Why Not Earn A 1.0 Teacher Rating?

A Learners’ View (ALV) Is Of Choices On The Shortest And Fastest Path To Learning, The Oxygen Of Social Life.

U.S. NAVY CAPTAIN (LATER ADMIRAL) HYMAN RICKOVER asked young, future U.S President Jimmy Carter if he always did his best at the Naval Academy. The question came at the end of a screening interview for appointment as senior Naval officer of the crew of the Sea Wolf, one of the first two U.S. atomic submarines.

When Carter answered, “No sir, I did not always do my best.” Rickover, who always looked Carter in the eyes without smiling, asked, “Why not?” Carter said that question left him in a cold sweat. Subsequent work with the admiral, Carter said, had more influence on his life than anyone except his parents. Once appointed, Carter and another officer took enlisted men from simple fractions through differential equations within a year. They combined theoretical studies with practical applications in the building of the first nuclear propulsion components.

Few Captain or Admiral Rickovers exist in education. I have met several and seen others depicted in movies and on television, including public and private school classroom teachers and administrators. They smiled, though, as they looked people in the eye. They shared a resolve for the best in preschools, K12 schools, as well as universities and consulting organizations. They made their standards clear and assess the extent to which individuals meet or exceed those standards.

Graduate students in education decades ago labeled these assessments as drawing and analyzing a pint of their blood before graduation, that is evaluating academic and personal performance in order to prepare letters of recommendations for employment later.

Why don’t more educators share this resolve with or without personal mannerisms? Do educators excuse rather than not accept less that the best of colleagues and students? Do educators just expect that people always do their best in classrooms? Do boards of education and school administrators provide the kind of support that results in teachers and learners doing their best day in and day out, irrespective of surrounding conditions?

One middle school teacher told readers of a local newspaper opinion column that his contract does not say he has to do his best in the public school system and no one hold him accountable to do so.

But, the Admiral’s question of Carter seems relevant for every teacher. Why do you not always do your best, that is, why have you not earned recognition as a 1.0 Teacher?

References

Carter, J. (1975). Why not the Best? Why One Man is Optimistic about America’s Third Century. Nashville, TN: Broadband Press.