I have decided that this rumination does not need to be stored, but instead called back on a regular basis.
The other day, my professor addressed class on the subject of lame. The talk resonated with me not only for its content, but also what it implies about my college and the people that work within it. The basic definition of "lame" is when the end result of an effort begins to merge with the pathetic, sad, or woefully uninspired dearth of creativity. The only acceptable way to get away with doing something lame is the full awareness of it. I find it interesting that the only accepted place for the lame is when there is an imbalance of effort that results in something awesome, somewhere. What does it mean when we as a school embrace this imbalance as an excuse to justify a poor or lame effort? Granted, all kinds of people go to school for different reasons. I might be in school only to exist within my focus, and completely disregard all other aspects of an education that I am paying for. Or I might have completely detached from my education in the final throws of the semester and have shifted my focus towards finding a job.
I reject the common assertion that given a particular dislike of the teacher, I will commit zero effort to the class. Becoming frustrated with a particular teacher establishes two things: first, that this is yet another person that I do not get along with, and second, that in order to get the most out of my learning environment I should endeavor to influence the teacher to conduct the class in a way that jives with my learning style. If I am feeling at all charitable, I will continue in my efforts to adjust the learning environment for the benefit of future students.
A failure to take full advantage of a class is like going to a five star restaurant and then leaving having only eaten bread.
The social good side of me hurts inside when I see others detach from their work, and intentionally or unintentionally strike a lame note. This means that they do not value the education in the way that I do, and that (in my eyes) their detachment has diminished the overall quality of the work and therefore the school.
My selfish side is not as bothered by the shoddy effort of my peers, because first it means that my effort shines through and reflects better on me, and second, that the professor can spend more time teaching someone that actually cares than attempting to reach out to the less involved students.
It is the job of the professor to teach to the widest range of their students in an effort to make sure that the overall quality of the class rises (among other things). I applaud teachers that take the extra effort to seek out and mentor students out of the goodness of their hearts, but I do believe that beyond a certain point, spending extra effort on a particular student truly becomes extra. The time of a professor should be spent teaching the students en masse, not individually.
aw crap.
I wanted to talk about competence and the dunning-kruger effect.
I'll do that another time.
I suppose that once again, life is about balance. The ability to balance work and play, or effort across my classes, or my girlfriend. I have previously spoken to people about how it is impossible to reach a unified perfection in anything and how one can only strive for a more perfect solution to something. In this case: a more perfect balance between the discrete elements of life.
It pleases me to see my professors constantly searching for a more perfect balance or solution. This approach validates the nature of any exploratory activity and encourages students to likewise search for, and strive toward the more perfect. It pains me to see professors, administrators or staff wallow in the routine of how things have always been done, or what has been proven to work. Furthermore, when staff arrive at a so-so solution and do not pursue a more perfect or appropriate solution I begin to cringe. Finding the solution to the problem you have not quite faced yet is what defines excellence.
damn, look at me all philosophical and shit.
I hate these kinds of platitudes, but sometimes they work. right now, they work for me.
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