In Sherry's "In Praise of the F Word," what is the central issue and why is it important?

In Sherry's article, the central issue is how to ensure that students learn material before being passed on to the next grade.

Sherry's thesis is that our current educational system fails children when it passes them to the next grade level even though they lack the basic skills. She believes this is why some students graduate from high school even though they are illiterate.  Sherry feels that this is the result of an educational system...

In Sherry's article, the central issue is how to ensure that students learn material before being passed on to the next grade.

Sherry's thesis is that our current educational system fails children when it passes them to the next grade level even though they lack the basic skills. She believes this is why some students graduate from high school even though they are illiterate.  Sherry feels that this is the result of an educational system that no longer "flunks" students:

...I see a parade of students who are angry and resentful for having been passed along until they could no longer even pretend to keep up. Of average intelligence or better, they eventually quit school, concluding they were too dumb to finish. 'I should have been held back,' is a comment I hear frequently. Even sadder are those students who are high-school graduates who say to me after a few weeks of class, 'I don't know how I ever got a high-school diploma."

Sherry believes in the benefits of "flunking" students who have not mastered skills.  Her central issue is that if "flunking is a regular policy," it can motivate students to "learn the material presented to them."  Sherry argues that "the F word" can be a "positive teaching tool."

Sherry's central issue is an important one because it addresses the achievement gap between students who learn content and those who do not. Sherry believes that she has an answer that can help struggling students, suggesting that embracing "the F word" policy can facilitate "a dedicated, caring conspiracy between teachers and parents" and prevent students from illiteracy and disadvantage.