Welsh’s article discusses the difference between American students and Asian students. The Asian students identified that their biggest factor behind academic success was “studying hard”. I believe that many American students have lost their internal drive and motivation to study hard, including myself, with technology now and it being so easy to cheat it becomes almost unnecessary. Insufficient teaching is not the major factor to blame nor is poor study skills or the lack of there of. I believe that the problem behind American students not studying is solely due to the lack of determination to study and excel in schoolwork.
Gatto’s long, and successful, career within the American education system serves as more than enough evidence to confirm the credibility and accuracy of his opinions. His career is another indicator of his love for educating young people. Gatto doesn’t believe in forcing students to learn on a strict schedule (i.e: six classes a day, five days a week, nine months a year, for 12 years). He bonds boredom, a common condition possessed by not only students but teachers as well, to schools in the U.S school system. Many of his students said they weren’t interested in what was being taught because it was stupid and they already knew the material.
In the article Stop the Madness, written by Diane Ravitch, she elaborates on the issue of exceptionally high test taking. Teachers teach towards their test and as a result, are lazy. These faculty members, especially the teachers, worry more about the final test scores their students receive than if their students are grasping and fully understanding the educational topics. This is because the test grades that the students earn is how teachers are judged and ranked in the system. Therefore, in order to achieve these ideal scores, they are using the same tests and classwork every year.
Final exams are a time of stress for students to worry about if they can recall all the lessons that their professors have went over within that semester. Students who are scarcely passing any of their classes need their final exams to be passing grades, so they tend to study a little harder. Finals also allow students to see how all the lessons they have learned connect through small facts. Identifying and understanding thoroughly everything the professor particularly emphasizes in class can be a hard and tough experience when preparing to study for finals. In Joy Alonso’s “Two Cheers for Examination “she uses examinations to examine the purposes and useless of exams in two and four year colleges to appear to students and teachers.
However, text messaging has been a major problem with students texting in class interfering with the disruption of their learning. Most teachers express how they feel about cell phones being a distraction to others, however very few students have complaints about the use of cell phones in class. Text messaging in class should be allowed by choice of the students, it can easily be discreet and the possibility of an emergency. Text messaging in class should be allowed by the choice of students. In the argument “Tapping into Text Messaging” by Janet Kornblum, says teens, techies and other early adopters leading the charge to text say it is a great way to communicate when they are too busy to talk or when making a call would be rude or impractical.
Therefore, I didn’t feel free to ask teachers or discuss things with other people openly in class. However, American teachers encourage their students to speak out their opinions directly. It will create chances for teachers and students to know each other’s opinion and makes the class interesting. Gradually, I am familiar with the direct ways of studying in the U.S. I think directness helps me be more confident to evaluate and give out opinions frankly to
The thesis of Mary Sherry’s essay is that teachers and parents need to take further action to help their students earn their diplomas. The main points Sherry expresses in her essay are that students barely have any motivation to focus in school, how students are not satisfied with their academic skills, and ways that teachers can get their students to study. First, Sherry mentions in the essay, “…but, as I rediscover each time I walk into the classroom, before a teacher can expect students to concentrate, he has to get their attention, no matter what distractions may be at hand” (Sherry 515). I agree with what she said because I am a recent high school graduate who would always want to be everywhere but school. Another main
Schools cannot beat the entertainment industry at its own game. What they have to offer students is the chance for intellectual freedom, the power to think for themselves…(Ravitch 163). In school, students are always taught to have an open-mind, how can they have an open-mind when they are being censored? Schools only offer boring, bland topics and cause students to lose interest. Students are so highly influenced by the media that if they aren’t hearing about violence, death, sex or lies, then they have the “don’t care” mentality.
Many teachers do not like “catching plagiarists and bringing them to academic justice.” As she states, it is not hard to just cite the author that originally had the information you are using (Bojar). Plagiarism is becoming a big problem in the school system. Many students do not understand what needs to be cited and what does not. The school system should teach students the proper way to cite, and they should teach them that copy and pasting is not writing a paper. According Bojar to students at the community college have a hard time juggling classes along with his or her family and a job.
Wrong! I will tell you why are education system is flawed, why flunking is not a punishment and other options that we could introduce to young struggling students. The American education system is known as one of the best in the world, but just like many great things, flaws are eminent. Year in and year out, students get passed through school prematurely. Many of these kids think they’re on the right track because they pass classes and are moved along with the rest of the class.