Getting angry

I'm pondering the students around me in the Student Union—OK that's unfair because these are the lunch bunch and the time-wasters on the day before Thanksgiving—and I've got conflicting thoughts.

Ever since Plato and Aristotle, teachers have been lamenting that today's crop of students are lazy, useless drunks. Go back to Brideshead Revisited and you see a classic example from the 1920s. University professors are always frustrated because we are idealists and our students aren't. At least not in the departments we value.

But I need to get angry, get sharp(er) and demand excellence. I need to expect it, even of the Ashland football players. And I need to stop rewarding mediocrity. At least in Ashland the trend is started. Only about half to two-thirds of my students will pass the class, and that's because the others didn't show up, didn't turn stuff in, and didn't develop the skills necessary to write on a level appropriate to a high school graduate.

Next step? Ask for more, especially of the more able Akron crowd.

While I'm getting angry ("energized" would probably be a better word), it's time to sharpen up some other areas of life. Housekeeping. Mentoring Jared. Involvement in church. Why shouldn't I/we strive for excellence and become angry when we accept less?