I have had a dream since I was five-years old to come to America and get my degree. After finishing high school, I came to America with big hopes and high expectations. I was very excited and thought that everything in my life was going to change. Everything was a lot of fun at first. The new environment, the different language, the school, and the teachers made me feel wonderful. Slowly things got worse, the happy feelings started to turn into discomfort. The different educational system made me feel nervous. When I first came here, I had great difficulty studying in the Unites States, but once I settled into a daily routine things became a little easier. I was afraid I would fail as a student, but once I got used to things everything seemed to improve. I later realized that the education system in the United States is less stressful, but more complex.
The only thing I need in order to learn is comfort. It does not mean that I need to learn sitting in a rocking chair while sipping on my favorite fruit juice. What I mean to say is that I am at my best when I am comfortable in what I am doing. For example, when I am home I like to study in my room with no distractions. I do not like to listen to music when I study. Even a bird singing or the sound of wind could easily distract me. Therefore, I make certain nothing can be heard when I study. When it comes to learning in a class, I am an observer. I learn best when I listen and I do not feel comfortable talking in the class. I like to learn alone, but this does not mean that I hate working with others because I know learning with others has value. Since I am an observer, I am most comfortable when I am not working with a group of people. I like to observe people, their body language...
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...ing. The day the scores are posted is always a sad day for Sri Lanka. Some students who do not pass the exam will go to a place known as the World’s End. This is a high mountain with a drop so far down that the bottom cannot be seen. These students are so depressed about their failure that they will hurl themselves from the edge of the peak and their bodies are never recovered. It is sad that the importance of getting an education can do this to an individual.
I have a strong opinion on tests. I feel instruction based on tests is a poor way to teach. The pressure a test puts a student under is unfair. Furthermore, the knowledge gained by studying for a test is only temporary. I do not like being taught this way because everything is done in preparation for what is on the test. Also, this is not the type of learning that a person will keep with them for a lifetime.
According to Fyona Rose, “Not only do these tests belittle students' and teachers' hard work, they also leave them with negative feelings toward school and drain their love of learning” (Rose, 2015). This means that standardized testing can ruin the enjoyment of learning for both students and teachers. The reason standardized testing still happens is because it has become a standard for schools each year. But if the standard is bad something should be changed. Many who do not like standardized testing to do not believe that testing should be done away with, but rather be changed to accommodate the growing needs of society as a
On the other hand, this article relates more to the cultural and economic surroundings of an individual, both of these aspects can interfere with the American dream. Culture plays a part because it is something that a lot of people don’t understand and in America people are not as open about culture as they should be. The dream used to be something that people aspired to have, which is why America was the place to be but due to economic and other factors people who range from 18-35 have a different perception. People who fall into this category have actually witnessed the dream being something that either
Finally some people say the tests are good because they show how the students are doing. Without the tests there is no good way to tell how the students are doing and who needs help. There is too much time spent on testing. There is 20-25 hours a year spent on testing and that does not count practice or learning time. Some may say tests are the best way to show how students are doing but there is still too much time spent on testing.
I think that high-stakes testing is changing teaching in a number of negative ways. It forces teachers and administrators to align the curriculum to these standards instead of the standards being aligned to realistic, appropriate learning needs for every level. At the same time, the standards should fit what key stakeholders agree as the means and ends of education. Otherwise, high-stakes testing becomes an authoritarian means of shaping schooling according to a one-test-fits-all thinking. Instead of being inclusive and participatory, our education system becomes restrictive and static.
The purpose of Afraji Gill’s piece is to clear up the misconceptions of what society perceives success to be. Afraji Gill himself who achieved high grades throughout his high school education felt that his educators’ and societies’ definition of success was wrong. To Afraji Gill success was not high grades, receiving awards or scholarships and being on the honour roll. To him success was defined as how well you grasped the learning material and knew how to put it to use. That a grade on a piece of paper should not define your intelligence and your success. For there are people in the world who receive outstanding grades because they happened to memorize the materials for their test, but as soon as the test is over they have not properly grasped the material and knowledge covered, to put into practical use. I think that Afraji Gill’s article’s purpose is to make people aware that you should not base a person’s success on their grades but on rather how well they know the material, and that failure should not be looked upon as being unsuccessful, but instead should be acknowledged as a stepping stone in becoming
Life in America is sweet and it is easy to succeed. America has ample resources to support the growth of its citizens especially young people. This enviable country, The United States, rewards hard work and high achievers are encouraged to chase their dreams. I thought that being here was a big opportunity, that I should take advantage of it. In my family, education comes first, without an education, your chances of succeeding are slim. My mom always told me, "Work hard now and enjoy later," meaning if I put in the work now I will reap the benefits later. Through my upbringing, I gained my own understanding of what the American dream is. To me, the American dream means that one can succeed and reach the highest level of achievement if one puts one’s mind to it. No one is in your way but yourself; you either do what you need to do to be successful or you stay dormant and not accomplish anything in life. Not only do you have to make the first step but you have to be able to stay to hang in there when the going gets tough. Winston Churchill said, “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts" (Churchill By Himself, 2011). Churchill (2011) also
I walked around unsteadily all day like a lost baby, far away from its pack. Surrounded by unfamiliar territory and uncomfortable weather, I tried to search for any signs of similarities with my previous country. I roamed around from place to place and moved along with the day, wanting to just get away and go back home. This was my first day in the United States of America.
