Sydney Mory
April 28, 2008
Mrs. Konjura
Excellence Essay
Excellence
Excellence, the fact or state of excelling; superiority; eminence (Dictionary.com.) Is excellence really what everyone thinks it is, or is it just an opinion at that precise time?
When I am told that an event is "excellent", I don’t necessarily perceive excellence. I used to think of a gold medal or first place trophy, as an example of excellence. I look back at the time in my life when I was involved in karate, and my goal was to win a gold medal or a first place trophy. Through daily training and practice, I finally reached my goal of winning a gold medal in sparring. I thought it was excellence at the time, but when I stepped away from the event, I found out that the boy I beat went to the same school as I did, but attended different practice sessions. He was upset at me for beating him and never talked to me again. Looking back, I feel that my happiness was attained by my achievement of "excellence" over someone else, who then felt that he was second best. Also the tournament that I had been a part of was a state tournament, I would have had to excel at the regional and national levels if I was truly to achieve real excellence.
Later on in life I found school work became the main priority in everyone’s life. It was a chance to be top of the class and achieve “excellence” in classes. Students get to tell others of their classroom work. Teachers tell classmates of students' successes. Administrators post lists of model students. Parents brag about their child's grades. Excellent students names are printed in the community's newspaper.
Due to my dyslexia, I found that this achievement of excellence leads to unbelievable frustration. It takes me three to four times as long as an average student to complete assignments. Teachers have told me that I am just lazy, or that I don't want to succeed. Fellow students sometimes don't accept me. I tried to get my work done in the set time, and even tried cheating, but I found that the “excellence” I was striving for wasn't about what I was to be learning, or even about me. The only reason I was doing any of it was for my parents to be happy and the teachers off my back. My sister who has dyslexia worries so much about her grades that she yells and screams at her family. So why cheat, or be mean to others, just to say that you achieved excellence on a subject that you'll forget about five years from now? Or is it that we are looking for the superior feeling over a classmate who is average or has a learning disability?
Even in sports, all the coaches say that everyone must achieve excellence. Is excellence victory over someone else? Or is it doing the best a person can? What happens if there is a really great quarterback such as Dan Marino? Although he was an excellent quarterback, many people feel that he did not achieve excellence because his team never won the Super Bowl. Do people really remember or care who won the Super Bowl a week after it happened?
So the best thing to do is to achieve excellence as a person and if you achieve a goal in life, you do not become arrogant. You should do the best work possible at your job. You should become a great parent and neighbor. You also should be a type of person who other people want to be around. I once heard that a value of a person--their excellence--is shown by how many people come to their funeral. Funny thing is, we will never know if we reach that point of excellence.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Monday, April 21, 2008
Work Cited
Dictionary.com. 16 April, 2008. http://dictionary.reference.com/
I didn't use the essays because I never understood what they had to do with education.
I didn't use the essays because I never understood what they had to do with education.
Education Essay
Sydney Mory
What is Education?
Mrs. Konjura
April 17, 2008
What is Education?
The meaning of the word education is “the act or process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge, developing the powers of reasoning and judgment, and generally of preparing oneself or others intellectually for mature life.” (Dictionary.com). How is education defined, and who determines that it has to be a certain way and only that way?
Education in history defined us as a society. Most of education was imparted by parents to their children, and it was also determined by their sexuality. Boys learned from their fathers how to farm or they learned a skill such as blacksmithing or carpentry. Girls learned from their mothers how to run a house, cook, and take care of children. Folklore and religion were passed down through the generations by oral communication.
When a society became more progressive, such as ancient Egypt or Rome, servants were assigned to do the household and mundane chores. Boys of the upper class were given the opportunity to attend schools which were taught by scholars or philosophers. Their sisters were shown by their mothers how to be good hostesses and wives.
One of the main ideas the founders of our country started was the concept of education for everyone. (But it did take years for this idea to come about in all the areas of the country.) Our forefathers believed that democracy would be successful only if the people could decide issues on their own and vote, so they determined that education should be decided at a local level. Children in the New England colonies were taught how read, write, and decipher. One room schools were set up around the country as people moved west. But still children learned the necessary living skills from their parents.
But within the last fifty years, government has taken a much larger role in education. Back in the 1930’s, students usually had to pass a test in order to graduate to the next level. If they could not pass, they usually dropped out and entered the job market or farmed. After World War II, the public determined that everyone should have the opportunity to go to school for at least twelve years and receive a high school diploma.
With that determination, education also had to expand its boundaries. It no longer includes reading, writing, mathematics, science, and history, but also business, technology, trade, music, and art skills. Students are expected to succeed in all areas of education. If the students do not have the grades, they are not allowed to enter the next phase of education which is learning a trade for a job.
Now, our society has determined that education is a high priority. In 2001 the United States Congress took away local control in the No Child Left Behind Act. Instead of the local school district or state agency deciding if a school is successful, the federal government is making that decision. Those decisions are based upon test scores and students’ grades—yearly improvement must take place or a school can be closed. The question that should be asked is—are the students learning what is really necessary for their future, or just what some government official has determined what they should know? For example, if a student has earned a 4.0 grade point average and is stuck in the middle of the desert alone, yet has no survival knowledge skills, what good is the 4.0? Or is spending time in class discussing the literature of Charles Dickens really necessary to someone who has decided to become an automotive mechanic? Is there a reason that everyone in school should have to memorize the periodic table or the eras of the earth? Why isn’t there more time in school devoted to current events and politics since the voting age is 18? Some of a school’s smartest students may not have an interest in typical school subjects, but find other outlets in sports and fine arts. But do school officials or government officials realize that these students are still learning necessary life skills?
