Excellence

The American Heritage dictionary defines excellence as he state, quality, or condition of excelling; superiority. I do agree with this definition, yet I feel that the common use of the word is much different. People use the word excellent to describe something done well, but I don’t believe that this is the correct use. Excellence is something done above and beyond the required effort; its something amazing. Based on how I view excellence I don’t believe students are cheating to achieve excellence, they are doing so just to get by.
In a society that demands so much out of students, it’s very easy to get wrapped up in the competition for the top spot of the class. I do not believe that these are the people that are using cheating to get ahead in school. The people that use cheating to get ahead are merely trying to get by, or gain some recognition. I see no correlation with most students cheating and their desire to do something excellent. Though I do not believe that the students cheat to gain recognition, there are definitely people that do break the rules to try to make a name for themselves.
In Nancy Gibbs’, “Reading Between the Lies: A young reporter who stole and made up stories forces the New York Times to take stock,” she talks about how a young African American reporter had been stealing and falsifying stories in order to get ahead. I don’t believe that he had any other desire than to make a name for himself, and that desire was enough for him to break the rules and risk everything for a chance at it. This is an example of how the desire for people to be deemed excellent by other s can potentially ruin your career and consume your life. There is an example of this in one of the greatest movie series of all time, Star Wars.
Young Anakin Skywalker had such a strong desire to be the best; he risked, and lost, everything he had. Skywalker was a Jedi Knight, a protector of the republic, who had been trained in the ways of the force. It was clear from early on that he was going to be a great Jedi one day, who would be destined for great things. It was not long before Skywalker had lost his respect for the republic and began his overthrow. With the help of the Sith Lord Darth Serious, Anakin began he quest to overthrow the Jedi Order, giving up everything he cared for just for power. He did eventually succeed which made him the ruler of the galaxies. I guess what my point it that the desire for excellence can consume people, which is definitely a negative effect.

Gibbs, Nancy (2003). Reading Between the Lies 1-2.
TimePuka, Professor Bill (2005). Student Cheating Liberal Education 32-35

Education

Some people say that education is the corner stone of society. It’s difficult to argue this because everything is essentially taught to us through some form of education. Whether it’s learning to walk, talk, or read, education is no doubt important for the interaction and survival mankind, but where should we draw the line? Is spending 18 year of our lives in school really worth it? I believe that education has grown into something that is no longer justifiable. We live in a society that glorifies the educated and many people have another 4 years of schooling to complete after high school just to get a decent job. People are getting so wrapped up in their schooling that they are looking only to the future and never to the present. They were never taught to "seize the day" which I believe is even more important than most of the information they teach you in high school. In Mark Twain's, Two Ways of Seeing the River, he speaks about how the river is a wonderful book, which was dead language to the uneducated. I believe that the education he speaks of is different from what most people associate the word with. He is talking about the ability just to sit back and take in the world for what it is; to be able to live in the moment and do what makes you truly happy. As schooling becomes more and more competitive and people are either forced to compete or just give up, the language he speaks of dies. There is so much more in the world than being able to do calculus, or interpret poetry; there is happiness that eludes far too many. In, The Dead Poet Society, Neil Perry gets a taste of this happiness. After being inspired to "seize the day" by his teacher, Mr. John Keating, Neil tries out for a local play. This was a big deal because he had been attending a prestigious private school that chose not to recognize the independence of its students. For the first time in his life, Neil was just overwhelmed with happiness; you could tell something had changed just by looking at his face. In the conclusion of the movie Neil’s father found out that he had been acting without permission and chose to enroll him in military school so he could never act again. The only option that Neil saw to get out of this predicament was suicide. He would rather kill himself then loose the feeling that he got from acting. I believe that Neil finally realized that there is more to life than school. Don't get me wrong, there is definitely a positive side of school, but who says it has to be so time consuming? In, How I Discovered Words: A Homemade Education, Malcolm X talks about how he learned to read. While he was in prison, he found himself with more time than he knew what to do with, so he taught himself to read. Through sheer will power, Malcolm X had copied an entire dictionary and perfected his new reading skills. In this case, reading is what made Malcolm happy, and through his newer, more educated self, he accomplished amazing things for the civil rights movement. I guess my point is that you do not have to spend a quarter of your life in school to do great things; if you want something bad enough, you'll figure out how to get it. We have far too little time on this planet to spend the first 20 years of our lives in school. The modern education standard is making it harder and harder to live for the moment. There is no reason we should get rid of schooling, after all that is what makes us a civilized people, but there needs to be something done. An electrician has no need for perfect grammar, and a grammar teacher has no need for calculus. Schooling becomes more and more essential for a good paying job and I do not foresee that changing in near future.


