.H. (AP) — In a bizarre case, a store cashier is charged with helping apparently random people steal about $5,000 in clothing from the store.
Police have charged Shayna McDonald, 19, of Nashua, with theft. They said that while she worked as a cashier at the A.G. Wright (search) department store, she allowed customers to leave with goods after charging them a fraction of the cost.
Lt. Andrew Lavoie said what makes it bizarre is that McDonald and the customers who got the price breaks apparently didn't know each other. He said the word was out on the street that she gave breaks on clothing and she apparently got nothing in return.
Eyeglass Maker Launching Funeral Line
STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) — Fashion retailers provide eye wear for almost every venue: the beach, the library or the basketball court. But a Swedish eyeglass maker says he's focusing on previously uncharted territory: funerals.
Staffan Preutz, chief executive of Polaris Optic (search), said Thursday he will launch a new collection in October of stylish yet discreet glasses for women attending funerals.
"They do not want too flashy or gaudy glasses. The point is that they should be a bit subdued, but still elegant," Preutz said.
He said a designer at the company's Japanese branch came up with the idea, and the collection will be targeting the Japanese market.
The funeral collection, which according to Preutz is the first of its kind in the world, will be presented at the International Optical Fair in Tokyo in October.
Preutz established his company in 1979 in Boden in northernmost Sweden and is now a Swedish royal warrant holder for glasses.
Compiled by FOXNews.com's Paul Wagenseil.
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