WHERE HAVE ALL THE STANDARDS GONE?

WHERE HAVE ALL THE STANDARDS GONE?

I find myself lamenting regularly that there do not seem to be acceptable standards or standards of performance in many aspects of today’s world. I bemoan dress standards of teachers, language standards of popular music and courtesy standards of many people in the service industry. It seems that setting the bar high, where a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, no longer exists. When the going gets tough, the tough no longer get going, we lower the standard of acceptable performance or behaviour. And so I ask again, “Where have all the standards gone?”

A favourite story that I recently heard revolved around the width of the home plate in baseball (What other kind of analogy did you expect from me?). The width of home plate is 17 inches, whether you are playing little league, college, or professional baseball. Some pitchers can successfully throw the baseball over that 17 inch width and some cannot. Baseball has not chosen to widen the plate to 18 or 19 inches to accommodate the shortcomings of the less talented. The standard has been set and the objective for success is to meet the standard . The standard is not changed to accommodate those who fail. In many instances, our society has chosen the opposite approach and rather than shoot for the stars we move the stars closer.

Last year I attended a year end awards ceremony at my grandson’s school because he was receiving a honour’s certificate. Of course I was proud and wished to be present. From a class of about 120 grade seven students Sawyer was one of about 40 recipients and grandpa was proud. Then another 35 students received first class honours certificates. Over 60% of the students were honoured. I was no less proud but the occasion did raise the question of standards. Were the honours standards too low or was the school blessed with an above average number of exceptional teachers? My lifetime of experience in the school system answered my question by choosing the first option. 

Schools today have minimized the standards in many areas. Students are not required to read a book a month or spend an hour a night on homework, even if it is just to review. Handwriting is unreadable and correct spelling is optional as “we have spellcheckers on computers you know.” Speaking clearly in full sentences is unheard of and why would learning number facts be important when we all have calculators? 

Low standards of workmanship and behaviour extend into all facets of society. Clerks in kiosks in the mall, sit waiting for customers while they eat their lunches or talk on their phone. Making correct change without the cash machine calculating the correct amount is impossible for many. Courtesy and helpful service is often the exception rather than the rule. Where have all the standards gone?

A very recent example of declining standards even extended to university admissions. Most colleges and universities in the US make admissions decisions by having applicants write an entrance exam called the SAT. Students score usually between 600-2400 on the test with 1200 being the average. In other words, that is the standard. Well, not any more. The Board that runs the test will now start to assign marks that also “reflects the student’s social and economic backgrounds.” This new arbitrary “standard modifier” will factor in such things as crime and poverty in a student’s neighbourhood. I can only imagine the end result when societal factors are combined with academic performance and a new standard emerges. Talk about a can of worms.

As soon as baseball initiates the 20 inch home plate to allow more marginal players to become successful I will turn in my glove and baseball and begin to learn chess, where I understand there are rigid rules and no exceptions!