Devin Dufrene Essay 4 April 14, 2009 Failure Failure! Some students are afraid of it, Then again some students are given grades and passed anyway. Students should not be given grades and diplomas if they did not learn the necessary information and earn the grade. In this essay I will respond on how I agree with Mary Sherry in “In Praise of the F Word “on how students are hurt later in life First, if student doesn’t learn necessary information in high school he or she will not be able or having a lot off trouble in the after life with college or there new job. In example, if a student gets by in his English class not caring and not trying to learn, but his teacher likes the student so he passed him, when that student goes to college he will have trouble because he doesn’t know how to write a correct essay because he was given the grade.
To find the answer and to fix the problem, one must look at all of the elements: the students themselves, their parents, their teachers, the school curriculum, the textbooks, and the community. Many students simply do not study enough. (Two-thirds of high school seniors do an hour or less of homework per night.) American teenagers are often distracted by part-time jobs, sports and other school activities, TV, and socializing. Some do not keep up with their schoolwork because of emotional problems, use of illegal drugs, or simply lack of motivation.
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.
The role of college today has replaced high school in that task. A drop off of basic literacy skills proficiency has created a dangerously wide gap between high school and college education through lack of communication. The changing landscape of the 21st century student, entering the workforce or college, has yielded many revelations of the newly graduated high school seniors, including
In “Grades and Money” by Steve Vogel, the author mentions, “… they talk about their grades all the time”(Page 389). Students rarely speak about what they are learning from the course, which is what education is all about. They don’t understand that grades just show if you passed or failed the course. Instead of taking a course that they are interested in, students take courses that they will be able to earn a high grade. “By tying grades to money, we give students incentives not to take risks” (Vogel, 392) that stop them from choosing challenging courses in college.
Unfortunately, the FCAT does not evaluate student’s performance correctly due to students that fall under pressure. The pressure that student’s feel and encounter is also known as test anxiety. According to Channel 7 reporter Erica Rakow’s in the article “FCAT Stresses Students Out, she claims” The responsibility of passing both reading and math portion of the FCAT in 10 grade adds a stressful ambiance to students who really do not want to retake it as a junior (par.2). Rakow also points out “That responsibility includes promotions to the next grade, and future funding for their school. Some students get so worked up about the test they can’t even get through it (par.3).
Academics in the last year of high school are pushed to the end of the list of importance; therefore, it makes academics unimportant. Senior year is a waste because by the time students are seniors they have already been accepted to the colleges and universities they want to go to or decided college is not for them at all. Senior year is a waste of time because most seniors focus on extra curricular activates instead of the new endeavor of going to college. Seniors are so focused on senior pranks than the thought that after senior year they will no longer be a child, and will have major responsibilities. Most seniors do not think about careers the last year of school, and definitely do not think of the next four to seven years they will spend preparing for one.
Studies have shown that if two thousand students sign up for the fall semester at the end of the fall semester there is one thousand nine hundred and ninety students left. There is a 99% chance that if you sign up for the fall classes that you will still be in them at the end of the semester. The ten students that dropped out of classes most likely dropped out because of financial reasons, medical reasons, or they weren’t doing their duties as a student to be on class on time and study for tests, not because of the opposite gender. The opposite sex should not be affecting the retention rates. Students are not missing class to go scope out the opposite sex and to spend all day with them not attending any of their classes.
The fact that American born students lack the ability to exercise self-discipline has been tested and proven, but what if that really isn’t the problem? If the teachers don’t buckle down on their students and make sure they learn the information, aren’t they also to blame? Teachers and school administration have various and multiple ways to enforce self-motivation and self-discipline, as long as they have help from the parents too, right? Maybe those are a few ideas to think about before putting the whole blame on the students. In the second paragraph of the March 2006 article by Patrick Welsh, he stated that, “Kids who had emigrated from foreign countries often aced every test, while many of their U.S.-born classmates from upper-class homes with highly educated parents had a string of C’s and D’s.” Social status does have a little to do with what grade a student receives, yes, but if s/he wants to excel in school s/he will set their mind to it, regardless of what sort of background they come from.
High school dropouts have fewer opportunities in life because of their lack of education. While we are occupied on our potential threat being the gun in the class room, we miss the opportunity to learn what our teacher had planned for the day. Missing enough of the lectures leads to low test scores and the though of dropping out. Dropouts will have fewer chances at being accepted into college universities. Universities favor grade point averages, high standardized test scores, advanced placement courses, and any other reflection of above average education.