Kadoka School District
Kadoka, South Dakota
Teacher: Mrs. Teresa Shuck
HAVE WE ABANDONED EXCELLENCE?
By Kipp Magelky
Grade 11
It is my opinion that we have not abandoned excellence. We have changed the standards to upgrade everything to excellence. We expect perfection from more things every day.
Excellence, just what does that mean? According to Webster’s Dictionary, the word excellence means: “Superior, very good of its kind, eminently good.”
What is excellence to each individual? Excellence to me is doing the best that I can with the tools that I possess or can obtain. Excellence may be a really good prime rib, a cool truck, or just being happy with the way that I am. Excellence may be improving a score. Excellence is an individual trait that each person must work to achieve on his or her own.
Excellence in education, according to the new law, is doing well on tests, learning something new, and leaving no child behind. But is excellence on tests nearly as important as teaching a student something new? Some students just do not excel on written types of tests. Not all people are alike and should not be judged in that form. Does this mean that they cannot achieve a type of excellence in their lives?
I think that in the computer world and business world we are constantly striving to achieve excellence, but how far do we go? Excellence is only as far as our imagination will go. Just in the past several years, we have achieved more in this country in technology and communications than would ever have been dreamed possible just ten years ago. The new technology is being used in every form of human life. Our vehicles run on computers and can tell you where you are going, where you are coming from, how far to go, etc. There was one problem when my dad’s pickup decided not to start one morning; it was soon discovered that our computerized truck had lost its memory. Now in the past when my father’s truck would not start, we would just work on it until we figured out what was wrong with it. Now we purchased a machine that we can plug into it so we will know what to fix. If this should happen out where we would not have access to the computer, we might not be able to fix it. No matter how good the computers are, man still needs to have the common sense and education to be able to fix those things.
Excellence in maintaining and rebuilding motors for a vehicle can fall under this category. Even though the computer told us what was wrong with the pickup, we still needed to be able to understand how the thing worked so that it could be fixed. If you take a motor apart and decide to put it back together, there are very fundamental things that you have to consider. Do you not also need to know which bolt to turn, which gasket to be placed without a wrinkle, what fuel to use, what kind of oil to use, how often it needs maintenance to keep the motor running? To me, putting that motor back together again and hearing everything sound the way it should is a form of excellence. When you hear that motor purr and then drive off knowing that things are okay, that means you did a good job, and things will be working right for a while.
Another example of excellence is apparent in the beef cattle industry. We are under attack by a disease they call Mad Cow Disease. People that do not understand the cattle industry do not understand that our products in this country are the safest and most protected in the world. Surely people know that they do not eat animals that have been sick or doctored and fed with food that they should not be eating. We strive to raise our cattle under the best conditions in the world. We know the name or number of each cow in our pasture, and where it came from. We strive to raise the best beef, using the most care and conscience of any country in the world and have been doing that forever. The American beef producer has been striving for excellence in the product that is sold in the grocery store forever. Now they have even come up with a test for this disease that does not require that each animal be tested to be slaughtered. This will enable the cattle industry to prove that those cattle are the good product for the consumer we have counted on for many years.
This is where excellence comes in. If we do not have the education to know what to do in situations we find ourselves in, that would become a problem. Therefore we need to keep education a priority in our life so that we will have the knowledge to know what to do in those situations. We need to be able to think for ourselves along with the ability to use the tools we have for each situation.
I feel
that excellence is a valuable trait, along with honesty and hard work. I
value this in my own life to the extent that it is very important to me. I
work hard to obtain what I have, and I will continue to become the type of
person who values excellence in whatever I do.
Questions
Q1- Am I really where I want to be?
I am exactly where I want to be anytime that I am not in school, but it takes a better English teacher to get where I want to be in school.
Q2- Am I moving in the direction that will enable me to make the greatest contribution?
Yes, I am almost to that point.
Q3- If I could achieve my highest goals, what would my accomplishments look like?
My accomplishments would look like they are right now, because I have reached all of my goals.
Q4- Do I recognize excellence and search it out or do I find mediocre acceptable and am willing to settle?
I do recognize excellence, but my idea of excellence might be different to other people.
Q5- Do I seek out people, books, movies and other things that encourage me to be the best I can be.
I only seek out people, books, movies and other things on topics that I enjoy.
Q6- Do I recognize the best and others?
Yes, I do.
Time article
Q9- 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.”?
No, because the standards for excellence is usually different with different people that the person defining the standards.
Q7- Interpret this quote from paragraph nine: “Woe to them that are at ease in Zion.”
Excellence can be overdone.
Q8- Argue pro and con Morrow’s contention that “Americans not yet successful (the struggling, the underclass) are apt to aim at ease, not excellence.
The struggling, the underclass, might be trying as hard as they can, but they can’t keep up with the upper class.
Q9- Explain what Morrow means when he says (A) “the confusion contaminates character disables ambition.” Do you agree?
The confusion contaminates character and disables ambition, but not all of the ambition, they might go on to another project until they figure out how to solve the confusion. No I do not agree.
Q10- Argue pro and con the effect of over stimulation and under stimulation as discussed in paragraph 10.
Stimulation may keep your effort down, but it doesn’t keep it from becoming excellence.
Q11- Contrast practical excellence with metaphysical excellence as used in Morrow’s last paragraph.
Excellence can only be determined by yourself.
Q12- Copy and interpret your two favorite quotes. Explain why you chose them.
“I am the master of my fate. I am the captain of my soul.” This quote explains exactly what I am like.
“Let it be.” This quote tells how things should be.