ed·u·cate – – verb \ˈe-jə-ˌkāt\ – ed·u·cat·eded·u·cat·ing –
Definition of EDUCATE;
transitive verb
1 a : to provide schooling for b : to train by formal instruction and supervised practice especially in a skill, trade, or profession
2 a : to develop mentally, morally, or aesthetically especially by instruction b : to provide with information : inform
3 : to persuade or condition to feel, believe, or act in a desired way
intransitive verb
: to educate a person or thing
Examples of EDUCATE
1. Parents trust schools to educate their children.
2. The job of our public schools is to educate.
Origin of EDUCATE
Middle English, to rear, from Latin educatus, past participle of educare to rear, educate, from educere to lead forth — more at educe
First Known Use: 15th century
Quote~
Reading after a certain (time) diverts the mind too much from its creative pursuits. Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking.
– Albert Einstein
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Ok. For now I I am going to pick a word. And speak to the topic centered around the word. I have to be ambiguous in citing my examples so bear with me….
As a consultant that supports Higher Education it never fails to surprise me the spectrum of differences perceived and interpreted by various American institutions. For example today, it was asserted that educating students to a certain business process is not possible. With this I completely disagree.
I have had the opportunity in previous positions to place expectations on students. The various expectations came with a varying levels of education that was required to empower the student/s to achieve a successful outcome. In every instance the students never failed. Whats further, the more difficult the expectation the more creative and dedicated were the associated students in completing the task. This isn’t to say that each and every student was successful, rather the majority of them gained success. And even in the simplest way I would assert that nearly 95% of the time a measure of growth was encountered and to me that is success as one was more educated than they previously were.
It intrigues me that sometimes we set our expectations so low. I believe that it was Albert Einstein that said, “The reason that Higher Education squabbles in politics so well is because they have set their expectations too low.” I commonly find that the Ivory Tower philosophies do not believe or allow for success to be achieved by just anyone, it is something that should be reserved for a specified few. This has changed to some degree as education has become more available especially if you consider the American demographics over the past 30-40 years. It seems to me however, although the acceptance of the larger scale of people granted access to acquiring a specific degree from an American University, it still remains highly discriminatory to whom may be truly education in many of the disciplines currently peddled by the coffers esteemed eligible to share their knowledge and peddle it as Higher Education.
I do not mean to say that there is not a lot of good education happening in America at various levels. Many knowledge transfer practitioners, we’ll refer to them as faculty, are wonderful in the classroom and engage students in a manner that attracts said students to fill their seats day in and day out. There are however, unfortunately many that settle for the bastardized and now accepted definition of tenure. I say this because tenure was by philosophy established to protect the persons that may employ a version of knowledge sharing in a method that may not be liked or accepted by their peers….This is probably an unknown concept for many new to this world. They believe in contrast that length of service is the heaviest and most defining attribute that qualifies one for the esteemed position of ‘Tenured’ faculty. By the time many of these person achieve the noted title they are too tired to continue to educate or sometimes worse believe that people must achieve a certain distinguished title to also be so privileged to receive from their fountains.
I digress, it appears to me that a transition of philosophy is about to occur strongly in Higher Education. I suspect this will be driven first by the students that are no longer interested in the currently acceptable version of tenure and demand something better. In the transition from the Industrial Era to the Information Age, many people have been too involved to participate in the transition. THis failing economy that is appearing more to return to the halls of community colleges and other venues I believe will push this transition and accelerate the process. To be honest, many students don’t need to fill a chair to listen to a human that will recite the same information they can find elsewhere whether online, from another book, another person or any other venue. This is the tragedy that typically occurs in too many lower level undergraduate classrooms. This non-disciplined delivery of course material is pathetic and breeds the corporate mentality of producing rote skills that mindless robots are able to do. This causes many to not think creatively nor engage their minds or bodies in tasks or exercise that empower them to become educated. Further, it lowers expectations and disallows minds to become free in the pursuit and gathering of knowledge.
My hope is that once this transition catalyzes further, then those minds that are strong can come together and model and develop the next phase of education. I believe delivery mechanisms are tools to assist in this movement and transition but not the sole tool that will be employed to affect the final outcome. The student participants and the administration will have to relearn how to trust that it doesn’t matter where an idea or potential solution is found, rather it is in the pursuit of that concept where the learning process and ultimate knowledge will be discovered and wielded for the good of humanity (yes, and not just reserved to academia).
Anyway, I had a great dinner at a little place called Posto’s in New Rochelle New York. [http://www.posto22.com/menus.html]
Ambiance: mid-level, nice familial but not over presumptuous
Cuisine: Italian
Cost: approx 36 bux whole ticket (1 person)
Thoughts: I ordered an entree :FLORENTINE over sautéed spinach in a lemon white wine sauce topped with mozzarella. It came with a side of Penne pasta. Well, the sauces were exquisite. After watching Master Chef, I am glad there are chefs that care and try and love what they do. The service was typical in New York fashion where the ladies catered to ordering and keeping the table and the males served and retrieved finished dishes. The waitress managed a table of 8 with no mistake and only presented herself when needs were about to be asked. I was impressed although our waitress got held up with another group when our group of 8 was ready for the bill. Other than that, it was a nice quaint joint in New Rochelle New york. I’d recommend it to those that want a mid budget good meal in a venue where it feels out of the city, but not away from home. I can’t say enough about the sauce. The Penne was to die for and it was only Penne. I know, can’t be true right. Give it a shot.
Cheers!
#2010 #Personal
