Discussion Paragraph on Covey Textbook Timm Ringhofer

I found the book by Covey to be very idealistic and therefore to be unrealistic in a school. To find the ideal situation anywhere is very difficult and even more so in a school. Administration needs to be providing the essential tools, the teachers need to be working towards a common goal, parents need to be backing their childrens education, and the students need to want to be learning in the classes they are attending. All of these factors and more would have to be in place before most of the information found in Covey can be put into practice. Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach him to fish and you feed him for a lifetime is the quote on the front cover of Covey. This is true, and I cannot argue against it. However, when a 16-year-old has parents that are possibly divorced, remarried, alcoholic, drug abusers, or generally dont care about their children and then you add the fact that this student works, is involved in extra-curriculars, has their own abuse problems, and have enough hormones raging through their bodies for many adults, it is very difficult to teach the child to fish. He/she wants a fish for the day and to feel good about what they are doing. This all that some of the students at this age can handle. I believe it is a different story for a 22-year-old. He/she can handle much more and be taught to fish! One other point I would like to address is the idea of win-win situations. I cannot believe that every situation can be a win-win situation. When dealing with students, many decisions regarding their education can be these type of situations. Eventually though, the student is not going to know what is the best decision for them, and the decision needs to be made for them. In their eyes, they have lost and I have won. I believe that most situations in their adult lives are going to be win-lose decisions, and to lead them to believe that they can always win is a dangerous precedent.

-- Anonymous, February 05, 2000