June 25, 2012
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right
What’s right? This can be a question of morally or legally. More than that it can be a question of perspective. Because what is right for one person is not right for another person. Perhaps worst of all is when someone or someones decide what is right for others. Definitely worst of all is one person or one group deciding for everyone else. I have had “right” assaulting my little head for days now. It disturbs me. I think of myself as a person with very little black and white and a lot of gray.
I got to thinking about perspective yesterday. My kids were away for a whole week and yesterday was our first whole day together as people who pretend to love each other. (It wasn’t a great day as we have tired people: one who was on vacation at the beach with 100 of her closest friends and the other who was the sun, moon and stars to her doting grandparents. So reality was something else yesterday.) But reality depends on perspective. It was obvious to me that LLO missed me. She looked at me yesterday (when she wasn’t engaging in epic tantrums) like I was Wonder Woman on steroids. And full of compliments. Most of them of a certain nature that is contrary to proof. But she believes what she was saying. To her it was fact. To me, not. So I got to thinking… who is right? Who has the perspective that is closest to truth? And how do we judge? I don’t think we can. I think even in such a trivial issue, the truth is impossible to judge. And if we cannot judge the trivial, then how can we judge the important?
My class last week was a lot about ethics in research. We had a lot of discussions about what was right and fair in terms of a lot of things in education. One was the big stink in Atlanta about schools cheating on standardized testing. This is one article. That is not the one we read, but it certainly points out how stupid the participants were in changing the answers. Also, this probably doesn’t support what might be my stance on this cheating. I’m not entirely sure what my stance is. Exactly. Because surely cheating is wrong, morally and legally. No question. However, I think standardized testing is also wrong. Obviously not legally wrong. Probably not morally wrong either. But definitely educationally wrong. This is what Governor Deal said about the big cheating scandal, “nothing is more important to the future of our state than ensuring that today’s students receive a first-class education and integrity in testing is a necessary piece of the equation.” And he further said, “when test results are falsified and students who have not mastered the necessary material are promoted, our students are harmed, parents lose sight of their child’s true progress, and taxpayers are cheated.“ Here’s my issue. Who says that testing is a necessary piece of the equation? I do not think it is educators who believe this. Because teachers are the ones who have to interrupt their real educating to administer these tests. They often have to interrupt their real teaching to teach kids how to take the test. And sometimes they have to interrupt their real teaching to teach specific things that test writers think kids should know (which is unsound teaching practice and horrible for assessing anyhow.) My opinion is that kids are harmed BY taking standardized tests. Regarding parents being informed of their child’s progress- this is why we have conferences and report cards. Those things reflect more clearly what the student is learning. Maybe it’s a good thing to know how your kid compares to some kid across the country. Maybe. But I’d rather know how my kid thinks and solves problems. Standardized tests don’t go there. As far as taxpayers being cheated, we are cheated every stinking day. I’d rather our children get an education that helps them become an important part of the community than an education that cares how they fill in circles. So I think the wrong here in this situation is the testing itself and especially that a school district that is chock full of kids from low income families is being judged the same as a district full of wealthy families. Apples to oranges educationally. What would I do if I worked in a poorer district and my job depended on cheating? I have no idea. I think I’m too wimpy for such hard work to begin with. (I do know I’d be smarter about the cheating. For darn sure.)
I got my little world rocked when I read a blog by a smart person. Well, this happens often, but in this case I found out about something out of science fiction that just crushed my belief in the goodness of the US. Oh, dangit. I should just find his link right there. (Don’t get all big-headed because I’m quoting you or anything. ha ha.) A lot of the evidence there is asking whether these drones are legal. Honestly, I don’t care if they are legal, because it disturbs me that we’re using them in the way we’re using them for the reason we’re using them and just that we’re using them! It’s underhanded and violent and … I’m just going to say this.. terroristic. It’s cheating. It’s killing because we can. And why can we? Because we were so very happy when Osama Bin Laden got knocked off. We danced and shouted and were right with ourselves and God because he was evil incarnate. And now we kill indiscriminately using a flying apparatus. The only thing we haven’t done is fly one into the Twin Towers. But yet we’re supposed to believe this is ok (or not to know about it at all) because it’s a decision made by our government in a time of war. Sorry, I think it’s wrong.
