Proficient Quotes

(N orfolk, VA.--It`s hard to tell exactly when the Norfolk Public Schools hit rock bottom, but 1998 was particularly dismal across the board: Just 38 percent of third graders passed the state`s Standards of Learning, or SOL, test in English; 26 percent of eighth graders were proficient in mathematics; and a mere 18 percent of high schoolers passed Virginia and U.S. history. For John Simpson, who took over as superintendent that same year with a mandate to boost achievement for all of the district`s 37,000 students, the only solution was to completely shake things up.) When I arrived, people were unhappy, but many of them had the attitude that given a fairly poor and high-minority population, that might be all that they could do, ... There was no room for excuses anymore.

We started with the basics of kicking and punching, then we moved on once we got proficient in that, we moved on to working with the weapons, and from then on working with the wires.

I loved dancing. I still use my dance background in the different physicality`s of each character I work on. Once I started studying acting, I was energized and excited by the verbal exchange, having a conceptual communication of what was being expressed. As a dancer, I was technically very proficient. But for me, dancing was always about expressing something more. With acting you add the component of language to the above.

I get bored at the theatre a lot because I notice that there`s not always a connection between the actors. They may be technically proficient, but they`re not surprising each other. I`m thrilled by actors who make choices that are surprising.

He`s gotten a lot more proficient picking apart the defense when it comes to the passing game, ... besides the incredible athleticism.

I was much more interested in the orchestra than the piano, but I did become fairly proficient as a pianist and my teachers felt I had talent and wanted me to become a good concert pianist and earn my living that way.

I think the hard thing about all these tools is that it takes a fair amount of effort to become proficient.