We’ve probably all had the pleasure of teaching a student whose work is neat, no not just neat, but presented to a precision that would put a military parade to shame. The question is written out; the correct working is shown; the expected answer is provided. Underlining or colour coding is used to draw eyes to the correct answer. What a wonderful student and so easy to mark, and so easy to praise. But is that praise misplaced?

What lies behind the formulaic presentation of the work that was handed in? How many times was the work the result of the cleansing attentions of an eraser? How many pristine sheets of paper are scrunched up to finally languish in the wastepaper bin, just for the attentions of an errant colour? Is this the price of perfection, is it worth it?

Life isn’t about being right all the time. Making mistakes and being comfortable with them is an important trait to nurture. Praise for the perfectly presented piece of work ignores the backstory, and reinforces the belief that mistakes should be hidden, ignored, penalised.

But does this really matter? Knowing how to present work in a pleasing way is important, but the journey from question to answer, from blank sheet of paper to finished essay is an important one. Because, if for nothing else, it will illustrate the thought process, the inadvertent deadends that were visited and the ideas that were toyed with but eventually discarded. The development of critical thinking requires these forays and they should be celebrated.

A mechanically followed procedure when lavished with praise becomes the goal, the holy grail. It becomes the path to success in that classroom. However such approaches stifle the authentic learning which is needed to build links between topics and subjects. Maybe, we should learn to wallow in the valley of despair, because the reworking of drafts and the false trails will often take us there. And yet the experience itself can make us better and it can be the path to a better place.

The fear of trying, the fear of failing leads to academic stagnation and praise for perfection is the first step along the road of fearing to fail.