Since I’m picking at government, I might as well pick at religion too. A little bit. But really what I want to talk about is mission work. I forget who I was talking to, possibly an acquaintance who has spent a lot of time in Haiti (I think, but it’s possible I’m misremembering because there was something else about Haiti) and she mentioned how some countries somehow do not let missionaries (really, what an awful word. is there some other word to use?) preach when they come to help with water and such. And truly, I think this is how it should be always. Why should some poor village have to listen to words in order for them to get clean water? Why should our Christian agenda be such a priority? Our minister quoted Gandhi. It wasn’t this one, but it was similar. “I like your Christ; I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” I think this is very true, even with the ones who wish to serve. I think Jesus lead and people chose to follow. I do not think Christians lead. I think we jam it down people’s throats. And if we’re back to my original premise that what is right for one person is not necessarily right for every other, how can it be moral to put a spiritual price tag on helping others.
So many shades of gray. I don’t think I’m meant to know stuff. I’m meant to link Monkees songs and read the 50 Shades of Grey trilogy.
Comments (53)
Seems like a lot of people can’t determine who is right in certain situations.
@xdeelynnx - there are two sides and somewhere in the middle is the truth. generally how i think of things.
Right. Is that word still used? I thought it had been replaced with “appropriate”.
acceptable levels. always acceptable levels it seems is what is said of things. ~ you know my stance, “nothing matters and nothing works” these here days. : )
@Inciteful - @be_the_rain - am i naive for thinking we should shoot for “right” instead of “appropriate” and “acceptable”? or maybe the alternative words change nothing after all.
I wish my brain was working well enough to make a thoughtful comment, but it’s not. I agree about standardized testing. Heck, kids are just passed along to the next grade, anyway. How many schools honestly hold back a student who truly hasn’t learned the skills of that grade? Not enough, for sure.
War. Huh. Good God, y’all. What is it good for? Absolutely nothing! http://youtu.be/01-2pNCZiNk
And I agree with Gandhi.
I used to love the Monkees. And I haven’t bought 50 Shades of Grey yet.
@songoftheheart - your comment was thoughtful. great song. i’m gonna get on that. i accidentally left grey at home when i took LLO to the pool. instead read the book for next week’s class. probably a good mistake, but still. i had plans.
Firstly, I likes that song. Which I think you knew already.
Secondly, left is the opposite of right. I tell that usually by looking at my hands. Right is the one I write with, and the one that I do not have a scar on my wrist.
Third is the serious thoughts. I agree with you on the testing and the cheating and all that. I think there are studies that show certain tests are biased by region or ethnicity or economic status. To have funding dependent on such things is blatantly ridiculous. But the government has to have some way to measure things, I suppose, and what other method could be used? Fact is, education is an individual thing – I might be ridiculously smart, but suck at taking tests. And you might be ridiculously stupid, but be awesome at taking tests or memorizing answers, or cheating at tests. All of which skews the response.
Regarding killing, I’m against it. I was against us going into war after 9/11 because I felt it went against what I was taught as a kid – all that stuff about ‘sinking to his/her/their level’ by fighting back. They punch us, so we go punch back. Not to say that people shouldn’t be punished for misdeeds, but starting a war is just going to hurt innocents and convince people who were on the fence that we’re no better than the ones we’re calling the bad guys. War is a black and white issue, but the situation is always gray.
And the religious thing, yes, I agree. There’s more to say but this comment is too long already.
@leaflesstree - the thumb and forefinger of your left hand make an L. that’s how i know.
the song was the best part of all this gibberish. the government says it has to keep teachers accountable. what other professions does the government keep accountable? yes, killing is bad. i guess i didn’t exactly say that, but it is.
@promisesunshine - no, that’s not what i meant. i was talking about how the government always justifies itself by saying everything is okay, calm down folks, “the radiation was at acceptable levels” type thing. yes, i get off topic occasionally. : )
@be_the_rain - let’s put the government next to the reactor and see how acceptable those levels are. and maybe give them regular health insurance too. and minimum wage.
you rock. That’s all I have to say. You gots guts and I love that. Your points are clear, concise, thoughtful, and honest. I agree with you about drones, I agree with you about religion.
Great for sure a good honest read.
No one has a corner on the entire truth. The other misconception that seems to be rampant in Washington, and in the state capitals, is what constitutes “the Greater Good”. Awlaki was a traitor and a monster, but it would have been better had he been captured and brought to trial here.
“Shades of Grey”, a wistful Barry Mann tune, was probably one of the Monkees’ better efforts.
I don’t know much about standardized testing. Surely there has to be a way to be sure that the schools are covering the basics, but I don’t think that the way funding is allotted makes any sense at all.
