Professor Jacob Neusner states that there exists a social contract between teacher and student, which is that true learning occurs when teachers teach students to teach themselves. In his article “What Does ‘Vocabulary’ Mean?”, Andrew Heinze asks what should professors at educational institutions do to accommodate the needs of students and address the problem with college students not comprehending basic vocabulary, and the impact this has on their performance in school. In order to address this education gap a few things need to be called to action and or either accomplished: attrition rate of teachers, parents of students need to become more involved in their children’s education, the lack of reading comprehension with students needs to be addressed and solved, and finally there has to be initiative from the student to work hard and gain an education. If these things are achieved, Andrew Heinze can have an answer to his question, what should [professors] do about [inadvertently speaking over their students’ heads].
The claims Heinze makes seem absurd and at first hard to swallow, but analyzing what he says gives relevance to his argument that college students are lacking in vocabulary and professors need to do something to accommodate this decline in vocabulary. Heinze asserts, “What should we do about it? Dumbing down our speech to a sixth-or eighth-grade level is not an option. If we don’t stimulate our students to learn important words, who will?” (Heinze 2). One approach Heinze gives calls for professors to “…switch from essay-question to multiple-choice exams” (2). As this was the way he first discovered the problem. But should multiple-choice exams really be taught in college level courses? The social contract calls for...
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...s being involved in children’s learning, and the initiative is taking by the student to learn; then across the country students will be more prepared for college and not have to ask the question, “What’s ‘pessimistic’?”
Works Cited
Boyer, Ashley, and Burnette Hamil. “FOCUS ON COLLEGES, UNIVERSITIES, AND SCHOOLS.” Problems Facing American Education 2.1 (2008): 9. Web. 20 Sep 2009.
Heinze, Andrew. "What Does 'Vocabulary' Mean?." Princeton University Press. (2004): 2. Print.
"Issue Brief." Teacher Attrition: A Costly Loss to the Nation and to the States (2005): 6. Web. 27 Sep 2009. .
Neusner, Jacob. "Social Contract Between Teachers and Students." 1027-1031. Print.
Bruni begins by describing the golden promise of college as it appeared for baby boomers. In that time getting into college and completing a degree was enough to be successful. He acknowledges that this idealized vision of college may be inaccurate, however, he asserts that the issue is far more “complicated” than it once was. Bruni makes use of a recent (2012) debate over student loan interest rates in the U.S. to explore the issues surrounding college education today. While rising student debt is certainly part of the problem he suggests that the issue extends beyond that. College is now a “luxury item with newly uncertain returns” (Bruni). While rising costs make college a luxury item that not everyone will be able to afford, even those who can and do manage to go to college are not guaranteed success.
In chapter 6, "The College Dropout Boom" talked about the idea of how higher education, meaning colleg...
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Education has always been a current issue due to the fact that it is seen as an economic cure-all. However, the perception of college is ill-conceived and there are multiple debates on how to improve it. College universities believe that having open admissions will increase the amount of matriculations, but the fact is the amount of students being enrolled into a four-year university has no relationship to the amount of students with academic aspirations. W.J. Reeves, an English professor at Brooklyn College of The City University of New York, gives a few examples of how open admissions has changed education methods and student abilities. Reeves wrote this opinion piece to convince everyone, especially parents, that schools are in need of reform
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Throughout the span of the past few weeks I have traversed the globe, visiting several countries and regions, only to realize that although new methods develop, language as a way of expressing ones self has remained the most effective. Despite this fact, language still has its pitfalls. Neil Postman, in his essay “Defending Against the Indefensible,'; outlines seven concepts that can be used to aid a student in better understanding the language as a means of communication. He describes how modern teaching methods leave a student vulnerable to the “prejudices of their elders';, further stating that a good teacher must always be skeptical. He urges teachers of all subjects to break free from traditional teachings as well as “linguistical tyranny';
Besharov, Douglas. "Teachers Performance: A Review ." Journal of Policy Analyis and Management (2006): 1-41.
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Kaplin, W., & Lee, B. (2014). The law of higher education. 5th ed. San Francisco, CA. Jossey-Bass.
As the high school chapter is coming to a close, many students have to make a decision that will affect the rest of their lives. Hopefully, for many that decision is to enroll in a college and attain a higher education. However, as tuition costs rise, students have to take a second look at their options for a better future. A community college is that second look for many because it is the less expensive option. From 2007-2009, enrollment for community colleges has increased by 24 percent (“College costs and the CPI”). Students aren’t choosing a college for educational purposes because they are overwhelmed by financial issues. They are attending community colleges so they will be able to graduate with a lower debt. Some seniors have wanted to attend a certain university all their life and they work toward that goal through grade school; however, they are hindered by soaring tuition for that college. Students should be able to attend a private university if they mee...
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“Every child deserves a champion – an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection and insists that they become the best that they can possibly be” (Pierce). This quote offers the very reason adults should have a desire to encourage our students and help them be successful. In high school I did not have the benefit of having parents who encouraged me or guided me to be my very best nor help direct my future. Guidance counselors were not there to advise on how to get to college, but rather to help with personal problems. Though my goal is not to teach, I want to help students learn to be successful, be their best, and gain the knowledge to prepare for their future.
Mir, S. (2011), Education woes: Shortage of teachers a threat to public schools, Tribune, 3 April.