Fox, Michael J. Excellence

Hoff, Benjamin. The Crooked Tre, pp. 1

Wikipedia
Retrieved from the Web April 29, 2006.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plagiarism

Many people believe that excellence means trying your best and never giving up. Giving it your all in everything you do is a great way to achieve excellence. But some people strive for excellence only to reach their goal of perfection. When you give it your all and try your best what else is there to offer. Your best is never going to be perfect, thats why perfection is out of reach to humanity. But never giving up is what defines excellence from perfection. Perfection is unattainable, but excellence is achievable thats why people do their best to accomplish excellence. People who believe that the true meaning of excellence is perfection set their standards to high. They try their best and give it their all but ultimately never reaching perfection, which can sometimes result in cheating.
Plagiarism is the common result of setting standards to high, and not being able to achieve those standards. 'Plagiarism is the practice of claiming or implying original authorship of (or incorporating material from) someone else's written or creative work, in whole or in part, into one's own without adequate acknowledgment.' (Wikipedia) Plagiarizing is not only unfair to other students but to those who the ideas were stolen from. Plagiarizing is started to become more and more common as information is more easy to obtain. When you cheat you are only hurting yourself. Yeah you got your homework done but thats not the point. The point is, education is not to just to get your homework done and handed in on time but to learn and by cheating you are not learning anything. Plagiarizing is a high offense in college and could result in automatic failure. So if you plan to plagiarize think about the consequences and do the right thing.
In the story 'The Crooked Tree' by Benjamin Hoff a man does not know what to do with his useless tree. Another man replied "It is useless to you only because you want to make it into something else and do not use it in its proper way." To me excellence is trying your best, giving it your all and using an idea or item in it's proper way. When you use an idea in its proper way your are taking advantage of what the idea has to offer. Of course your not going to find the proper use of an item right away, but thats why you never give up and keep trying. In doing so your are achieving excellence.
So excellence, to me, means to never give up, and using things in its proper way. But be careful not confuse perfection with excellence. Excellence is obtainable, perfection is not. But strive to be the best you can be and also be careful not to take things out of hand and resort to cheating or plagiarism. You are not learning anything by cheating, in fact cheating is the exact opposite of excellence in my mind. "I am careful not to confuse excellence with perfection. Excellence, I can reach for; perfection is God's business." (Michael J. Fox)

Education means to ‘draw out’. Drawing things out simply means taking complicated thoughts and ideas and translating them into easier forms, or more simply learning. Many people today think that education is school, and that the only way you can get an education is going to school or post-secondary school. Though that is true, what about the period before your first day of school, and the time after you receive your Bachelor’s Degree in college, you don’t go to school for those periods. Again education simply means learning and you start learning from the moment you enter this world and you still continue to learn whether you realize it or not. Learning experiences don’t always happen in the classroom. “We think we learn from teachers, and sometimes we do. But the teachers are not always to be found in school or in great laboratories. Sometimes what we learn depends upon our own powers of insight.” (Eiseley, 167).

In the essay How I Discovered Words: A Homemade Education by Malcolm X and Alex Haley they talk about being able to learn how to read and write by yourself. A man imprisoned in the Norfolk Prison Colony became frustrated at not being able to express what he wanted to convey in letters that he wrote. So the best thing he could was get a hold of a dictionary. Then he started to handwrite each letter starting with the A’s. Then came the B’s and so on until eventually it became the whole dictionary. He would then read his handwriting back to himself aloud. Through this technique he taught himself how to read and write. This is only one of many examples where learning experiences can happen anywhere. Which means you can learn from almost every experience that life has to offer.

In the movie Dead Poets Society, John Keating the new English teacher at Welton Academy encourages his students to focus on carpe diem which is Latin for ‘seize the day’. At the very beginning the students begin to realize that they’re never going to learn a thing from this crazy teacher. But ultimately Keating teaches the boys the life lessons he wanted to impart to them through poetry will be taken to heart. These boys didn’t realize what a great opportunity they were offered until it was to late. Sometimes you learn through experiences you never thought you could. That’s why you should live life to the fullest.

If you live life to the fullest you’ll never miss out on an opportunity you wanted to take. Therefore, you are learning most of what life has to offer. So mainly, education is living life to fullest, and living life without any regrets. That means accepting every opportunity that is offered and using those experiences to the fullest.