Damn, I thought we were supposed to be pretty much done with the war. That’s another thing that I don’t understand because I am not involved. War is never won. Sometimes the only thing we know to do is carry the fighting to another country in order to keep it out of our own, but there is no way to make war fair and sanitary.
Why do you go to church if you don’t believe in Christ?
Agreed with someone from above. There are two sides to everything.
Why not let missionaries do their job in exchange that they provide help for the country? A few conversations for lots of help sounds like a good exchange to me. I know everyone is touchy on the subject of religion, but if you’re just trying to survive, ANY help is better than no help.
I know killing is wrong, but how else should the government handle the situation on the attacks that took away thousands of lives? I wish I knew what was the right thing to do, but I don’t. What if there was a plan for another terrorist attack and we don’t know it? Negotiate? I’m not sure if there is anything they want from us.
And what if the government said radiation levels are not acceptable and everyone will die of radiation poisoning? How much chaos do you think will roam the street? Murder and rape will be at every corner. The government does what it needs to so society can be safe. Not everyone can handle the truth, or choose to do what’s right, or know what’s right. Nice entry, got me to think a lot about things.
my city college (i guess this is in every community college) makes students get tested in english and math despite what level you finished in high school (if you wrote a 5 paged essay in high school but your score got you in a class working on poetry due to poor grammar (which is actually pretty easy to freshen up in), then you might have to spend 5 years in city college). and if you score low they make you take a lot of prerequisites before you can actually take the transfer requirements and that’s how they get money.
so yeah i feel the same way about testing. but for math, not entirely. more on your side, but not totally. in my statistics class, i kinda beat the system. and even though i got one B, 4 C’s and an F (I think), i still got a B in the class. i’m guessing it’s because i did every single homework.but ask me something from that class, i’ll give you a blank stare.
on the what is right? morally, “a square does not have 3 sides just because you say it so.” but i know when i’m in situations that questions that everything seems to blur
I salute you for this amazing post. Wish I could recommend it again and again. ( about drones and missionaries and religion)
The first couple or three paragraphs reminded me of the paper I had to write and TALK about in my training program as a Pathology Resident. What does the word ‘Normal’ mean. Yeah, we could tear it into shreds, and still won’t get away from the range of different normals.
Sunshine, this was a fantastic post. Thank you.
I’d rather our children get an education that helps them become an
important part of the community than an education that cares how they
fill in circles. So I think the wrong here in this situation is the
testing itself and especially that a school district that is chock full
of kids from low income families is being judged the same as a district
full of wealthy families.
well said, there.
I pretty much agree with all of this, and you know I agree with the last part about missionaries.
Wonderful points! The older I get, the less I know and the less I can judge right and wrong. There just doesn’t seem to be an easy answer most of the time.
@lanney - I have a question. why does believing in Christ mean that everyone has to progress their belief in an overt way toward others? but, you already know I had that question. : P
VERY Good points! I would say though when it comes to preaching while they build the wells, they reception is so different there…it becomes like a family reunion with food,music & talking, not like stuffy services here. It winds up being a deeply earning experience for the Christian.
@plantinthewindow - Because if you actually believe it, not telling people about it is the same as sitting on the bank and watching them drown.
@lanney - yet, there are ways to go about it, other than “I will give you water, but only if you listen to my spill.” there’s an important verse – 1 Thessalonians 4:11 – Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you,
basically, Paul says to live by example, letting your life be a witness. the other way is disrespectful. the ends does not justify the means, or else wiping out people with drones is justified, etc, by analogy.
@plantinthewindow - I don’t see how it’s disrespectful to say, “This is the truth as I know it; this is the best I have to offer you.” The Bible says to spread the gospel. Living by example is vital as it gives a reason for people to listen to the gospel. But if they are not saved by works, then demonstrating how to behave is not enough.
BTW, Carrie, I am not trying to be antagonistic here, I just don’t understand. I see a lot of people saying that they are Christians, but they don’t care if anyone else is. With the version of Christianity I was taught, that’s like saying, “I believe it will kill me to jump off this 1,000 foot cliff, but I’m not going to offend anyone by trying to convince them it will kill them too.” I just don’t understand this new view of religion at all.
@lanney - well, then, anything anyone believes is fair game to live out on other people. Hey, I know you’re poor and starving, but you should be a Muslim. become a Muslim and I’ll give you water. the Muslims I know would give them water and not try to convert them. they love people as-is, as the beautiful humans they are.
of course, various faiths share their beliefs. anyone of any faith eventually shares their beliefs with those they know. Evangelizing in this context is basically disrespectful, in my view. but, it’s only my view. so, that and a quarter won’t even buy a cup of water for a thirsty person.
