StillGreen Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 I have been teaching for 14 years. For the last 5+ years there has been a real emphasis on "academic excellence" or "excellence in education". It is a term that is used incessantly in academic circles. Everybody seems to have it, but yet I have found very few that can define it. It is one of those phrases that creates the perception of perfection and for many carries with it the guilt of expectations beyond reason. For the perfectionist it is sheer torture, because you can never be good enough. If every child in your classroom does not get an "A", are you then a failure academic excellence? So, what are your definitions of academic excellence? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stan Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 To me, finding the genius is excellence... Quote If you receive benefit to being here please help out with expenses. https://www.paypal.me/clubadventist Administrator of a few websites like https://adventistdating.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stan Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 I remember being on School Boards, a teacher was defined as a good teacher if he/she was able to control a class and have it quiet. I did not see that as the best way to run a class. HOWEVER I am not an educator, there are others on here that are. Quote If you receive benefit to being here please help out with expenses. https://www.paypal.me/clubadventist Administrator of a few websites like https://adventistdating.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dottie Posted August 15, 2011 Share Posted August 15, 2011 Generally, it seems that "academic excellence" has to do with the ability of the student to get good grades. So, getting good grades leads to a better job, and a better life, right? But it isn't necessarily so. Some students can do well in school, as they are able to perform better for the teacher and on tests and so get better grades. That doesn't have any relationship to their ability to do well in life. (personal experience here) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StillGreen Posted August 15, 2011 Author Share Posted August 15, 2011 I'm with ya So... how would you define it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StillGreen Posted August 15, 2011 Author Share Posted August 15, 2011 To me, finding the genius is excellence... That is awesome.. I am going to post this in my room... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stan Posted August 15, 2011 Share Posted August 15, 2011 Am not sure what the stats are right now, but a few years ago over50% of the presidents of the fortune 500 had not completed High School. I know a few very successful business leaders like that. I would suspect they had teachers who taught them to think. To me those teachers taught academic excellence. Quote If you receive benefit to being here please help out with expenses. https://www.paypal.me/clubadventist Administrator of a few websites like https://adventistdating.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StillGreen Posted August 15, 2011 Author Share Posted August 15, 2011 Am not sure what the stats are right now, but a few years ago over50% of the presidents of the fortune 500 had not completed High School. I know a few very successful business leaders like that. I would suspect they had teachers who taught them to think. To me those teachers taught academic excellence. Practical hands on information that helps with life? I was in the USAF and had just graduated from tech school (the longest school in the AF at the time). I was in the parking lot of the barracks with one of the graduates. He had the hood up on his car and looked puzzled. I went over and asked him if he needed help. He said, "where do you put the oil." I was amazed... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Bravus Posted August 15, 2011 Moderators Share Posted August 15, 2011 G'day Russ, and welcome! I'm a teacher educator, and I have to admit I share your perplexity. I guess about the best we can do is share and compare our complexities! I have to rush to class now but will come back and burble on a bit more later. Great topic! Quote Truth is important Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Bravus Posted August 15, 2011 Moderators Share Posted August 15, 2011 PS I think your question is two questions: 1. What do the people who use the term 'academic excellence' incessantly mean by it? 2. In an ideal world, what would the smart people here mean by it? Quote Truth is important Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Bravus Posted August 16, 2011 Moderators Share Posted August 16, 2011 Won't say too much more until someone else has a chance, but I think it tends to get defined in very narrow terms as success on standardised tests... I'd like to define it in the broadest possible terms (EGW's book 'Education' does a very nice job) as an old-fashioned 'liberal education'. That is, a broad education for life, which includes the life of the mind. Poetry for its own sake, philosophy, classics as well as maths and science, and a strong education in moral reasoning too. Academic excellence would lead to excellent human beings, not just excellent students. Quote Truth is important Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobRyan Posted August 16, 2011 Share Posted August 16, 2011 I don't think SDA schools were created because we believed that all the world was lousy at chemistry and calculus and that with some input from the 3 Angels of Rev 14, we would see a huge improvement in math or chemistry or English. If anything we started them for healthcare sciences and religious instruction - trying to create medical missionaries. The Adventist church did not set out to divert resources from evangelism so that we might create the best public university that Adventist, tithe, offering and tuition dollars could buy. Having said that - I am one of those who graduated with a degree in the sciences not healthcare. I am more than happy to see our university system do well in sciences. But they have no right at all to engage in fiction when it comes to science, just because the world does it. in Christ, Bob Quote John 8:32 - The Truth will make you free“The righteousness of Christ will not cover one cherished sin." COL 316. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Bravus Posted August 16, 2011 Moderators Share Posted August 16, 2011 Thread is not about Adventist education. Quote Truth is important Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators John317 Posted August 16, 2011 Moderators Share Posted August 16, 2011 I remember being on School Boards, a teacher was defined as a good teacher if he/she was able to control a class and have it quiet. The best environment for learning is not necessarily where it is quiet. That could be a sign that nothing is being learned. But neither is it where there are a lot of distractions. The teacher, though, has to be in "control" of his class. Otherwise the students will be in control, and as I remember it, while the classes where students are in control were lots of fun, there wasn't a lot of learning going on, at least not the sort of learning that teachers want. The best teachers I ever had were in first, second, and seventh grades. My seventh grade teacher was a man named Mr. Blair, and he was a great teacher to me because he made history and other subjects really exciting and fun, and he stimulated my desire to learn in a way that no other teacher ever did. I think that's a definite mark of excellence in a teacher. Quote John 3:16-17 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. [17] For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Tom Wetmore Posted August 16, 2011 Administrators Share Posted August 16, 2011 It's about mastery of the subject at hand. And more broadly, its mastery of the both the knowledge and skills to succeed in life and ones choice of career. From the the teacher's perspective, it is being able to impart those skills and that knowledge and facilitate mastery in the full range of students placed in their charge. Quote "Absurdity reigns and confusion makes it look good." "Sinless perfection is such a shallow goal." "I love God only as much as the person I love the least." *Forgiveness is always good news. And that is the gospel truth. (And finally, the ideas expressed above are solely my person views and not that of any organization with which I am associated.