Burlington High School
Burlington, Kansas
Teacher: Devra Parker
Striving for Excellence
By: Jamie Humlicek
12th Grade
Excellence is a very difficult factor to describe. Everyone has his or hers own definition or views as to what excellence is. To one person, it could be reached by curing cancer. Another person could say excellence is when any person makes millions of dollars. Then again, somebody else could view it as helping and elderly person cross the street. Whether or not excellence has been abandoned is almost and impossible question to have one answer.
I believe that excellence is what one single person achieves when she’s done or said something that makes her happy. It’s something that makes that one person trust that she has made a difference either in her own life, another individual’s life, or even the world. For me, I reach excellence when I’m at my local elementary school and I make the students laugh. When I walk into the classroom and I see all of the children turn and gasp in excitement to see me, I feel as though I just won the Nobel Prize. It’s superb when they all run to give me a hug. Excellence doesn’t have to be a complicated situation. It can be as simple as that. Seeing their little faces light up with big, toothy grins puts a great feeling inside me. It’s then I know that I have made a difference with them, and that’s what’s really important to me.
I do my utmost to be all I can be. For me, this is the definition of excellence is. Taking in mind what I like to do or what I can do are elements I take into mind when I want to succeed. Succeeding is equivalent to excellence. In my way of thinking, America is one of the only countries that do its best in being the best they can be. We love being top dog and do everything possible to be there. Looking at the people around me, I see how hard they work to get where they would like to be in the future. Seeing this gives me the motivation to do the same. Watching others is a great way to put affairs into perspective. America, as a whole, is very well off in technology and education. There really is no way that we cannot reach excellence living here. It all depends on how the individual views excellence and how he or she would like to deal with it.
When a person has a strong passion about a certain issue, that’s when she is on the verge of reaching excellence. For a major athlete, attaining his or her top average of points or goals could be what they consider excellence. A doctor might believe he’s reached excellence when he has cured a person of pneumonia or some sort of cancer. It’s different for everyone.
So, the question is, has America abandoned excellence? No, we haven’t, especially since 9/11. When that tragedy happened, our country came together as one to fix what those terrorists did. Putting aside all of our differences was an amazing moment. The people of America had one goal in mind; to rebuild what was lost and not let the terrorists get away with such an unbearable act. Everyone, no matter if he or she had family involved in that catastrophe or not, felt heartbroken, but also felt pride and loyalty in our country. I think that right there shows that our nation achieves top excellence.
Every four years, our nation holds a presidential election. This year, which is 2004, is an election year. This is a prime example of how our country seeks excellence. When politicians compete in this race to become president, they want to win because they believe they can fulfill the duties better than their opponents. Their goals are to make America a better place. Presidential candidates want to solve all the issues the nation has problems with, and they want to do it with their own plans that they believe are the right way to do it. This alone shows that they are striving for excellence. Helping this country achieve greatness in any way possible is their way of giving back to the people.
One thing no person can define is the will of each individual. In no way can we say this person doesn’t strive for excellence, or that person does not care. Everyone has a different personality and different characteristics about him or her. Occupations, location or religion all hold positions in determining a persons values. These values alone explain what people believe excellence really is, and that is how they decide they would like to live their lives. To say that excellence has been abandoned in America is an impossible answer to an impossible question. Not one person can say we, as a nation, do not strive to reach excellence any longer.
Answers
To Questions Re: Required Reading
Ask Yourself:
Q1- Am
I really where I want to be?
Right now, I am pretty close to where I want to be. I can’t say that I am
where I want to be, because that does leave any room for improvement or
progression to something better. How can you have excellence if you’re
already at your goal?
Q2- Am
I moving in the direction that will enable me to make the greatest
contribution? Right
now, I believe I’m on the right track. I want to become a teacher, and with
the classes I am taking, I think it is preparing me to become the best teacher
I can be.
Q3- If
I could achieve my highest goals, what would my accomplishments look like?
My accomplishments would show me being in my happiest state of mind that I’ve
ever been in. It would also hopefully show children that are excited about
school and wanting to come to class because they enjoy it.
Q4- Do
I recognize excellence and search it out or do I find mediocre acceptable and
am willing to settle?
Searching for excellence really depends on what activity I am participating
in. In most cases, I strive to succeed and do my best, but on occasion, I
think I do settle for mediocre. I also think everyone settles for mediocre at
some point in time.
Q5- Do
I seek out people, books, movies and other things that encourage me to be the
best I can be? When
I do find a book or movie that encourages me, I do go out and look for more by
that specific author, or similar authors if there are any. If I recognize a
person trying to encourage me, my response is to try and spend more time with
or around that person.
Q6- Do
I recognize the best in others?
I think that I try my best to see the best in other people. Sometimes my own
mood or wellness affects what I see in others, but it usually turns out to be
the best.
Time Article
Q7- Do you agree with
Morrow (paragraph seven) that: "Excellence demands standards. It does not
usually flourish in the midst of rapid, hectic change. This century’s sheer
velocity has subverted the principle of excellence; a culture must be able to
catch its breath." Yes, I do
agree, in a way. I think when things get hectic; it is possible to reach
excellence. It’s also true that after excellence is reached it could be
necessary to catch your breath before continuing into the hectic stages again.
Q8- Interpret this
quote from paragraph nine: "Woe to them that are at ease in Zion."
I think it says grief to those who go for ease instead of excellence. In
other words, the people who don’t believe excellence is possible fore them but
reaching a state of easiness is easily accommodated.
Q9- Argue pro and con
Morrow's contention that "Americans not yet successful (the struggling, the
underclass) are apt to aim at ease, not excellence"?
It is good that people aim for something, but realize when something could be
impossible, although upsetting that people can’t set their goals a little
higher for themselves.
Q10-
Explain what Morrow means when he says (A) "the confusion contaminates
character and disables ambition." Do you agree?
Yes, I agree. Confusion of this state of ease or easiness gets into peoples
minds and makes them believe they’ve reached their plateau in life and
consequentially kills their ambition to be all they can be.
Q11- Argue pro and
con the effect of over stimulation and under stimulation as discussed in
paragraph 10. Over stimulation
has made technology and culture more “out there,” which could be a an
advantage, but makes life very stressful and chaotic.
Q12- Contrast
practical excellence with metaphysical excellence as used in Morrow's last
paragraph. Practical excellence
is something within reach and can be achieved, whereas metaphysical excellence
is something that is not possible and could even be supernatural and
unreachable.
Q13- Copy and
interpret your two favorite quotes. Explain why you chose them.
“Let him who would move the world, first move himself.” –Socrates (BC). This
is one of my favorites because it says that first you must motivate yourself
and change yourself before you make a move to change and better the world.
“Be not angry that you cannot make others as you wish them to be, since you
cannot make yourself as you wish to be.” –Thomas Kempis
(1380-1471). This is also one of my favorites because it states that everyone
has a picture in their head of how they want themselves to be. They also
picture how they’d like others to be, and cannot be upset when they try to
change other people into that picture and it does not work. Especially when
they cannot change themselves into the perfect pictures they have
themselves.