Eiseley, Loren. "The Hidden Teacher." Seeing Metaphors 21 April 2008:
167-169.

X, Malcolm, with Haley, Alex. "How I Discovered Words: A Homemade Education." Seeing Metaphors 21 April 2008: 187-189.

Weir, Peter. "The Dead Poets' Society." Touchstone Pictures: 1989

Growing up around fast food I knew that I would end up working in the food service business. I’ve been quite interested in working in food service ever since middle school. I was finally offered a job at McDonald's where I worked as a cashier. Although I only worked there for several months I learned a great deal about being a disciplined worker.

As a cashier my main duties were to take orders and prepare the customers trays for them. I generally excel in faster working environments, mainly because I feel more comfortable working in these conditions. I am a very fast learner and pay close attention when receiving important information. My other duties were janitorial duties. I would make a routine check of the lobby and make sure it was spotless. The routine check would usually include wiping tables, sweeping, collecting trays, emptying garbage’s, and mopping.

In order to be a cashier you have to have good people skills, such as keeping eye contact, being friendly, reasonable, and cooperative. Being a member in a great youth group has allowed me to develop these skills greatly. I have also developed great listening skills from weekly sermons and tend to use all of these skills to the fullest. In the food service business you have to deal with all sorts of characters, some more kind than others. Those who aren’t so friendly are difficult to deal with but with my prior work history I have dealt with a handful of disgruntled customers. A win-win solution is always the best way to solve a conflict-resolution, and I can assist in finding a win-win solution.

I should be chosen for this position because I can only benefit your business, and I will bring a good attitude and swagger to work everyday, along with a handful of useful skills and a smile.

David Moua
1229 East Fairview St. Apt. A
Marshall, MN 56258
Phone: (507)929-1044
Email: vay_moua08@hotmail.com





April 3, 2008


Macalister College
Cashier
1600 Grand Ave. Campus Center
St. Paul, MN 55105

Dear Macalister College:

I am responding to your cashier position advertised in the Star Tribune. My previous employers have allowed me to have experience with this kind of job. I believe that I will be an asset to your establishment.

Being friendly and reasonable are essential for both previous jobs and school. The Tracy Hmong Alliance Church has provided me the opportunity to show my dedication and honesty towards people. Being involved in the sports program at my church has helped developed my communication and leadership skills.

Basic math is essential in being a successful cashier, and I can assure you that I have this skill. I am comfortable with handling cash and dealing with all sorts of customers. Holding my poise during a rush hour is also one of my strengths.

I would appreciate the opportunity to meet with you for an interview and discuss my resume. Please contact me at my home anytime after 3:30 p.m. at (507)929-1044 to set up an interview. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,



David Moua

Enclosure

David Moua
1229 East Fairview St. Apt. A
Marshall, MN 56258
Phone: (507)929-1044
Email: vay_moua08@hotmail.com

Objective

To be employed as a cashier at Food Services for Macalister College.

Education

Currently attending Marshall Senior High School as a senior.

Work Experience

April 2005 to July 2005: McDonald’s of Marshall. Running orders for lounge and drive thru. Cleaning lounge area and bathrooms. Operating the cash register for both lounge and drive thru. Presenting for drive thru. Handling the fry hopper.

Qualifications

Communication Skills ~Detailed listening skills ~Cooperative Skills

Human Resource Skills ~Friendly ~Helpful
~Ethical ~Reasonable
~Loyal ~Trustworthy

Other Skills ~Multi-tasking ~Organized
~Disciplined ~Employee Trust

Activities: Church Volunteering- Prepared, planned, and helped in
Church events.
Volunteer Work- Volunteered five hours at the Marshall
Local Food Shelf.
Intramural Sports- I participated in several of intramural
Sports to better round myself.

1. The cover letter accompanies the Resume, and it should not repeat anything on the Resume.

2. The resume is divided into five different parts. The first is the writers name, address, phone number, and e-mail address. Next is the statement of objective. Then comes the details about performance and programs outside of high school. After that are the details about abilities. And last are current and prior work expriences.
The cover letter has 7 different sections. First comes the heading, including the date. Then the inside address. After that comes the body, which includes concise, courteous; connects resume to specific position. Next is the closing which is followed by a comma, then your signature, and lastly your typed name.

3. It shows the employer you understand their needs.

4. Yes, because he has prior experience working with kids, and he has a really good background in swimming. Which is very useful.