Although standardized testing is supposed to reflect what the students have learned, they often times do not to the fullest potential. What some educators may not take into consideration is the limited resources and ways that teachers are able to get the information across. Standardized testing not only has a negative effect on the things listed above but also a negative impact on the learning styles. Many standardized test are created to improve student achievement, but studies show that the testing format has not improved this at all. Standardized tests also do not incorporate all of the different types of learning, and since this is the case not all of the testing results are measured accurately, which can make the results be very incorrect.
Everyone has dream in life. Some people have a dream to visit different places and some people want to become successful in future. Likewise I also had a dream to come USA and to become successful in future. I was 17 when I came here with my parents. I heard a lot from my friends about their first day in USA. They said it was so sad however mine was the best day and the long day in my life which I can’t ever forget. I still remember that day in USA; I was sleeping in the airplane because I was so tired of traveling 18 hours flight. I was in a deep sleep suddenly I heard someone was calling my name because of that I wake up. It was my mom who was calling me. She told me to look outside I rub my eyes and looked outside. I still remember that moment when I first looked California, USA through plane window, those tall building which I saw in movies looks like a plane ground. I was so excited to be here in USA I feel like it is a piece of heaven.
Standardized testing is not the best way to measure how well a teacher teaches or how much a student has learned. Schools throughout the United States put their main focus on standardized tests; these examinations put too much pressure on the teachers and students and cause traumatizing events. Standardized testing puts strain on teachers and students, causing unhealthy occurrences, Common Core is thrown at teachers with no teaching on how to teach the new way, which dampers testing scores for all students, and the American College Test determines whether a child gets into college or not based on what they have learned during high school. Standardized tests are disagreeable; tests should not determine the ranking of people. Standardized testing is believed to be the best way to evaluate how much a child has learned, however most students only score average on the tests.
Standardized testing is not an effective way to test the skills and abilities of today’s students. Standardized tests do not reveal what a student actually understands and learns, but instead only prove how well a student can do on a generic test. Schools have an obligation to prepare students for life, and with the power standardized tests have today, students are being cheated out of a proper, valuable education and forced to prepare and improve their test skills. Too much time, energy, and pressure to succeed are being devoted to standardized tests. Standardized testing, as it is being used presently, is a flawed way of testing the skills of today’s students.
So what’s the big issue with traditional testing methods? They’ve been instituted for years and no one seemed to have a problem before now. Well, in the past decade, the nation’s citizens have become increasingly compassionate towards students and their individual needs. President George W. Bush has gotten generous praise for his No Child Left Behind Act of 2002 as a result of popular concerns among communities across the country. While the act may still have areas in need of improvement, it illustrates that educators, parents, and students alike have been desirous of reform within school systems. “The number of calls complaining about high-stakes exams coming from parents...are increasing, and is a reason for concern” (Report, 2001). The recent act caters to the actualization that students are different from one another, and in order for teaching and learning to take place in a non-discriminatory manner, adjustments must be made. According to the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC), “Alternative assessment is any form of measuring what students know and are able to do other than traditional standardized tests. Alternative forms of assessment include portfolios that are collections of students' work over time, performance-based assessments, and other means of testing students such as open-ended essays with no single correct answer, and project work that involves collaboration with peers” (2000). Students learn in many ways. Some learn by listening to lessons and may prefer an environment with the aid of music and rhythm. Others may be visual learners who gather information by looking at photographs or watching videos. There are still others that learn kinesthetic...
Testing is one of the big issues in our education system. The idea that the whole school curriculum should be planned around tests is a foolish one, if we want to get a quality education that we can actually learn something valuable from. Having students cram empty facts and memorize test answers is not teaching them it is just encouraging more stress and late nights. On some occasions, tests are a necessary evil to see if the student has actually learned anything from what they have been taught, but to gear the whole class a...
I believe that education should be looked as as a desire to acquire all possible knowledge, not as a requirement or something that can be formally examined by standardized tests. There are numerous ways that children learn and I want to be able to encourage as much learning as possible for each child. I believe that using many methods of instruction is the most effective way of teaching to these various ways of learning. These methods include group work, hands-on activities, buddy work, etc. Assessment of children should follow the same idea. When children get the chance to perform on different assessments, they can adequately show their strengths and weaknesses. I do not wish to rely on tests only to assess the students in my class. Some types of assessment that I think should be inlcuded in a classroom are journals, presentations, projects and interviews. I also think that the classroom should be run with the help of the children. By distributing jobs among the children and everyone participating in the classroom, the students will form a sense of togetherness. This will eventually create a community within the classroom. I feel that this community of learners is essential for the students to perform effectively and efficiently. They will feel comfortable in the environment and will not be afraid to take risks or ask questions. The teacher will also be a member of this community and will not be seen as unapproachable or as the only leader.
Have you ever thought about studying abroad? No, not just for a few months for your work-experience, but a whole year (or longer) as a transfer-student. Of course, you don’t make such a decision from one minute to the next. It needs to be thought over well. Going to college is a big change in your life because it usually means living on your own for the first time, but as a foreign student it is even a bigger change because you are on your own in another country. This is often the greatest concern for students to go abroad: to leave everything behind. They have trouble leaving their family and the familiar environment. They think this price is just too high. But if they only knew how rich they will be when they come back.