The Reason for My Excess

Dear Colleagues,

“If you aren’t making mistakes, you
         aren’t trying.” Wynton Marsalis
 
My New Year’s Resolution…
 
(in addition to trying harder to reach-out
to colleagues across the curriculum trying
to cultivate local food for thought &
extend our  Courses Without Borders  Program)
 
. . . is to try and try to be trying to work-up  a
rubric categorizing &  assessing mistake-to-trying
ratios generated in my courses: my syllabi contracting
& requiring  how much time is to be spent trying the
margins for error & rooms for  play:
 
My old man told me in 1942e when I was down in
the cellar trying to bend tin cans to fit & stay on the
bottoms of my shoes so when I walked around  I
would  clatter: “if at first you  don’t succeed, Sammy,
try, try again. “
 
(Donald Trump, asked how he  achieved success, said:
“Never give up. Don’t ever give up!”)
 
"IF AT FIRST YOU DON'T  SUCCEED,  
TRY, TRY AGAIN. Don't give up too easily;
persistence pays off in the end. The proverb
has been traced back to 'Teacher's Manual'  
by American educator Thomas H. Palmer….
 
Originally a maxim used to encourage
American  schoolchildren to do their
homework. Palmer  (1782-1861) wrote
in his 'Teacher's Manual':
 
'Tis a lesson you should heed,
try, try again. If at first you don't
succeed, try, try again.'
 
The saying was popularized by  Edward Hickson  
(1803-70) in his  'Moral Song' and is now applicable
to any kind of activity."    (a Wiki leak: any one
can go there.)

xxxooo, Sam