The Golden Mean.

The Roman poet Horace coined the Latin phrase aurea mediocritas, which translated means the golden mean. The "golden mean" is a useful mathematical concept for expressing relationships between numbers. Linguists define the concept somewhat differently, as a sensible way of doing things or the avoidance of extremes. Educational theorists, unfortunately, are ignorant of the concept entirely. The author taught for 10 years at an average-performing urban high school in San Mateo County, California. During his years as a teacher, he followed the reform debate, looking for ways to inform and improve his own teaching.