Life for most people, if depicted as a graph, contains a blend of inclines and drops. As for the average SAS (Shanghai American School) teenager however, the ‘occasional’ downhill has successfully developed into a perpetual succession of Grand Canyon cliff drops down to the pits of dejection with rare sightings of mere knoll sized rises in mood. This situation has but one inducer: excessive stress caused by excessive emphasis on academics brought upon by the SAS society. Although ridden with good intent, the underscoring of grades and numbers has had more negative impacts on students than it has benefitted them. In order to remedy the situation, SAS should reduce the amount of homework and alter education to cater to the needs and specialities of each individual students.
By constantly reiterating the importance of a number, the focus becomes the number. Excelling in academics often correlates with relatively high grades and thus, parents constantly sermonize about grades’ importance and push students to score ever higher. Although not always noted, research has proven that ‘parents are their children’s strongest role model and greatest influence’ (B) often ‘children will eventually adopt many of your values’ (B). What parents accentuate, students will take note of and will believe in too. This emphasizing of the import of academics will sear a burning equation with academics and high grades on either sides of an equal sign into the minds of students, victims to all but a few tirades concerning academics. The gaining of real practical knowledge, not mentioned at all during these lectures, becomes lost in translation and forgotten. Therefore, students perceive the grade itself as more important than the retainment of knowled...
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...s proved the potency of such education. Shanghai American School should too abandon the system of the past and embrace this improved form of education.
SAS contains many young and bright minds. However each day, I see far too many untapped potential buried within these minds, concealed by instilled impulse to achieve the grade! Asides from the harm pressure to achieve high grades can cause, students should not have passion and eagerness stunted for something relatively insignificant. With no change, SAS students will forever suffer the wake of downhill drops in spirituality. Only by reforming the education system may SAS emancipate its students of the academic’s oppression. Only by relieving academic stress may students find the value in knowledge. Only by discovering knowledge’s worth will Shanghai American School students become truly valuable members of society.
Throughout the twenty-first century college should be a top priority for students graduating from high school, but students who make the next step into attending college are facing a problem that is growing rapidly. The problem is grade inflation transpiring within college nursing programs. Dr. Judith Scalan who is an Associate Professor and Associate Dean of the Graduate Program and Dr. Dean Care is an Associate Professor and Acting Dean at the University of Manitoba stated that “Grade Inflation can be defined as a student’s grade point average increasing without student achievement increasing” (2). Grade inflation is a re-occurring issue for college students majoring in nursing for many reasons. The reasons for this are the “professors who are instructing class do not know the correct methods of evaluation, part-time professors giving higher grades, and professors giving good grades due to the relationships they have with their students” (Scalan 476). Other reasons why grade inflation also occurs because the clinical practice in nursing programs have no agreement for benchmarks regarding nursing and many nursing schools are competitive which causes the universities to encourage high graduation rates (Scalan 476).
From the beginning of high school, students strap on their seatbelts and prepare for one of the most vigorous races of their lives – becoming successful. With the rare occurrence of a break, kids are expected to keep on driving as fast and as powerfully as they can in order to get into a “great” college, which would be followed by graduate school and then an actual job that would make a lot of money. In American society, common values include working hard, determination, and being so productive that free time is not even a question. However, this philosophy is taking a major toll on American college and high school students. For at least 40 years, America’s future has been steadily growing unmotivated, tired, and hopeless due to the overemphasis on performing well in school. This phenomenon is appropriately expounded in William Zinsser’s “College Pressures”, which takes a look at the top four sources of tension that cause these feelings of dejection and agitation. After reading this article, I came up with a few solutions to this national problem. It is time to switch the harsh, over-encouraging green light of education to a comfortable yellow one. In order to make this ideal transition, directors of education across the country need to primarily reduce the amount of out-of-class assignments, lighten the grading system, and incorporate days in the school year that allow students to express their thoughts about school and provide useful feedback.
However, such accusations such as laziness and entitlement, although common, have been prevalent amongst those of college age as proven in “A’s for Everyone.” Shepard had investigated the cause behind this and had put the blame on grade inflation in the years prior to entering college, the pressure to get superb grades due to high tuition costs, and most importantly the belief that “effort” constitutes a grade bonus. However, if one has entered the school system in America, one could see the relative ease in which one could improve their grades through inordinate amounts of extra credit. Multiple students have heard and even seen fellow students ask their parents to even come in for meetings of which equate to blaming their child’s poor grades on the teacher and harassing said teacher to allow their child, soon to be a hardworking, productive citizen of society, to get the “grade they
I have always valued school and enlarging my intelligence; I receive a sense of pride from earning a decent grade on a paper or on a particular assignment. Alfie Kohn wrote an essay titled “From Degrading to De-grading”; in it he suggests a different view on the current education system. Even though students expect marks and even seem dependent on them, grading should spur on a love of studying not deter it. Grades tend to reduce a student’s inclination for stimulating tasks, and lessen students’ interest in erudition.
