Wastes of Time in Education: Do I Need an Accreditation Attitude Adjustment?
Posted in Standards and Evaluation on Sep 22, 2011 - 01:26 PM
What does the phrase “waste of time” mean to you? To me, it is when I spend time doing something that seems to serve no majorly useful purpose. The “seems to” is a subjective qualifier here - what one person views as a waste of time may not beseen as such by others. For example, spending time reading for leisure might be viewed by some as a waste of time (or a time killer), but to me, it wouldn’t be a waste of time because it serves the purpose of helping me relax or unwind. However, doing paperwork that never is substantially used for anything would be, in my mind, a waste of time. Why am I thinking about wastes of time and paperwork? Because I am involved in my college’s NCATE re-accreditation process and it often feels like a colossal waste of time to me!What is NCATE and what’s accreditation (or re-accreditation)? NCATE is the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education– a professional organization which delineates criteria or standards for its members. Membership in such an organization is meant to be seen as a sign of quality to outsiders, a sort of Good Housekeeping Seal of
