As soon as that student's teacher made clear that the consequences of continued poor performance would be failure in the course, that student began making more of an effort and ultimately received an A in the class. The inference is that students often perform much more poorly than they are capable of performing simply because they are aware that being failed in a class is not a likely consequence.
The most important point advanced by Sherry is that so-called "social promotion" of students who do not deserve to pass courses or progress to the next grade is counterproductive to those students, to the educational system, and ultimately, to society in general.
Synthesis:
Both Zinsser and Sherry make valid points, although the thesis advanced by Zinsser may be somewhat less practical than that presented by Sherry. Certainly, many entrepreneurs (including some who founded the large and successful computer companies) never finished college. Similarly, many tremendously successful individuals in other fields achieved their dreams through what are considered non-traditional paths by today's standards. However, to suggest that one should consider that route instead of formal education is somewhat irresponsible. In modern society, the vast majority of occupations that...
The fact that some may achieve success without school ignores how many more individuals make their lives harder than necessary by that choice. A more responsible middle-of-the-road position would be to avoid rigid adherence to formal academic success and traditional paths to vocational success, but to make the most productive use of academic opportunities toward whatever goal one maintains beyond school.
Sherry's essay is much more realistic because there is comparatively little risk to failing students who do not deserve to pass courses or to progress to the next grade. Naturally, those failures cause considerable distress for the student in the short-term, but compared to the long-term consequences of perpetually passing students despite poor performance in school is far more harmful to those students. Sherry's position is absolutely right, whereas Zinsser's should be considered only with caution. Advising students to pick courses most appropriate to their vocational goals and to consider all possible avenues of success (including non-academic ones) is fine; advocating dropping out from school more generally is simply irresponsible.
