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Methods of critical thinking
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What does today’s society expect from students? A question that can either end with a positive or negative answer. With any kind of education there comes responsibility, commitment, and consequences. As a student, one must develop qualities in him or her to enable him or her to lead a successful life. The older one gets the higher people’s expectations seem to be. Many of the expectations set for students may be the same, but the repercussions of the actions one choses to take are what differs the most. Society expects for students to be able to learn and comprehend any information that is being thrown out. Some students seem naturally enthusiastic about learning, but many need-or expect-their instructors to inspire, challenge, and stimulate them: "Effective learning in the classroom depends on the teacher's ability to maintain the interest in the first place" (Erickson). Depending on what happens in the classroom, changes the level of motivation that a student brings into the classroom. Students need to be able to completely understand the content given and work to his or her hi...
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
It is obvious that education, whether classroom instruction or practical drill, advice or entreaty, must ensure that students are positively involved, that they at least listen and pay attention to the words, actions, and the thoughts of their educators, instead of drifting off or doing something else, or simply leaving to try to learn what they need on their own (Prange 74).
As the economy evolves and the job market continues to get more competitive, it’s becoming harder to have a successful career without some kind of college degree. This creates a belief in many young students that college actually is a commodity, something they must have in order to have a good life. There’s many different factors that influence this mindset, high schools must push the importance of the student’s willingness and drive to further their education. College isn’t just a gateway to jobs, but it is an opportunity to increase knowledge and stretch and challenge the student which in return makes them a more rounded adult and provides them with skills they might lack prior to
Before World War II, attending college was a privilege, usually reserved for the upper class, but, in today’s society scholarships, grants, and loans are available to the average student which has made pursuing a college education a social norm. Norms are usually good, they help keep society run in an organized manner by sharing common rules and values. But, when pursuing a college education becomes a norm, it does more destruction than good. For a lot of students, a major reason for attending college is because their parents tell them it’s the thing to do to become successful in life.
The key aspect of teaching is engaging the students. I can testify that I learn best when the teacher is involving me, as well as others, in the assignment. Making the material personal is a useful skill and helps the students learn at a faster rate.
It seems as though the majority of college students these days aren’t looking to further their education because it’s what they really want, they do it to please their parents, to be accepted by society, or because there’s nothing else for them to do (Bird, 372). These expectations have led to students being unhappy and stressed, and have pushed them into a school or a job that they don’t particularly care for.
The desire to learn new things means that both sides, students and teachers, must have an engaged pedagogy. According to hooks, an engaged pedagogy is both sides are willing to learn and grow. Not only the students are empowered and are encourage sharing things about themselves and learning new things but teachers are also meant to do these things (21). This is a barrier because if students and teachers are not willing to learn and grow democratic citizens cannot be created. This is so because people will not be educated of differences and others react and deal with different things in society. This goes along with the importance of self-actualization of teachers in the class...
Robinsons says that, “In fact, the real challenges for education will only be met by empowering passionate and creative teachers and by firing up the imaginations and motivations of the students.” (247). The reason why he says that is because most often having a teacher not take a lot of interest in what they are teaching or not having the inspiration in wanting to get students excited for learning. What he means by this is
In order to be an effective teacher there needs to be an understanding that we all learn differently, this means that no single teaching strategy is effective for all students/learners all the time. This makes teaching a complex process because you need to understand and meet the requirements of all of your learners. Students learn best when they aren’t asked to simply memorise information but when they form their own understandings of what is being taught. When a student has successfully learnt a new idea they are able to then intergrate this information with their previously learnt information and make sense of it. To be an effective teacher you need to work jointly with students to asses where they are at, be able to give feedback on how the student is going and ensure that they are understanding the lesson (Killen, 2013) According to Lovat and Smith (2003) students learning must result in a change in a student’s understanding of the information being taught. In order to show understanding they must be able to share this information with others and want to learn more (Killen, 2013). In order to have a deeper understanding of what is being taught they need to be aware of the relationship that exists between what they knew previously and the new information that is being learned (Killen, 2013).. Students need to be given goals that they can achieve in order to feel a sense of mastery over their own learning, this gives students motivation that they are able to complete tasks and to keep going.
We ignore the plain fact that students learn at different rates and in different ways” (3). Furthermore, teachers are the main source of knowledge in the classroom. When teaching, teachers determine almost everything that happens within their classroom. Including what information they have students learn, and how they pass on that information. However, over the years, it has been neglected that every student learns differently. Additionally, it needs to be remembered that it is the students who are learning. A school system is needed that can retain all students’ curiosity, individuality, and creativity. For instance, whether it is the amount of homework given, the type of test, the pace of teaching, or the style of notes required, students should not be confined to only one way of
High school students today are finding it harder to have motivation in school. Lack of motivation can come from a range of dislike between teachers or the school itself. A Student “is the initiator of his or her actions with regard to studying” (Alivernini 241-242). That is why it is important to focus on how they are not being positively motivated by their instructors or the school. Today students are finding it harder to connect to their teachers. Some students think that “teachers who exhibit various forms of controlling behavior, such as giving rigid directions or ord...
...em to look at several elements that affect their student’s motivation and ask why and how this affects them in the first place. After that, I would tell him to arrange a lesson plan utilizing structural factors such as patterns and sequences, with a view to individual application and the group dynamics of the class. By doing so, the teacher can grow in his students a sense of shared motivation guided by these structural factors, so that each interrelated lesson are remembered. These lesson plans must also consider the effective ways of instilling discipline in the students. The teacher must allow for response from the students so that he may understand the students’ perception of reality, value systems, and will, so that he may understand how to motivate his students more. By understanding the motivations of his students, he can bring about a change in their lives.
It is important that education is properly enforced and easily accessed by all people. Poor teaching is implemented in the classroom today, such as boring lectures consisting of taking notes and regurgitating information. Because of this, people lack the motivation necessary to take advantage of their academic opportunities. In his essay “I Just Wanna Be Average,” Mike Rose writes about how during the majority of his academic career “[he] did what [he] had to do to get by, and [he] did it with half a mind” (154). Not only had Mike Rose done this, but other students follow in the same footsteps as if they are blind to how valuable education is and how it can empower a person. The type of an educator you are taught by can differentiate whether you will “do what you have to do to get by” or actually engage yourself while in the classroom. Mike Rose makes it obvious that school was not fascinating to him, but when he is introduced to a new teacher, Jack MacFarland he states that “[he] worked very hard, for MacFarland had hooked [him]; he tapped [his] old interest in reading and creating stories” (160). Professors like Jack MacFarland are what leave impacts on students and help them realize the importance of academics. Rose even states “MacFarland gave him a way to feel special by using his mind” (160). When educators can make students feel the way that MacFarland made Rose feel they can ascertain a great amount of
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 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 has 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 “financing the system” in order to succeed in its place (Palmer, 2005).
The “roots” of education, meaning actually going to school, studying, making great grades, and giving it your best, are bitter and tiring. Those students that have not yet become uninterested in learning are the ones that have seen past the strife in the beginning and have the rewarding end in mind.