I Don't Understand

K was watching one of her LSU-Miami shows last night and one of the forensic/science-types quit the show (the character did) because he said something like, "I don't understand anything any longer. I can't make sense of it." That resonated with me. I don't understand anything any longer and I can't make sense of it.

Take, for instance, how we honor, reward, etc., well, practically everyone. There are no standards, no benchmarks (oh, how I hesitated to use that word!). We just give our honors and rewards. It's as if we give out such things to make ourselves feel better. Look at all of the schools that are "National Exemplary Schools" or "Blue Ribbon Schools." If there were that many such schools, there wouldn't be an education crisis. (And, to be honest, a teacher from one of those schools, when I asked how this came about, honestly replied, "We did the paperwork." Yep.) Note that it's usually the most mediocre teachers who get the "teacher of the year" awards. The best science teachers, the best math teachers, etc. that I ever worked with, all heads and shoulders above the others, never received anything, diddly. Halls of Fame? Where to start, with the big name halls or the local ones? We have dumbed down those, too.

A week or so ago, we were playing a game one evening at a social gathering. I had played the game before, but this had a new twist to it. When we played it last week, the rules made it so, on any given hand, there might be no losers. Originally, when I played it before then, each hand had at least one person who lost. That added a dimension to the game. But not last week, when into the game I noticed that the number of tricks claimed equaled the number of cards dealt (so there would be no losers) the others told me that was the way it was supposed to be. When I explained the above, "Oh, no. Oh no." I was told. I just burst out, among teachers, "Oh, everybody wins!" They all nodded and said, "Now you get it." After a few seconds another caught on to my sarcasm and then another and then....

This is what we've become. Rewarding mediocrity. Demanding that their be no losers. Etc. And don't forget gov't. It rewards bad behavior and, in fact, encourages it. And those who have behaved well? They are punished for it by paying the ill-behaved.

Of course, all of this is done in the name of being "fair."

Isn't all this great?