@plantinthewindow - I still don’t think anyone is saying, “Be a Christian and I’ll help you.” I think they’re saying, “This is the important stuff. This is part of how we want to help you.” Asking them not to share their faith is unreasonable, and since they believe it is the most important thing they have to give, why would they not re-channel resources to somewhere they are allowed to evangelize, and leave the areas where evangelizing is banned to the charities who don’t have an issue with that? That’s just an effort to maximize the good done.
I came from a pretty poor school district, and it was amazing how much better the bigger schools were…..at EVERYTHING. The did better academically and in all extra curricular things too…we couldn’t compete in ANY way.
I thought in public school everyone got the same education? But that’s not true at all. In public school we all take the same tests. It’s highly unlikely that every school with more money also JUST SO HAPPENED to have all the smarter students as well.
The year after I graduated, it was voted on and passed that the school be given funds to completely rebuild the school and do all sorts of other improvements…..they were basically given enough money to be one of the rich schools….and you know what happened? All of a sudden the football team started winning again and their test scores SOARED. They were still taking the same tests as everyone else….but all of a sudden the same kids were so much brighter? I don’t think so.
@lanney - @plantinthewindow - there lies the difference. i do not think there is only one right way. i think the assorted beliefs are too similar (and i haven’t done enough research on this to answer well) for my path to be the only one. being a churchgoer doesn’t change the kind of christian i am, lanney, but part of a community that soothes me as i’m doing it. that probably makes no sense, since i haven’t convinced you that i am a christian.
more important point here back to paths. heaven or perfection or god or something is in the center and there are all these roads in to there. (because why would we have such a place/entity be inaccessible?) one of those roads is my white bread presby. another road could be hindu or shinto or even catholicism (that was a joke). follow the road the way god intended and you get there. doesn’t even matter if you take side trips off that road or sometimes switch roads or even backwards, eventually you will get there if you get back on a path. and i’m not even saying that you have to have an organized religion guiding you. spouseman claims to be an athiest. (i know i shouldn’t say claims) he’s a good man, i’m not worried for his eternal soul. (he’s a better person than i am for all my instruction.)
anyhow. believing that there are many paths, why would i insist that my path is the only one.
@wretched_epiphany - from school to school in the same district, the education is not the same. i suppose that standardized testing is to even it out. ha. you have proved that this is not the case. that’s like saying if you bake cookies at 350 for 10 minutes, they will all turn out the same no matter what ingredients were put in. sorry that you missed the improvements in your high school, but thank goodness the money came in to help those after you. how a school looks/is organized and the equipment available make a huge difference in attitude.
@promisesunshine - I’ve tried to think the way you think and my mind just doesn’t work that way.
@plantinthewindow - yes, i do know that. i’m still thinking about an opportunity for me to prove myself. (which you don’t know about because i haven’t said anything. how cryptic is that)
@BoulderChristina - isn’t that crazy? it seems to me like we should get smarter as we get older. that the answers should be easier. but instead -darn it!- it becomes all the more obvious how much we have to learn.
@Kris0logy - i’ve never been, which is a problem for me. i just know that i would want to learn what they have to teach me rather than think i have the answers for them. there’s a trip to haiti in november. i’m thinking about it. (but i need the reason to go to be something other than i hate family thanksgivings)
We all have our own ways of doing things, and maybe some religions are different, but Christianity is pretty black and white. Either those things happened and Christ was who he said he was, or why even bother?
@stanlee255 - an eye for an eye leaves everyone blind. i watched the hatfields and the mccoys miniseries recently and i think it demonstrates just how crazy we can get with revenge or evening out situations. i doubt that negotiation is the answer either.
i’m not sure that i agree with you about the radiation. oh. katrina and the looting. perhaps i’m wrong. but if we treat people like they are intelligent, don’t we get a better result? rather than hiding the truth from people who are rational who then learn not to trust their government and other people learn that the masses are easily tricked so they go into public office to do just that.
see. you got me thinking more too. i need some flowers. thanks for your visit.
@RighteousBruin - our government and the “greater good” scares the bejeebers out of me. who are we to judge that one person’s value is more than another’s? i love the monkees, but that is one of my favorites.
@SisterMae - thanks.
@awoolham - i didn’t realize i was showing guts.
thanks for the mini and everything.
