Over the course of the 21st century, there has been a steady decline in the rate of high school graduates. With such an important factor to the success of adolescents, school administrations have begun to take notice of such unacceptable findings. In this process they have attempted to understand the needs of our youth and the methods that give them the opportunity to become better readers, writers and overall students. To these young individuals, these years of development are pivotal to there success as adults. Educators must work together with the student to understand their individual forms of learning, not every student is the same and must be given the opportunity to learn no matter what the circumstance might be. The years prior to when an individual reaches the opportunity to attend college, is one of much importance. Especially when it comes to Literacy, this alone spreads into all subject areas. Literacy should be considered one of the most important aspects of a student’s career, if not the most important. Research by Bob Wise (2009) suggests that the main problem in today’s districts is that a good amount of administrations believe that literacy comes after school reform on the list of important topics. The belief is that the problem is not associated to all adolescents; therefore it should be the responsibility of the English teachers. The problem there is that students start to fall behind in all subjects and many end up having to repeat grade levels. Teachers in all subject areas should put a strong emphasis on literacy, and when the student starts to struggle, there responsibility should be to refer them to extra help or provide assistance themselves, its never beneficial for the student if the educators belie... ... middle of paper ... ...g, you don’t learn it, you absorb it. You don’t even realize it because it’s such a joyful feeling that it just sticks with you. You want to learn more about it and in the process you pursue as much information as you possibly can. I honestly believe that in this new era of social networking, the students I teach one day will have better literacy skills then I did at their age. They are constantly bombarded by messaging, texting, emailing etc… It’s our job to understand them and take the fundamental values of literacy, combine it with our own instruction, and then implemented with there own interests and give these students all a better opportunity at learning. It sounds like plenty of work for educators, but we should not look at it as work, but more of passion to teach these students the fundamental values of literacy, which will one day, provide them success.
Finding a definition of literacy is not as easy as it sounds. The Webster definition says that to be literate is to be” able to read and write.” But to some researchers, this definition is too simplistic, leading to multiple models of literacy. Most Americans adhere to the autonomous model, which falls closest to the standard, dictionary definition. Believers in this form say that literacy is a cognitive activity that students learn like any other basic skill. It has a set of proficiencies that one must master in order to be capable of decoding and encoding text (Alvermann, 2009; SIL International, 1999). A competing theory is the ideological model, which claims literacy is intrinsically linked to culture, and therefore what constitutes a “literate” individual is ever-changing. Society is the largest influence on literacy, according to this thought, and it is affected by politics, religion, philosophy and more (Alvermann, 2009; SIL International, 1999). These two are just the tip of the iceberg. For example, some studies recognize “literacy as competence,” which is a “measure of competence to do a given task or work in a given field,” (SIL International, 1999) such as being computer literate. Although more researchers are recognizing and exploring multiple literacies, the one that most influences American schools is the autonomous, cognitive model – the ability to read and write. For many, it seems a simple task, but millions of adolescents are struggling or reluctant readers, and there are many reasons why young readers have difficulty with reading. XXXXXX------NEED HELP WITH THESIS STATEMENT HERE PLEASE—(This paper will focus on the effects of low reading skills, some of the possible causes of reluctant and struggling readership...
I previously have mentioned, in prior reflection essays, just how important literacy is for a person’s future. Notice how I didn’t say “student’s” future? Literacy fluency effects several aspects of life, not only academically speaking. Ultimately, the literacy level of a child can directly affect their future as an adult. The whole point of Torgesen’s article “Catch Them Before They Fall” is about preventing students with literacy deficits from slipping through the cracks without the best possible, research-based interventions.
High school is one of those milestones in an individual’s life that will be remembered for a long time to come. Whether one’s experiences are positive and allow him to find his purpose in life or whether they are so terrible that his view of education is tainted forever, what happens in high school affects how one’s future will turn out. Leon Botstein, author of “Let Teenagers Try Adulthood,” states that the traditional high school system should be abolished because it is not benefitting teenagers. He states that cliques of popularity and athleticism and teachers who care more about money than education stand in the way of proper learning for teenagers. Botstein further argues that school stifles students creativity and that they really do not want to be in school. His argument that the traditional high school setting should be abolished is somewhat justified on the fact that cliques make schooling experiences difficult; however, his statement that children’s creativity is stifled, they are bored in high school, and that they are ready to be adults at a young age is invalid.
For many first year college students, the idea of sitting down in an English class and being asked to write an essay conjures up anxiety and stress from their high school experience. Many students bring a secret of reading and comprehension illiteracy with them to college. There is a shifting definition of literacy occurring in the United States with the advent of technology. School districts are assuming that the issue of reading will be addressed in the home and are leaving many students behind in reading goals. Many educators assume that when a student enters the first day of their English 1010 course that their reading level is sufficient to complete their coursework and produce coherent compositions. It is only after the initial class meeting and composition assessment that the instructor is able to view the bigger problem of reading illiteracy in English 1010. How does the instructor address the literacy of each individual student without affecting the learning environment of the students who are able to read and write a coherent composition? The problem in regards to reading levels should be addressed before the student even arrives on campus. There can be many reasons for the cause of reading illiteracy: learning disability, poverty, and education of parents to name just a few. The school systems are placing the burden of reading comprehension in the home and not at the educational level when all parties should be a part of the issue. Administrators are assuming that students are read to from infancy and receive encouragement to read from their parents. The school systems also assume that children have abundance of reading materials in their homes and have initiative to pick up...
