On 11/16/06, Ray Saintonge <saintonge(a)telus.net> wrote:
[snip]
Adding the adjective "educational" somewhere
doesn't help because
opinions on just what is educational are likely to open a whole new
round of debate.
[snip]
Although it is difficult to say what is educational, there are many
cases where it is not difficult to obtain broad consensus that a
particular item is not.
[snip]
The mission statement is a big picture document. It
is about wishes and
possibilities, not about restrictions. Where needed those restrictions
can come later.
I'd prefer to say that a mission statement should not attempt to micromanage.
It should fully define the destination, but not every footstep along the path.
The question of a statement about 'educational' being too close to
micromanagement is one I can not answer with certainty. However,
"educational", in a broad sense, is an actual and important aspect of
our implemented mission, and it would be unfortunate if we couldn't
find a clear way to express that in the written expression of our
mission.