One of the members of our teaching staff shared this cartoon with me in my morning email. At first I got a chuckle out of it, then I began to wonder if there is any truth to it. Just look at the child's face in the 1960 version and then look at him in 2010.
I think the perception (in this cartoon) is that teachers award grades to students instead of students earning the grades on their report cards. I often wonder how that concept may have changed. Does our society really oil the squeaky wheel? When do we take responsibility for our outcomes? Is there always someone else to blame for our grades, the weather, national debt or the fact that Dancing with the Stars eliminated the wrong couple (my wife watches it).
It seems like ownership is a convenience in our society not a responsibility. Don't get me wrong, at times I am no better than the next guy, but I think our society should take more ownership in who we are, what we do and how we do it. With that, I would like to share this quote:
The greater danger is not that our hopes are too high and we fail to reach them. It's that they are too low, and we do.
- Michelangelo
Have a great day everybody!
I agree with what you are saying completely. I had a staff member share with me that the cartoon rings pretty true with him. He was a 4th grade student in 1960 and is a teacher in 2010. Taking ownership is important, whether you are owning a mistake or an accomplishment.
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