Okay guys ... I'm kinda nervous, but I think I'm going to be the first one to comment on Don Proffit's visit. Eek.
So - in class we were supposed to come up with school mottos, reflect on what we believe in, describe our ethics, etc etc. Hurrah for that. The more I think about it, the more fond I am of my group's motto, "Wisdom and passion through patience and trust". It really sums up what I believe - namely that passion is a really fantastic and helpful and inspiring thing, but if it isn't grounded in a strong work ethic, self-understanding, and trust in others, it'll either be crushed out of you by the big mean world or just leave you an emotionally crippled mess. (I guess in a way this is also my answer to the "talent v. skill" and "process v. product" debates .... but I digress.) So we wrote all these cute little slogans, and they affected some people more or less than others. Yay.
But. (It's Haltmeier's class - there's always a "but".)
Then Mr Proffit said something that stopped me short. I hardly listened to the last twenty minutes of the lecture (sorry E.H.) because this one little afterthought sent my mind and philosophy spinning. He said, "but it's not like we have these giant banners saying, THESE ARE OUR VALUES. We just have to start to believe."
Wow. Ouch. I got a little defensive at first. Does sharing our morals with the world make them less genuine? Hey mister, I do believe in this stuff I'm saying in class, posting to the blog ....... but wait. Then again, am I really living my values yet? Or am I just marching campus around with my banner? How do I make all this stuff in my head real in the outside world? If in ten years, I asked a student what she thought my values were, what would she say? Would she frown and make something up? Or would she say, 'wow Ms M, I think you believe that successful mistakes are the only way to learn, that music is the greatest thing since BEFORE sliced bread, and that kids only need a little encouragement to succeed" ... ? I think if that ever happened, if somehow my purpose and morals could be clear to other people as well as myself ... well, I could die satisfied and enlightened and happy!!
Of course I can still die happy without that kind of clarity, and I'm pretty okay with / resigned to that since I'll bet my arm these kinds of conversations don't usually happen in high school music ed. But for now, I'm pretty satisfied that I'm starting to form these morals on my own, most importantly with the help of people who disagree with me. But what happens when I leave Westminster? What happens when a job interview asks me what my figurative banner says? Should I actively have to defend these ideals all the time, or should I just accept them for my personal satisfaction and try to live them out as honestly and effectively as I can or as is practical in "a real school"? Wow - this is sooooo confusing.
... Now. Speaking of real schools. For those of you who have been rolling your eyes for the last ten minutes, wondering when I'll get to my point, here it is - something that's been bothering me since Proffit's visit: my old high school's motto. NIHIL NISI PRAESTANTIA is emblazoned everywhere on the school in big blue letters. NOTHING EXCEPT EXCELLENCE. That always kind of bothered me - you all know by now how I feel about my fallible, trial-and-error approach to education. But is there anyone here who thinks that this "excellence only" policy is a viable and effective motto? Does anyone think that pushing for perfection is more satisfying? Practice might make perfection, but is perfection practical?
Drifting across vast existential seas ...
~ Ketti Jane Muschler
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3 comments:
I'm gonna digest that for a bit, then get back to you. Namely, I still have to write that honors paper.
Hahaha. Me too, Tom. That post was me still stalling my paper at midnight ... and again now.
By the way, sorry about the couple of huge typos, guys. I obviously didn't mean to say I was marching the campus around.
I've been wondering about that a lot - if you don't put your ethics up on banners, does that mean you don't have solid ethics, or you just don't feel the need to display them for all the world to see? Isn't acting up to a certain standard of ethics a way of displaying your ethics? I'm drawn once again to the Westminster motto: Spectemur Agendo, let us be judged by our actions. Is a person who hangs their ethics up on banners any more or less likely to follow them than one who quietly follows their own moral code?
About your overachieving Connecticut Public School motto: not only do I think it's pretty dumb, but more importantly it's unrealistic. You are not going to get perfection from every kid in a public school - hell, not every kid in a public school is even going to make any progress whatsoever. Now here's a question - is setting a standard that is not realistic or even possible for everyone unkind, or is it giving everyone else something to strive for? In setting a universally unattainable goal, have you as an educator motivated students to strive for something they would not have otherwise striven for or have you scared the students off because they realize that they can never meet your goals, so why should they even try?
Of course, it is impossible to solve this problem with only one answer, because every student will have a different perspective. Is it possible to set one goal that is achievable for everyone? Is it possible to set one goal that will challenge everyone? Is it even possible for everyone to succeed? If a student doesn't meet the specific goals set by one organization, does that mean they have failed?
As usual, more questions have been asked than answered... oh well. :)
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