The 80% Rule and Mediocrity
One of my interests outside of teaching is music, specifically playing the guitar. Actually, I play guitar, bass, and am attempting to learn the Dobro as well. I like bluegrass music and am working on playing all the instruments in the band, I suppose.
I read blogs and articles about music and playing the guitar, and found some articles by Jamie Andreas. I’m not sure who Andreas is, but here’s a quote from an article that just smacks of truth to me:
It is relatively easy to achieve about 80% of anything. It is relatively easy to develop ourselves to about 80% of proficiency in any field we may choose. If you want to become a computer programmer, a business person, own a restaurant, be a carpenter, be a musician, anything, you can study it, get experience, and become “functional.” Most people that bother to develop something useful (and most do, being forced as we are to “make a living”) achieve this level.
But to become really good, to start to rise above, and noticeably so, the average person doing what you do, THAT takes a whole different kind of effort, and a whole lot more of it. Most people do not do this in their particular field. Most people really are, when it comes down to it, content with doing what they “must,” and keeping their standards and goals low enough to avoid too much demand and discomfort. That is why the age-old lament of all employers is “you just can’t find good help anymore.” Yes, because the #1 goal of most people is to DO as little as possible and GET as much as possible. That is the formula for mediocrity.
To put it simply, it is easy to be mediocre, that is why so many people are achieving it
I first became aware of the 80% rule from read Scott Adams’s blog–he’s the author of the Dilbert cartoons–and I think there’s a great deal of truth to it. It’s easy to be mediocre, but to be good, or excellent, takes a lot of work. Getting back to Andreas’s article:
Closing in on that last 20%, well, that separates the men from the boys, as they say. Here is the thing to understand: every step forward and upward required to move past the common crowd will most likely require as much as ALL the effort previously put out. The higher we climb, the more we must exert for every inch gained, but every inch is precious, and worth more than everything before it. The gap between 99% to 100% is, in fact, infinite. Yes, the real polish, the real excellence, comes only to those deeply committed to it.
I think about this in relation to playing the guitar, being a student, or being a teacher, and I’m certain of the truth in it.
Feratisms
Turns out the teacher next door to me has a blog. I had no idea. Anyway, I’ve included his blog in my links. I have no idea why the heading for my links says “5604″ instead of “Links,” but that’s the way it is, I suppose. Anyway, Dan’s a great guy, check out his blog and leave him some comments to encourage him to post more frequently. I think he’ll write more if he knows people are reading.
NWP and Ranting
I went to a meeting this weekend at Rutgers for the National Writing Project. I’m not sure that what they shared with me they couldn’t have done via e-mail or a letter, but it was nice to see those folks again. I’m excited about working with them, and also have set up someone to carpool the 100-mile round trip commute it will be each day. That’ll be nice.
Anyway, my rant is that yesterday the tech. people at my school let us all know that we have to turn in our laptops over the summer, and that will be standard policy from here on out. What a stupid idea! Many teachers use their laptops over the summer to prepare for the school year. And I need it for the NWP this summer. I’m hoping that the huge backlash that will hit them from the entire staff will make them reconsider, but not too happy about it.
I guess I’m just lucky that my school issues me a laptop to begin with, so maybe I should be too upset. How about you? Do your school districts issue laptops to teachers? Do you get to keep them over the summer?
