You gotta read this posting . . .
It’s on a site called “Creating Passionate Users” and I think it says much that is directly related to my most recent posting, “Good Enough Probably Isn’t.”
Qualitatis sine modem – - Quality without standards.
Excellence in medocrity
Lately, I’ve been hearing a lot of students (and some faculty) involved in some project/assignment/work get to a point where they sigh and proclaim, “Well, that’s good enough.”
Unfortunately, good enough probably isn’t. And that’s what’s become an issue with education in American society. Stakeholders have accepted “good enough” as the standard to which they’ll aspire. No longer is “excellence”, “perfection”, “superior work”, or “outstanding” the goal . . . “enough to get by”, “that’ll do”, “well, no one else makes me do it again”, and “but I’ve always gotten As in my classes” are the accepted standards.
Several years ago, I listened to a speaker discuss a program for creating excellence in public schools called “TESA,” an acronym for Teacher Expectation-Student Achievement. I believe when we as teachers (both faculty members at teacher preparation institutions and public school teachers in practice) expect more, set the bar higher, our students will achieve to the standards we set.
Try it . . . expect more, accept no less than the best work.Â
And never say “good enough” again.
Today, I wore a blue shirt and blue jeans to work! Why not!?!? Democrats won a resounding victory and took control of the U.S. House of Representatives. What a great step for progressives in this country.
And if that wasn’t enough, just minutes ago, AP, Reuters, and CNN reported that Webb won the senatorial race in Virginia! That means a 51-49 vote majority for Democrats in the Senate.
So tonight, I’m headed out to do the grocery shopping and happen to tune in to the last few minutes of Market Place on our local NPR affiliate (WVPE, Elkhart-South Bend). Here’s a transcript of what I heard:
KAI RYSSDAL: There’s grist enough out there for days of poltical analysis about why the Republicans lost so decisively. But in the end it’ll all probably come down to just a couple of key issues. Iraq. Corruption. Or maybe the economy. Commentator Steve Moore offers his choice.
STEPHEN MOORE: Yes, the Iraq war is very unpopular. And yes the parade of sex and money scandals of the past two years damaged the Republicans severely.But so did the busting of the bank. Republicans came into power in 1994 as revolutionaries promising to clean up the swamp in Washington. And as the old saying goes, they discovered it was a hot tub.The real scandal in Washington is that conservatives waited 40 years for a Republican House, Senate and White House, and the GOP produced the biggest spending orgy ever. The budget is up nearly 50% over George Bush’s presidency.
Exit polls found that only one-in-five voters said Republicans will do a better job to “keep government spending under control” than the Democrats.
When the Republicans came into power there were 1,500 pork projects. This year there were 15,000. That $300 million Alaska bridge to nowhere is an enduring symbol of the 110th Congress.
Republicans can only win when they support tax cuts and smaller government — not Washington insiders.
Now to win back voters, they must enact a bold pro-growth, counter-agenda to that of the Pelosi Democrats. This agenda should include reform of the budget process, a flat tax, market-based health care, and protection of private property rights.
The Republicans were corrupted and seduced by power. They forgot why voters elected them. Perhaps now they will remember.
I couldn’t have said it better.
Today, I’m really proud to be an American citizen; and I’m really happy to be a liberal, progressive Democrat.
I wish I knew who to credit for the following “cut-and-paste” that I’ve kept in my inbox for several months. I do not . . . but if you read this and can add a comment about the originator, I’d really appreciate it!
Defining instructional technology in broad perceptive helps educators, especially inexperienced teachers understand the pedagogical issues to be considered when using technology to enhance teaching and learning. Leh (2005) also calls for the “the national organizations involved in teacher standards to recognize that teachers need to … develop a foundation upon which to build their understanding of technology integration†(p. 46). It is also necessary that teachers consider how the technology selected fits into the objective of the lesson, methods of instruction, evaluation, feedback and follow-up initiatives. Fletcher (1996) explains thus:when you go to the hardware store to buy a drill, you don’t actually want a drill, you want a hole, they don’t sell holes at the hardware store, but they do sell drills, which are the technology used to make holes (p.87).
That’s what I do . . . I help you pick out the best drill for the job . . . and I love what I do!