There was a very interesting opinion article from the New York Times written in October asking for teacher input on what has changed about their job and communities over time. One of the biggest issues was the ability to hold students accountable.
Failure is a bad word — and the kids know it. It takes way more work to hold a student accountable than to simply pass him/her. Even if a kid does nothing all year, we are encouraged to find a way to pass him/her. And then, of course, when a student does not perform, parents often want to know what we are going to do about it — not what their child can do.
I think a lot of the initial response to this could be we're just responding to the kinds of things that kids want nowadays: reassurance, positive feedback, and boosts to self-esteem. A follow-up piece came out about a month later after asking what students thought about accountability. Although the results show varied perspectives, an overall trend was kids want themselves, and each other, to be held accountable.
Students need to be held accountable and put effort into their school work. They need to motivate themselves and they need to realize that not everything is going to get handed to them.
Both of these articles are really worth a read, and perhaps checking in with your students about some of the questions raised.