“More than half of public school students in New York City failed their English exams,” (Medina). There are so many students that are continuously failing these exams and being held back from the next grade level or from graduating high school. These exams are doing more harm than good since students are failing to actually learn information. The students are so worried about passing the exams that they just try to re...
So as to improve the K-12 education, the United States needs to redesign the high schools. The initiative by the president to redesign the high schools is significant in encouraging the schools to use the available resources. Schools together with their partners should take into using the resources that exist effectively. These resources are in the local, state and the federal so as to transform the experience in the high schools for the youth through energy of the whole school redesign. This effort of redesigning the high schools will help challenge them and their partners in rethinking learning and teaching. These reforms should constitute of learning that is personalized and college and career exploration that will ens...
The limited experience that a high schooler receives does not give them the opportunities that they deserve. Also, the general information that is taught to students does not apply to their needs; this information does not allow them to find their path in which they want to live their lives. In addition, a democratic education system is not portrayed throughout high school. Relationships between students and teachers are nonexistent, and students are dropping out of high school as a result. Our society is full of unsuccessful human beings that have no idea of how to live their life. This is what our education system has created. Now, we must make the change and stick to Dewey’s educational
When I began high school, I believed that high school should not teach english because all I needed was the essentials. Later on I began to realize how important literacy is and how it should be improved throughout an individual’s life. Furthermore, improving upon literacy made me more aware and prone to people who seek to take advantage upon individuals.
Sullivan, Patrick. “An Open Letter to Ninth Graders”. Bulletin of the American Association of University Professors, January-February 2009. This article, is an attempted to state expectation clearly, in Sullivan perspective. Provides goals so that the students can work towards over the next four years of high school. Expectations to exceed and be provided with college readiness, and knowing what to exceed. Recommending to find new ways to enjoy reading because an important part of your life. sustaining concentration on important areas, would develop skills, capacity to exceed of your attention, have a reading and writing process. Skills that will be important in college and beyond. Begin to believe that school, should not be a waste of time,
In today’s society, a vast number of people are well educated. They have the equal opportunity to choose their own path in life by getting an education. A primary educational aspect of every human being is to learn to read. Being able to read is a primary goal of people in human society, as well as important in itself to society; it takes people far beyond their wildest dreams. A person who is literate has few limitations on what they can do; the world is an open playing field, because a person that is literate has the ability to become very successful in life.
From experiencing the inevitable struggles that all teenagers experience, whether it be exterior pressures or expectations from society, such bonds between classmates, teachers, and tutors, are essential for young teens to have, in order to learn, develop, and grow in an environment which assists students during such times. These bonds allow for students to be educated in an atmosphere which is both supportive and informative, ensuring the students can learn, think, and discover new ideas, with the necessary support and encouragement to study and deliver to their best
Attending public schools as a child, I remember learning the basic skills on how to add and subtract, read, and write. These basic skills are necessary in order to function in our society and work force in the United States. As we all know each child learns differently, some learn faster than others and some slower than others. Our public schools have become overcrowded and we do not have enough teachers to fit the needs of each student. Some students get left behind and are not learning the skills needed to move on to the next level. What these students are not learning they can learn in higher education such as a college or university. In this report, I would like to express the importance of a higher education. I will use the works of John Henry Newman, Jon Spayde and Mike Rose, all three writers believe in having an educated society. Our students’ needs are changing, there are a growing number of immigrants with children coming to the United States from all over the world. They bring with them the language and culture of their country. The age in which they arrive to the United States determines how well they learn English and what skills they will need to acquire to become productive in our society. The task of teaching our children the basic skills is becoming harder and harder each day, making it harder for our education system to achieve their goals. There are a high number of students graduating from high school who does not have the skills needed to meet the needs of the work force in our society. A higher level of learning is needed to make our society literate.
Education is a key component to paving a successful life and completing high school is a critical part education. The issues many students face are causing them to drop out of school at a growing rate, despite many attempts by schools and local Gov’t to help prevent the issue. There have been many studies conducted to determine the reasons for students not completing their high school education. The most consistent reason seems that students aren’t as engaged in their education as they were before.
Recent studies show, that a high school education is presently becoming less and less useful. It is stated, “Two-thirds of college professors report that what is taught in high school does not prepare students for college” (Broad, para.3). In high schools, many students see their education and teachers as a joke; they blame their attitudes on the teachers and administration in the high schools because they are too lenient. Students would take their high school education seriously if their teachers and administration were tougher on them and they would not try to get by. High school education needs to be more complex to prepare young adults for the real world and college, if college is to be considered. In this essay, I will prove that high
High school is one of the most memorable moments in our lives. It’s a time to discover who we are and what we have to offer to the world. It is also a time to gain new friendships and experiences, and when our education is most important when deciding our future. This is the picture that is painted for those who have not yet experienced high school or have forgotten it all together. The reality of it all is that it’s not as pretty as people make it out to be. High school is a continuous cycle of monotone classrooms and non-engaging subjects that we never talk about again. The teachers don’t form relationships with their students and don’t ask enough questions to make them engaged in what they’re learning. This limits a student’s creativity and willingness to think on their own and draw their own conclusions. The teachers just hand out the information while the student writes it down, memorizes it, takes a test, and never use that information again. The students are also not taken seriously because the teacher thinks that they are above them instead of seeing them as an equal. This shouldn’t be how a high school, or any school, operates. The students and teachers need to be on the same level and ask each other questions in order to learn about both each other and the material as well as apply it to the outside world.