Lessons Learned A Lesson Learned

A Lesson Learned Many schools try different methods of teaching and tutoring to increase test scores and graduation rates; Hot Springs High School is one of those schools. When the School Board noticed students stopped doing their work, they decided to take the issue to the next level. Due to this sudden acknowledgement, the “ICU List” was born. Little did they know, the ICU List has made students even lazier, and has created issues for the students who actually do their work. The ICU List is comprised of students in every grade who did not turn in their assigned work on time. At first, this system worked flawlessly. Anytime a student was placed on the list, they would have to stay in during “Bison Hour,” which was everyone’s Advisory and

I have overheard teachers discuss the curriculum they teach, and how they tailor it to match student needs. While this is not a bad thing, they tailor the course work to be a lot easier. Many times, classes seem to have less work when students are struggling with the course work. Teachers become even more lax and assign less homework and big assignments so they do not have hundreds of failing students. This can make school quite boring for some students. Even advanced and honors classes can be too easy for some students. A lot of my friends are taking college classes all day, because they are more challenging than the courses offered at the high school. While this is good because we now have the option of Dual Credit, students before this offer were stuck with nothing to challenge their

Since the courses can be boring and students know there is no real consequence if you do not turn an assignment in, they choose to hang out with friends instead of work on their assignments. I have almost fallen subject to taking advantage of it as well. I have a strong work ethic but I find myself scrambling to get all of my assignments done. I always manage to get my work turned in on time, but sometimes I just want to skip an assignment so I can get the “more important” ones done. For example, one night I had quite a bit of AP Calculus homework due at midnight. I saw all the assignments I had to do: Personal Finance, Senior Experience, and AP Chemistry. I decided to work on my AP Calculus all night because it is a course I take through Northern State University, so I prioritized it. The next day, I had to do the other assignments during first hour because my guilty conscience set in. I am very glad it did, because it is much more satisfying if you actually do your assignments and turn them in on time. Once a student slacks off once, chances are they will continue to slack off all the way to graduation