Dennis, my wife and I returned to Wisconsin from Florida on March 30 and 31 by car, with an overnight in Nashville. As a result, I was unable to attend the March 30, 2015 PLC meeting. Therefore, I appreciate the chance to respond to your recording of it.
Four items struck me in the presentation. I have listed them below with my feedback comments for each one:
1. Rigor - I am pleased to see this is a core value for Concordia. I taught for six years, 2008-2014, for Jones International University. Jones lost its accreditation; today, it closed its doors and has gone out of business completely. Lack of rigor killed it, for without rigor, it could not meet accreditation. I am glad Concordia is "street smart" to avoid this mistake.
2. Ethics - My Ph.D. advisor at Wisconsin - Madison said to me once, "Paul, the most important thing in your career is ethics. This is what is tested in the final analysis." Plato defined ethics as behaviors that do not harm others, or ourselves. I especially am alert to the "ourselves" insight of Plato. Yes, we ought not to hurt others; we ought not to hurt ourselves. I am hoping Concordia stresses this part of ethics, the self-hurt, not just the traditional harm to others approach.
3. Inquiry - I like this because, in effect, it says base your actions, beliefs, decisions on facts, not politics and personalities. It values scientific method, in effect; I wholeheartedly concur. I did my Ph.D. dissertation on TQM, Total Quality Management; at its heart is Deming's call for us to "speak with data" (facts). Amen.
4. Visuals - I liked the comments about the visual aspects of the program, presentation. Yes, we live in a "Visual Culture" and people respond better to presentations with visual components. I am glad you pointed this out.
Hopefully this satisfies my PLC requirement for Concordia for March 30, 2015. I look forward to participating in "real time" on Monday April 6, 2015. Meanwhile, have a restful, blessed Easter.
Thanks.
Paul Rux
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