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators John317 Posted August 16, 2011 Moderators Share Posted August 16, 2011 Bravus, am listening online to an outstanding classic station from Australia called "ABC Classic FM." Ever heard of it? Hope it's well known and highly appreciated down under. I like the "strange" accents of the announcers. Quote John 3:16-17 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. [17] For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators John317 Posted August 16, 2011 Moderators Share Posted August 16, 2011 ...being able to impart those skills and that knowledge and facilitate mastery in the full range of students ... Yes, a hard thing sometimes. I worked for many years with special education kinds of kids. They would literally go to sleep on the floor during class. Two of our principals were fired for getting so angry at them that one of them bit a kid's finger and another tried to strangle one. They require great patience and wisdom; the patience of Job and the wisdom of Solomon. Quote John 3:16-17 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. [17] For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aldona Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Bravus, am listening online to an outstanding classic station from Australia called "ABC Classic FM." Ever heard of it? Hope it's well known and highly appreciated down under. I like the "strange" accents of the announcers. My favourite station, since I was a child! AJ Quote www.asrc.org.au (Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, Melbourne)Helping over 2000 refugees & asylum seekers each monthIMSLP/Petrucci Music LibraryThe Public Domain Music Score Library - Free Sheet Music DownloadsLooking for classical sheet music? Try IMSLP first! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators John317 Posted August 17, 2011 Moderators Share Posted August 17, 2011 Wow-- no kidding. I hit on just the right station, then. Love the music. Strange to hear them say it is almost sunrise around the time I am about ready to go to bed, or should be. Sometimes when I listen to people talking, they all sound like the former PM of Britain, Tony Blair. Love how they talk. Not easy yet for me to distinguish the British from the Australian accent. Quote John 3:16-17 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. [17] For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobRyan Posted August 17, 2011 Share Posted August 17, 2011 Won't say too much more until someone else has a chance, but I think it tends to get defined in very narrow terms as success on standardised tests... I'd like to define it in the broadest possible terms (EGW's book 'Education' does a very nice job) as an old-fashioned 'liberal education'. That is, a broad education for life, which includes the life of the mind. Poetry for its own sake, philosophy, classics as well as maths and science, and a strong education in moral reasoning too. Academic excellence would lead to excellent human beings, not just excellent students. Which is the point that SDA Education secretary Larry Blackmer made at LSU recently stating that the SDA world view and what we know about God is to be included in every subject. Rather than just a sterile presentation of numbers or balancing chemical equations a larger view was to be presented. in Christ, Bob Quote John 8:32 - The Truth will make you free“The righteousness of Christ will not cover one cherished sin." COL 316. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators John317 Posted August 17, 2011 Moderators Share Posted August 17, 2011 ... That is, a broad education for life, which includes the life of the mind. Poetry for its own sake, philosophy, classics as well as maths and science, and a strong education in moral reasoning too. Academic excellence would lead to excellent human beings, not just excellent students. I'm sure you're familiar with the Great Books of Western Civilization. One cannot read those books understandingly without a good knowledge of the Bible. Almost all of the great literature of the Western world mention the Bible in some way. Those books are really like a great conversation between all the authors, and include every category of knowledge that you mentioned. Quote John 3:16-17 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. [17] For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fccool Posted August 18, 2011 Share Posted August 18, 2011 Quote: So, what are your definitions of academic excellence? I think that should be a fairly straightforward definition, which should be approached from perspective of highest degree of achievement. It bothers me that in schools and colleges nowadays the standards are so low when it comes to GPA, and academic achievements. Sure, the students feel great about it, thinking that they are smart, but in the end there's a difference between mediocrity and excellence. Somehow I don't believe that people hitting the "excellent" more frequently than before. I think that the bar was lowered quite a bit. It's not surprising, in a culture that celebrates stupidity. We brought our TV out of the garage, because my wife wanted to watch a show she's heard about, and here's the first commercial that I've watched after not having a TV for a while: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StillGreen Posted August 20, 2011 Author Share Posted August 20, 2011 ...it is being able to impart those skills and that knowledge and facilitate mastery in the full range of students placed in their charge. How do you define mastery? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dottie Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 John 3:17 - - Maybe you have heard that the State of Idaho has forbidden any literature to be studied that even refers to religion in any way. That would eliminate most classic literature! (The exact facts aren't in the above, but I'm sure you understand the concept) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StillGreen Posted August 20, 2011 Author Share Posted August 20, 2011 without getting into specifics... I was student teaching at one of our academies and had the privilege of "learning" (I use that term lightly) under one that had been awarded the teacher of the year award. During our first parent teacher conference the mother of a struggling student had an issue with his grades. I responded that the reason he received an F was because he was in class less than 75% of the time and that when he was in class he refused to work. I had made several attempts at contacting his parents even with mailing letters home with no response. Her response was that he did not like me. As we were discussing the issues the "master teacher" interrupted us and said he had found the "problem" and that the student actually would be receiving a D. I was then brushed aside and told he would take care of it. After the parent left he pointed out to me that he had made a deal with the student. The deal was that he received 50% on all grades including tests for just showing up. Now, I did not grow up Adventist. Nor did I have the privilege of a Christian upbringing. However, I did have a very moral father that taught me that honesty and integrity were the two most highly valued characteristics to be found in an individual. I knew that even if I could not "master" a subject or figure out calculus, that I was still seen as excellent because of those two values in my life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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