We are now in an age of instant information which is available through the media. Students are now learning less from their parents and the school district, and more from the media. Many of the students feel unprepared after leaving high school since there are few survival and life skills being taught to them. It is my belief that the government should be more concerned with preparing the young people for the future by evaluating all the schools and see how they are meeting their needs, than worrying about constant testing which wastes the time and efforts of everyone in the educational system.
What is Education?
Mrs. Konjura
April 17, 2008
What is Education?
The meaning of the word education is “the act or process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge, developing the powers of reasoning and judgment, and generally of preparing oneself or others intellectually for mature life.” (Dictionary.com). How is education defined, and who determines that it has to be a certain way and only that way?
Education in history defined us as a society. Most of education was imparted by parents to their children, and it was also determined by their sexuality. Boys learned from their fathers how to farm or they learned a skill such as blacksmithing or carpentry. Girls learned from their mothers how to run a house, cook, and take care of children. Folklore and religion were passed down through the generations by oral communication.
When a society became more progressive, such as ancient Egypt or Rome, servants were assigned to do the household and mundane chores. Boys of the upper class were given the opportunity to attend schools which were taught by scholars or philosophers. Their sisters were shown by their mothers how to be good hostesses and wives.
One of the main ideas the founders of our country started was the concept of education for everyone. (But it did take years for this idea to come about in all the areas of the country.) Our forefathers believed that democracy would be successful only if the people could decide issues on their own and vote, so they determined that education should be decided at a local level. Children in the New England colonies were taught how read, write, and decipher. One room schools were set up around the country as people moved west. But still children learned the necessary living skills from their parents.
But within the last fifty years, government has taken a much larger role in education. Back in the 1930’s, students usually had to pass a test in order to graduate to the next level. If they could not pass, they usually dropped out and entered the job market or farmed. After World War II, the public determined that everyone should have the opportunity to go to school for at least twelve years and receive a high school diploma.
With that determination, education also had to expand its boundaries. It no longer includes reading, writing, mathematics, science, and history, but also business, technology, trade, music, and art skills. Students are expected to succeed in all areas of education. If the students do not have the grades, they are not allowed to enter the next phase of education which is learning a trade for a job.
Now, our society has determined that education is a high priority. In 2001 the United States Congress took away local control in the No Child Left Behind Act. Instead of the local school district or state agency deciding if a school is successful, the federal government is making that decision. Those decisions are based upon test scores and students’ grades—yearly improvement must take place or a school can be closed. The question that should be asked is—are the students learning what is really necessary for their future, or just what some government official has determined what they should know? For example, if a student has earned a 4.0 grade point average and is stuck in the middle of the desert alone, yet has no survival knowledge skills, what good is the 4.0? Or is spending time in class discussing the literature of Charles Dickens really necessary to someone who has decided to become an automotive mechanic? Is there a reason that everyone in school should have to memorize the periodic table or the eras of the earth? Why isn’t there more time in school devoted to current events and politics since the voting age is 18? Some of a school’s smartest students may not have an interest in typical school subjects, but find other outlets in sports and fine arts. But do school officials or government officials realize that these students are still learning necessary life skills?
We are now in an age of instant information which is available through the media. Students are now learning less from their parents and the school district, and more from the media. Many of the students feel unprepared after leaving high school since there are few survival and life skills being taught to them. It is my belief that the government should be more concerned with preparing the young people for the future by evaluating all the schools and see how they are meeting their needs, than worrying about constant testing which wastes the time and efforts of everyone in the educational system.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Page 96 Critical Thinking Questions
1. What is the difference in form and in content between the model resume and the model cover letter?
A resume is a list of jobs, education, activies and skills, work experiences, and reference. While a cover letter is a letter stating that you would like a job interview and you feel that you are right for the job.
2. Into what parts in the resume divided? The cover letter?
The resume is in five parts: objective, education, activiesand skills, work experiences, and reference. A cover letter is more of a letter stating some work you have done and things that make you look right for the job.
3. What do you think of Thomas's stated objective on his resume? What role do you soppose the objectice serve on a resume?
I think the Thomas's stated objective gives a really good look into what he is shotting for and what the perpose is for him looking into this job. The objective states what job he is looking into and gives the reader an idea where he came be placed.
4. If you were the director of the day camp, would you invite Thomas in for an interview to discuss his qualifications for the job? why or why not.
I would at least give him the chance because he gave me everything that he has ever done in a very net and tighty way. He at least deserves the chance to impress me even more.
A resume is a list of jobs, education, activies and skills, work experiences, and reference. While a cover letter is a letter stating that you would like a job interview and you feel that you are right for the job.
2. Into what parts in the resume divided? The cover letter?
The resume is in five parts: objective, education, activiesand skills, work experiences, and reference. A cover letter is more of a letter stating some work you have done and things that make you look right for the job.
3. What do you think of Thomas's stated objective on his resume? What role do you soppose the objectice serve on a resume?
I think the Thomas's stated objective gives a really good look into what he is shotting for and what the perpose is for him looking into this job. The objective states what job he is looking into and gives the reader an idea where he came be placed.
4. If you were the director of the day camp, would you invite Thomas in for an interview to discuss his qualifications for the job? why or why not.
I would at least give him the chance because he gave me everything that he has ever done in a very net and tighty way. He at least deserves the chance to impress me even more.
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