SN2 called this morning from the Atlanta airport... he's on his way home after spending a week in Pensacola as part of a Navy board reviewing NROTC scholarship applications, the purpose of said board to determine who makes the cut and who doesn't. Sam was pretty positive about the whole process, emphasizing that winnowing the wheat from the chaff was a damned difficult proposition given the high quality of the applicants. The upshot of our conversation was it's reassuring that our much-maligned educational system is turning out some pretty impressive "product," almost in spite of itself. It ain't just the system, of course... it's a combination of effort on the part of students, native ability, and good parenting. The schools themselves are probably the lesser part of the whole machine when ya come right down to it, but they are important.
"it's a combination of effort on the part of students, native ability, and good parenting."
ReplyDeleteAmen to that. It took me awhile, but as a teacher, I finally came to the realization that most (maybe as much as 90%?) of the learning that goes on in classroom, is centered in the student. As a teacher, I could explain, model, show my enthusiasm for the subject, give encouragement, etc. but the actual learning takes place in the student. That's good because no matter how screwed up our schools become (have become?), some students--those with the traits you mention--will continue to excel.
wv: "dephora" -- opposite of euphoria?
Dan: Let's just hope "some" morphs into "most." I worry.
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