A Life Worthy

Tag: mediocrity

  • Good Enough

    English: 4th place ribbon for a race

    When is it good to say good enough is good enough?

    Last time, I was talking about the astounding level of mediocrity that I find in my classroom.  I’m not just talking about the things they don’t know—like my World History student who thinks that Christianity has its roots in the teachings of Confucius.

    Seriously.

    No, I’m talking about the level of effort I see—and the level of effort that is rewarded.

    What can I do to teach my own kids to be more than mediocre? (more…)

  • Good Job?

    thumbsFor the record…30% is not usually good.

    In baseball, batting .300 is only so-so.

    In basketball, hitting 3 out of 10 free throws is not impressive.

    In a classroom, 30% is an F.  Large-scale F.  Like, If the grades went any lower than “F,” you’d get that lower grade kind of failure.

    So why, when recording a stack of student-graded quizzes, did I come across a paper with “6/20=30%—Good Job!!” written on it? (more…)