Schools don’t really allow failure and yet it’s a valid part of any endeavour, not just writing.

Doyle contrasts the culture of formal schooling—where mistakes are penalized, graded, and often stigmatized—with the realities of creative and professional life, where trial, error, and revision are intrinsic to progress. The remark reframes “failure” as information: a necessary stage in learning how to write, think, and work, rather than a verdict on ability. By adding “not just writing,” he generalizes the point beyond the arts to any serious endeavour, implying that education can misprepare students by rewarding only correct outcomes instead of resilience, experimentation, and iterative improvement.