November 22.1991 SMALL TALK Page. 5
Teaching
By Example
by Pamela Phillips
Everyone has heard the adage, "people learn by example," and it is hard to disa
gree with the idea that human beings gain knowledge, insight, and even morality by
watching others and following the examples that others set.
I am reminded of an event from my early childhood that has had a major impact
on my general outlook on life. 1 was in our car with my parents and my family was
about to leave for a vacation, but my parents needed to stop at the bank first. We
drove up to the drive-thru window and my father withdrew money. When we left, my
mother counted the money to make sure it was all there. What she found was quite re
markable. The teller had given them several hundred dollars too much.
Some people would have been delighted, but my parents did the "right thing" and
immediately went back to the bank. I'm sure the New Martinsville Bank had never
experienced such an event. Someone was actually giving money back to them. Right
now, many of you are probably thinking, "Gosh, this girl must have really stupid par
ents!" Well, my reply to that is, no, I have really teirific parents. They taught me that
when someone makes an honest error, whether to your favor or theirs, you correct it.
Believe me, if the teller had ripped them off, they would have turned around just as
quickly.
But what does all this have to do with you? I can't preach morals to you or claim
to be a saint, but I can share my feelings with you on this type of issue. We can all sit
around and complain about the rising crime rate and how bad things are in the world
today, but the simple fact is this; WE ARE THE WORLD TODAY, everything that
we do influences others. If we all worked a little harder at changing our own lives, in
stead of expecting everyone else to do all the work, maybe, just maybe it would make
a difference.
Forgive me for sounding like Bill Murray in his closing statements in Scrooged,
but there is a lot that we can do to change the world around us. It may not make a bit
of difference to someone in Iowa that Methodist College students are good people, but
for those of us here, it means everything. College isn’t an easy time for a lot of peo
ple, but it doesn't have to be a nightmare either.
I applaud my parents for the way they raised me, for teaching me right from
wrong. Now it is my turn to set an example. It is your turn, too.
SMALL TALK
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Tara Cashwell, Cheryl D. Chambers, Jeannie
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So Who Said I
Letter To The Editor Was Being Ironic?
Dear Editor:
Senior-Welcome to the real world! We were very disturbed by your letter print
ed in our last school newspaper. You did not use accurate examples against the teach
er you wrote about-we know because we are in this class also. We strongly disa
greed with your remarks and believe they were unsubstantiated! It was regrettable that
your letter turned public opinion against an experienced and knowledgeable teacher.
We struggle in some of our classes but we have one goal, a college education-
don't you? The work can be lime consuming, however, as a senior, haven't you had
similar out-of-class work assignments before?
Where is teacher-student respect? We believe there was none in this case.
Margaret Weaver
Bobby Hardin
Nicole DeKoning
by Ann Morris
The faculty at Methodist College is insensitive to the needs of the upperclassmen. We
have told you that we are unhappy with the new grading system, and you listen, but
you don't understand what we are saying. 1 would like to take this opportunity to tell
you what we are REALLY saying. We are in favor of the new grading system. We
understand that it will motivate the students to work harder, and we're in favor of
working harder. But we want a grandfather clause in the grading system so that those
of us who have been here for three years, getting an "A" for "A-" work, can continue
to do so. Why can't we continue to slide by on a 90? It's worked for us so far. We’re
all for student motivation, but we want someone else to do it. Motivate the freshmen,
not us.
After all, letting someone else do it is an American institution, so we need to start
practicing now when we’re still young. That way, we’ll be ready to stand up at city
council meetings and say, "Sure, I'm in favor of drug rehabilitation centers, but Not In
My Back Yard. Sure, I’m in favor of equal opportunity programs, but not if they take
my job." In fact, this attitude is so prevalent in our society that we actually have a
name for it-the NIMBY syndrome.
Unless you capitulate to our demands, we will continue to boycott classes. In fact, we
will continue to resist any attempts you make to educate us until you agree to let us go
back to the old system of just getting by. And if that doesn't work, we will all hold
our breath until we turn blue.