Voltaire wrote that.

It’s a great thing to keep in mind, because often times we try to make things the best and lose sight of what is good. I think that a lot of people talk about this in terms of the idea that "good enough" can sometimes be enough to allow you to move on to other things and not get hung up trying to make something perfect. And yes, especially in a school, where we juggle a dozen tasks at once, it’s important to remember that.

But I also take it another way. For me, the important thing to remember is that "the best" can be illusory and often more subjective than "the good." People will, invariably, disagree on what is best, but most people can agree on what is good. And in a school environment, where so much can work better when consensus is reached, "the good" can be such a better goal, because it allows people to collaborate.

It doesn’t mean that we "settle" for decent solutions… or just go with the first thing that comes to mind, but it means that we recognize that we have to work toward common goals… and attainable goals. It also is a recognition of limitations, both our own and the limitations of those around us.

And, of course, there’s another way to look at it. The best is a normative judgement… "is this better than that…" whereas the good is a pure value — "this is good." It can even be a moral value, whereas I don’t think "the best" can be. It’s a more pure goal to work for. And it allows us multiple paths to the good, as opposed to the one path to the best. As we expect kids to take different paths in success, perhaps valuing the good over the best will allow us to see the value in all our kids, not just our "best" ones.