@f5ye_angel5 - i have no problem with testing in college. pretty sure i had to do some kind of pre-assessment for writing too. because not everyone gets the same education and the prof needs to have assurance that the class will be most beneficial. college isn’t public school.
@ZSA_MD - normal. it’s all subjective too. wouldn’t want to give a talk on that at all. thanks for the mini and the rec and the nice words.
@lanney - our thinking changes in all kinds of ways with our experiences and the people we meet and what we see and read. our thinking is part of what makes us individuals. so, don’t think like me.
think like you.
Re your comment on who is the real you: To misquote Walt Whitman, “So I contradict myself. Get over it. I’m complex. I contain multitudes.”
Re your issue on tests: I agree that testing all children the same is a waste. And the important aspects of teaching/learning are not found in tests.
Re your issue on drones: I agree. We should not be using drones until we have a dialogue and discussion on the definition of “sovereignty”. I am ashamed of my country for feeling that we can be the exception to international law. How would we feel if Mexico sent drones over to kill drug leaders in Arizona and also killed our civilians? We cannot continue with this attitude of Exceptionalism. And I am ashamed that my country isn’t even willing to disucuss this issue. (“It’s easier to ask forgiveness than it is to ask for permission.”)
Re your issue on religion: I agree. While trying to help people, we should not be trying to Westernize them at the same time. Nor should we be trying to change their culture. Nor should we be trying to change their beliefs. Their beliefs has nothing to with the help we are administering to them. That is not love when you will only interact with someone when you are trying to convert them. (And this comment is from a former “missionary” – a term which, like you, wish could be another word.)
Good Morning, I am not the deep thinker. You pursued some tough subjects and expressed your views well.
I don’t see much evidence of ethical thinking or behavior in our country, other than when some famous persons fails and the media expose him or her as a hypocrite. Sadly, the hypocrite demon resides in most of us to some degree. We learn early not to tell people the flat out truth about the way we think from the small things to the important.
I don’t know much about our educational system, but I see on TV news that the USA has declined significantly academically. There are many arguments about how this happened. II don’t know anything about standardized tests. I think there are many who don’t like tests in general. i was always tested in classes and i was given a grade. i was held back in 3rd grade for not learning basic math, and flunked out of college for a year once. There were standards and I understood them. I don’t know–looking back it seems fair. i suppose an across the board standardized test might not be suitable for the great kids I met in the inner city and wealthy suburban ones.
i don’t personally like the drones either. i think somewhere in the past 30 years, we have lost some basic principals for being a great nation. Personally, i think greed was been a major weakness–for rich and poor alike. We have put demands on government that it cannot afford. We have gone into wars to protect our interests and not our nation—like in WW2. I don’t like term limits—voters should be able to vote for the same person as long as they want. i don’t like free trade. The old tariff system that everyone seemed to hate kept companies in our nation rather than finding cheap labor overseas. I did not believe in deregulation. Our major corporation, especially multinational ones must me watched and for sure financial institutions.
Everyone should be able to live and practice their religious beliefs as long as they do not harm others. I became a Christian on Feb. 13, 1965. I did not become perfect for sure, but I was changed and when someone approaches me with a question about my faith, i tell them about Jesus. My wonderful Xanga family includes Buddhists, Muslims, Catholics, Protestants, Atheists, They treat me really well.
i wish we had a strong third party in our country, but I fear it would soon become like the two that we have.
Ethics is unavoidable, and I wish more people would take it seriously. Don’t stop thinking about it. Yes, there is a right and a wrong, it is unchanging, and it does not require a context.
It will help to read about Immanuel Kant’s Categorical Imperative. (Read about? It will not help actually to READ Kant, because he is too abstract to follow.) But if you google “Categorical Imperative,” you’ll find plenty of respectable discussions.
“Act only in accordance with that maxim through which you can at the same time will that it become a universal law.”
I agree with you about the drones. The people we target are not even responsible for the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks. They may have a similar aim or a similar training, but the events are separated by too much distance and time. Immanuel Kant asks whether we are going to will a maxim to become a universal law for everyone. In other words, do we intend for everybody to inflict robot death upon those who seem threatening?
I think not.
oooh girl….well done, well said.
@curiousdwk - we would call them terrorists. but when we do it, it’s for freedom. i’d like to hear your thoughts on the missionary position. (as you said, i’m complex. and at this moment i’m naughty.
also serious in the serious request. giggle. believe it or not.)