Former professor of geophysics, Stuart Rojstaczer, in his informative op-ed piece, “Grade Inflation Gone Wild,” featured in “Christian Science Monitior(2009),” investigates grade inflation among universities today. Rojstaczer’s purpose is to inform and educate universities on the inflation of grades, and how an A has become the average grade among those schools. He adopts a dismissive tone when generalizing and addressing the students on their behaviors and actions. Rojstaczer found over 80 universities with data on they’re grades, using this he was able to better understand the inflation and also analyze possible solutions. His logos based writing portrays a negative connotation on todays students and their ability to achieve within the classroom. There is no hiding that the standard for grades has been on the rise sense the 1960’s, and is now at an average GPA of a 3.0, but rojstaczer may have lost his audience with his arrogant approach.
"I didn’t feel [stressed] until I was in my 30’s. It hurts my feelings that my daughter feels that way at eleven" (Ratnesar 313). This statement describes the intense issue facing the American Education System today. More and more students are spending a lot of out of school time on enormous amounts of homework. The overabundance of homework is putting pressure on the students, along with their parents. Our nation has steadily focused on after school studying to the point of possible exhaustion. In this paper, I will attempt to explain how educators are relying on homework as the major form of education, and how the amounts are too demanding on the students.
Seeing this, the ability of grades to influence and create positive and negative roles to students remains to be the responsibility of the educator. Given that grades help manifest a standard for students to adhere to, teachers must try to create an environment where they can facilitate and motivate students to do better (Tomlinson, 2001). By using grades as an instrument for development, it can create a positive perception for students to improve and seek connections with instruction and course content.
The author believes that students in the current generation are under more pressure than preceding ones. “William Alexander, director of Penn’s counseling and psychological services stated, ‘A small setback used to mean disappointment…’ Now? ‘For some students, a mistake has incredible meaning.’” The specialists that the author chooses to cite are all credible, which helps to build her view on this subject. The research that Scelfo uses also illustrates the fact that a student’s family plays a big role in their overall mindset. For example, Alice Miller, a famous psychologist, observed that “…some especially intelligent and sensitive children can become so attuned to parents’ expectations that they do whatever it takes to fulfill those expectations- at the expense of their own feelings and needs.” Being able to support her argument with the findings of psychologists and doctors avails Scelfo in swaying the reader’s
Studying a university degree is one of the biggest achievements of many individuals around the world. But, according to Mark Edmunson, a diploma in America does not mean necessarily studying and working hard. Getting a diploma in the United States implies managing with external factors that go in the opposite direction with the real purpose of education. The welcome speech that most of us listen to when we started college, is the initial prank used by the author to state the American education system is not converging in a well-shaped society. Relating events in a sarcastic way is the tone that the author uses to explain many of his arguments. Mark Edmunson uses emotional appeals to deliver an essay to the people that have attended College any time in their life or those who have been involved with the American education system.
The largest educational system is in china there is a law that makes it mandatory that all Chinese students have nine year of education experience this law was passed in 1986. The importance of having an education is the key to success to be comfortable and abl...
Are the new standards and expectations the world has for teenagers really creating monsters? The amount of stress that is put on students these days between trying to balance school, homework, extra curricular activities, social lives, sleep and a healthy lifestyle is being considered as a health epidemic (Palmer, 2005). Students are obsessing over getting the grades that are expected of them to please those that push them, and in return, lose sleep and give up other aspects of their lives that are important to them such as time with friends and family as well as activities that they enjoy. The stress that they endure from the pressures of parents, teachers, colleges, and peers have many physical as well as mental effects on every student, some more harmful than others. The extreme pressure on students to get perfect grades so that they will be accepted into a college has diminished the concept of actually learning and has left the art of “finagling the system” in order to succeed in its place (Palmer, 2005). There are many ways that should be implemented in order to reduce the stress on students so that they can thrive because, withoutthem, the school systems will only be creating generations of stressed out, materialistic, and miseducated students (Palmer, 2005).
Pressures on children in today’s society are a problem that is becoming more evident in academics as parents and teachers put more and more emphasis on these children to outperform their classmates, stress in the child’s life becomes an interfering problem (Anxiety.org, 2011 Weissbourd, 2011,). From preschool children to college adults, pressure to execute academic perfection extends across all areas of curriculum. In our highly competitive, American society, emphasis placed on academic achievement has never been so intense (Anxiety.org, 2011, Beilock, 2011). This need to be the best, fueled by our culture in America, has created a social force affecting education, a force to be reckoned with at that. Too often, parents and teachers sacrifice their chil...
Most importantly, the student must care about their education. This, of course, is easier with the display of ownership by the parents and teachers. It is important that he or she is aware of the consequences that can occur later in life if education is taken lightly. They must also be aware of the great rewards that can be reaped by taking ownership in one’s education. With this ownership, they control their destiny positively or
Harris Cooper, a researcher on homework from Duke University, claims that too much homework causes stress. In this I paper will talk about the damaging effects homework has on a child, how homework causes students to dropout of school, and some ideas for an alternative to homework.
My father is a mathematics teacher and everyone presumed that I also have a bright mind like my father. But the truth was quite bitter. Even though I was brought up with all the facilities a child could get, still I was an average student. This was my parents’ deepest despondency. I was a student with good knowledge and memory, but my indolence always dragged me to average standard.