There soon could be another F-word that might be banned from classrooms in England -- the word "failed."

Some members of the Professional Association of Teachers say that telling students that they've failed can put them off learning for life. The teachers propose to replace the word "failed" with the phrase "deferred success."

Liz Beattie, a retired schoolteacher, pitched the proposal, saying that teachers should avoid labeling children as failures because they need encouragement, not labels.

"We are talking about young people who struggle to read, write and can't relate to other people," said Jean Gemmell, PAT general secretary. "These are things you cannot be allowed to fail at."

But not everybody is in love with the concept.

The United Kingdom's Education Secretary, Ruth Kelly, said that children must learn about success and failure in order to prepare themselves for adult life.

The teachers association will debate the proposal at their annual PAT conference next week. If the motion is accepted, it will be a made policy for their 35,000 members from preschool, elementary and middle schools across the UK.