@ANVRSADDAY - frank, that is how it should be. talk about when asked, live it otherwise. as for education, i completely bombed my freshman year. i’m much smarter now. should be- that was nearly 30 years ago. i’m not wild about testing in general especially when it is used as the only thing. i’d much rather write a paper than take a test. i’m horrible with memorizing things.
@we_deny_everything - your telling me that i can’t understand Kant, makes me want to read the original. instead i will gratefully accept your advice and read about it. your quote there sounds a bit like “do unto others”- which is a great deal easier for me to deal with than the idea that my every behavior must reflect how i think everyone else should behave. but i will read and learn. thank you.
@Bricker59 - thank you.
honestly, thinking about all the “shades of grey” in morality is one of the things that lead me to agnostic/atheism. i was raised a christian, but there are so many things that the bible promotes that i don’t find to be moral, that i just saw less and less point in trying to re-interpret or explain or make excuses, and just embraced atheism and kept the good values that religion enforces. basically i saw it as, if you’re gonna pick and choose, you can do just that without a book or a church. it’s just one of the things that i disliked about it. but i do like the way you think and the way this was written! i think i share a lot of your views!
If it helps … I think you’re right
Always two sides to everything and so hard to find the middle meeting place.
I am at the age where i simply do not tolerate all of the have to get along with certain people anymore. Life is just to short and the free time I have outside of my apt. when caregivers are with TD, is spent in the woods away from people and just surrounded by the peace and serenity of Mama Nature.
Standardized tests are completely stupid. I’m honestly glad that I’ve grown up in Canada and have never had to take the SATs. As well, the one required test in grade twelve is an English provincial which is mostly based on creativity and interpretation. It’s a good test.
@Grannys_Place - i hear that. you’ve certainly earned that right, in my opinion. there are times when i’d prefer to live on a deserted island.
@breaking_expectations - if you mean the tests to get into college, i have no problem with those exactly because they benefit the student directly. the achievement tests that test the school do not benefit the students. in my opinion, anyhow. i didn’t know that canada does not have achievement tests. amazing how different our two countries are.
@Nushirox2 - sure. i like for people to agree with me. i have children, it doesn’t happen often in real life.
@Insomnia_Pickles_XtraTomato - i intensely dislike the old testament. those people suck.
@promisesunshine - yeah that is true. there are professors who complain that they get students that they can’t believe they even let out of high school.
I know very little about life in general but one idea I am trying to abide by of late is that if I care about someone the relationship is far more important than who is right in a given situation. It also strikes me that there are cultures who believe primarily in revenge and others that believe primarily in forgiveness. There are still others who speak of forgiveness but practice revenge. I am afraid that our culture, at least as the USA’s government behaves is one that speaks of forgiveness and practices revenge. For example, I agree with you (although you didn’t exactly say this about “collateral damage) that the rest of the world has probably suffered enough for 9/11. It is also interesting that one fellow in Nürnberg “a guide” told me that the city was bombed they said by mistake. (Flawed intelligence was the reason given.) Most Germans believe it was an intentional lesson, although perhaps a deserved lesson) for the city serving as the seat of Hitler’s rise to power.
Concerning standardized testing I must say that it is a concept with many flaws. One main flaw is that it ignores the reality that children do not grow and develop in lock step but as erratic as the boulders on a mountain. Please allow me an analogy. Each measurement at the end of a grade is based on the assumption that a child learns at the same pace each year. Now think of a footrace that lasts for 12 school years. Some runners lead the race early on and fade in the middle stages to end up near last place. Others begin with a slow pace and run like hell the last few laps and win going away. Just a note. Did you know that the entire procedure of statistical analysis of standardized testing was modeled after procedures used to measure milk production in dairy cattle? I have carried on far to long here but will close to let you know that I am a firm believer in “situational ethics.” If you are not familiar with the term google it or Joseph Fletcher.
PS My wife is reading 50 Shades of Grey
@vexations - children are not cows. i didn’t know that about standardized test analysis. i knew there was something very wrong about it. great analogy too. i’ll look up situational ethics. the name sounds like something i’d agree with.
i think the US also practices the trick of arguing loudest when in the wrong.
i especially agree that the relationship is more important than who is correct. at least in theory. sometimes i veer from the path.
@vexations - how do you feel about her reading material? i had a discussion with someone who said that some men (i guess) think that these books are a clue into what women want. your thoughts?
hmmm well. the truth, huh? I’d tell you but I’ve only got fifteen percent laptop power and fading fast. I think I need a new battery. seriously, though, it’s certainly an interesting thought. great post. I am largely in agreement with you.