Great Expectations

Not the book! I read that once; it took FOREVER to get through...but actually, this post is more about setting high expectations. In America, it is only too easy to slip by without trying. In college group projects, if you don't pick up the slack, someone else will. But you still get the great grade! What good fortune! We  have the No-Child-Left-Behind Act that encourages teachers not to let students fall behind...really it just encourages teachers to edit grades just enough that students pass. It is now socially acceptable to not care too much about physical appearance; people can walk in to stores looking like a hot mess with their bedhead and pajamas.

What happened to cause this? I believe it is in part due to the lowering of standards and expectations. Time and again it is shown that when expectations are high, people will rise to the occasion to meet them. But if they don't have to "rise" to the occasion, why bother, right?

Since the general standards and expectations are lower, people need to set for themselves the higher standards, making themselves the benchmark of greatness. This takes self-discipline, motivation, and commitment but the results are invaluable. People striving for excellence in all that they do achieve things they never thought possible. The goals they may originally deem impossible to meet, get accomplished and in turn become even higher goals. People who do this gain self-respect and pride in who they are. They realize what they can accomplish. They learn and grow as an individual and cause those around them to grow as well.

Ethics

Ethical dilemmas cross our paths frequently. People have choices that affect the outcome of the situation. The following ethical dilemma is taken from http://www.differencemakers.com/swapshop/pdf/dilemma_examples.pdf

"Teacher
You have a student who is from a single parent family. The student must work to
attend college. However, the job is interfering with the student’s performance and
several assignments have not been turned in. You have determined that a “D” is all
the student can make when a counselor informs you that the student need a “C” to
qualify for an academic scholarship.’
What do you do?"

Many Americans would simply look the other way to give the student a C. This is indirectly encouraged through our "no child left behind" program. There are also many Americans who realize that ethically, it is not right to pass the student. They may face losing their job due to low results, but they have done the right thing when they do not pass a failing student. Giving the student a C when they deserve a D will only hurt the student later. They will be unprepared for any subsequent courses in the same subject. However, if the teacher and the student were willing, they could work together to get the student tutoring, extra practice problems, or counseling - whatever it took to get the student on track for a C. The student will know that they earned the grade they received and should feel a sense of pride in that.

Say no to Gun Control!

College students and guns. As things are now, guns are not permitted to be carried on college campuses by anyone other than security/law enforcement. This means that large groups of students are sitting ducks to psychotic gunmen. Take for example the Virginia Tech Massacre: Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people and wounded 25 others. This is outrageous. For some reason many people think that by banning guns from campus (and other locations) everyone will be safer. Instead, criminals, who are going to ignore the rule to carry out their evil intent, are free to walk right in and commence shooting - without resistance. If one sane student had a gun at Virginia Tech that fateful day in 2007, the result could have been much different.