Works Cited
Dead Poet Society. Dir. Peter Weir. Perf. Robin Williams, Robert Leanard. DVD. ToucheStone Pictures, 1989.
Twain, Mark. Two Ways of Seeing the River.
X, Malcolm, and Alex Haley. How I Discovered Words.

Personal Statement

Personal Statement
I believe that I would be the perfect person for the farmhand position. I have always enjoyed working with my hands, and being the son of a farmer has allowed me to do such work. Working on a farm for a lot of my life has instilled in me a hard work ethic along with a positive work attitude. I would gladly do a day of hard farm work over a day of easy desk work anytime just for that sense of accomplishment that I get at the end.
Throughout the last eighteen years of my life I have developed a good sense of self discipline and a hard work ethic. I have always excelled at managing my time and rarely get a job done late. I do not plan to be a farmer for the rest of my life; however, I am just hoping to make some money to help me pay for my college education. I will be attending the University of Minnesota for a degree in environmental science. Working on a farm would increase my self discipline, which would help me in the long run.
I believe that I amt he perfect applicant for this job because of my past farm experience. I spent a summer working on a farm last year and really learned a lot of applicable new skills. I am comfortable using machinery and am a quick learner. I chosen, I would make a great addition to your operation. I looking forward to this opportunity and would like to hear from you soon.

Cover Letter

Brock Rysdahl
105 George Street
Marshall, MN 56258
Phone: (507) 532-7259
rysdahl@live.com


Saturday, April 05, 2008


Paul Rysdahl
Partner
Rysdahl Farms
Clarkfield, MN, 56223


Dear Mr. Rysdahl:

Through the use of this letter, I would like to announce my desire to return to Rysdahl Farms for another summer of employment. I am sure we both agree that I was a hard worker last year and after you have reviewed my enclosed resume, you will surely agree that I am fully qualified to fill the farm hand position for another summer.

My employment at your farm last summer helped me acquire a number of new skills, all of which should be useful in this coming summer. Also, my employment at kmart has furthered my sense of time management and my ability to work independently. I feel that I will be able to get even more work done this summer and I am ready for the opportunity.

I look forward to hearing from you as soon as possible.

Sincerely,


Brock Rysdahl

Resume

Brock Rysdahl
105 George Street, Marshall, MN 56258
Phone: (507) 532-7259 <rysdahl@live.com>

Objective:
To work as a farm hand at Rysdahl Farms throughout the summer of 2008.

Education:
Senior at Marshall Senior High School, Marshall, Minnesota (graduation June 1st, 2008)

• MHS Honor Roll 2004-2008
• Graduating with honors.

Activities and Skills:

• MHS Marching band (2004-2007)
• MHS Jazz band (2004-2008)
• Track and Field (2004-2007)

Work Experience:

• Kmart Sales Associate, Kmart, Marshall, MN, January 2006-present. Kmart has taught me how to deal with customers. Also, I have acquired a good sense of independence and time management as a result of having to get my work done by the given time frame.
• Farm hand, Rysdahl farms, MN. Employed as a farm hand and did work ranging from construction to feeding turkeys. I have learned to operate some large pieces of machinery and am comfortable learning new jobs.

References: Available upon request

Exercise 45-46

Exercise 45

• A summer job that involves manual labor to help promote physical fitness, and also a sense of indepence while working.
• Farm Hand-Works on random projects around a farm place.
• Skills required-Able to stay on task, physical endurance, learns quickly
• Current Skills-I feel that i meet all required skills because I have worked on a farm last summer break.

Exercise 46

1. Marshall Senior High School, Marshall MN
2. May, 2008
3. Graduating with honors, wide variety of courses of all difficulties.
4. Save for Activities and Skills
5. Marching band, track and field, 4-h, jazz band
6. Sales Associate-Kmart in Marshall, Farm Hand-Rysdahl Farms in Minnesota