Testing the Teachers: Is College Really as Hard as They Say?

2591 Words6 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Importance of study skills

It is time to turn the tables and test the teachers on the challenge of college. Throughout high school, students are told all about how difficult college is and what to expect. Not yet having experienced it, the students typically prepare for the worst. They teach themselves how to study based on the standards of their high school. They write papers, do homework, and participate in class in the attempt to meet the expectations of their teachers. They base their picture of college off their teachers’ standards and what their peers say. While many high school students have developed accurate expectations regarding the difficulties of college, the study skills acquired in high school may not be enough to ensure success at the collegiate level. High school students are often surrounded by a plethora of stories about the “realities” of college academics. The students base their expectations of college on those stories; however, sometimes the information they receive is conflicting. From teachers to peers to the colleges themselves, each has different advice about the strenuous nature of college academics. The expectations teachers have for their students attempt to prepare the students for the rigorous academics ahead. Students are told that in typical colleges, teachers do not care about one’s excuse for a late assignment or attendance issues. Therefore, high school teachers expect their students to turn in assignments on time and be in class. If those expectations are not met, some high school teachers will not accept the assignment or will expect the students to find out what they missed on their own. “The transition from a public high to a top U. can be difficult, stressful, and frustrating. You will have to learn to excel in... ... middle of paper ... ...cement Participation and University Academic Success in the First Semester: Controlling for Selected High School Academic Abilities." Journal of College Admission (Summer2010). Tippecanoe County Public Library. 26 Jan. 2011. Keyword: high school to college. Works Cited (Part II) Blankstein, Alan M. Facilitator's guide, Failure is not an option : 6 principles for making student success the only option, second edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin, 2010. Carter, Carol, and Lewis Dylan. Study skills for high school students. Denver, CO: LifeBound, 2006. Fox, Gunnar. Kick ass in college: a guerrilla guide to college success. Dallas, TX: KickAssMedia, 2005. Hite, Jim. "What is College Level Work?" AIU Online: educator2educator. 31 Jan. 2008. 26 Jan. 2011. Nathan, Rebekah. My freshman year: what a professor learned by becoming a student. Ithaca: Cornell UP, 2005.

Show More
Related

  • College Pressures By William Zinsser

    1735 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Mark Edmundson's On The Uses Of A Liberal Education

    1053 Words  | 3 Pages

    The multiple choices students have today in college have made the university a party environment, resulting in complacent students. Mark Edmundson raises important questions and makes valid points in this essay that are worth thinking about. If people don’t take a look at our present college system and start thinking outside the box, the college education system will continue on its downward spiral of consumerism. It is fun to graduate high school and go to college to party and to have a comedic professor, but there is so much more to college then having fun. People need to realize that by challenging student, students can then start to recognize their own potential end become better for it. Learning and utilizing the information that is being taught in college is essential. “Everyone is born with their own mind, all that is left to do is break out of the stereotypical college student mold, and use

    Read More

  • Patrick Sullivan's 'Essential Habits Of Mind For College Readiness'

    1315 Words  | 3 Pages

    We have been taught all throughout our years of school that grades are important. True, grades are very important, but are they the only quality we should be focusing on as we enter college? Perhaps we should look past grades and focus on things such as the adaptation into the college life. Patrick Sullivan shares college education is more than just tests and intelligence. He also shares tips on how to prepare for this life-changing move into adulthood. In his article “Essential Habits of Mind for College Readiness”, Sullivan discusses specific qualities that are crucial in college years and beyond, such as curiosity, openness, creativity, accountability, humility, and character. I believe these qualities are what shape a college student, because

    Read More

  • Summary Of My Freshman Year What A Professor Learned By Becoming A Student

    1393 Words  | 3 Pages

    In a society where a collegiate degree is almost necessary to make a successful living, the idea that a student cares less about the education and more about the “college experience” can seem baffling. In My Freshman Year: What a Professor Learned by Becoming a Student, Rebekah Nathan, the author’s pseudonym, tackles the idea that academics are less impactful on a student then the culture of college life. Nathan, a 50-year-old cultural anthropologist and university professor, went undercover as a college freshman for a research project. From her research, she hoped to better understand the undergraduate experience by fully immersing herself in college life. To do this, she anonymously applied to “AnyU,” a fake acronym for a real university,

    Read More

  • Returning to College as an Adult

    666 Words  | 2 Pages

    Coming to college as an adult, we have many expectations and preconceptions of what college will or will not be. The expectations we have can influence our college life for the better or the worse. My experience since starting college has been an interesting one. People have misconceptions about college because they do not know what to expect. After doing some research, I have concluded that there are three major factors that are often misunderstood about college life. The first is the financial aspect of college. Second, is the relationship between the professors and students. Third is time management. These three factors play an important role in why people are afraid to go down the path to college.

    Read More

  • First-Year College Students Receiving Help

    833 Words  | 2 Pages

    Students entering college for the first time become concerned with their college life. The students are on their own once they enter college. There are no parents or guardians telling them when to do homework, when to go to bed, or how to eat healthy. These students are now responsible for how they are going to succeed in school and meet their own needs. From the beginning, these students wonder what their experience is going to be like and are they going to handle the demands of college?

    Read More

  • Social Promotion VS. Retention

    1857 Words  | 4 Pages

    Johnson, D. and A. Ruldolph (2001). Beyond Social Promotion and Retention-Five Startegies to Help Students Succeed, North Central Regional Educational Laboratory.

    Read More

  • General Education Courses Are A Waste of Time and Money

    1573 Words  | 4 Pages

    Students go to college in search of knowledge, a new lifestyle, and the hope of a job after graduation. For many young adults, college is a rite of passage into an independent, mature new lifestyle. Not only is higher education a rite of passage, for some, it is also an opportunity to have a better life. Overall, college is a wonderful part of many people’s lives, yet the way the college education system is conducted wastes students time and money. College is basically composed of two parts: general education classes and major specific classes. General education courses are the source of wasted time and money, and should not be required of students. A few of the problems associated with general education classes are that they are basically a repeat of high school, unfortunately they can be the demise of students, they are costly, and they waste time.

    Read More

  • College Readiness

    2483 Words  | 5 Pages

    David T. Conley. (2008). Education Leadership. Vol. 66 No.2. What makes a student College Ready. Retrieved from: http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/oct08/vol66/num02/What-Makes-a-Student-College-Ready%C2%A2.aspx

    Read More

  • William Zinsser College Pressures Essay

    519 Words  | 2 Pages

    William Zinsser’s essay “College Pressures” emphasizes the struggles students have in trying to conquer the college milestone in life. Zinsser believes that college has lost the authenticity of the overall goal of gaining knowledge for one’s own interest, rather than the overall need of going. He sympathizes with struggles college kids go through and hopes to provide insight on the overall situation. One of his major points are that succeeding the first time is not always the best way in learning, and that sometimes students need to fail in order to properly learn. The author mentions the “Four pressures, economic pressure, parental pressure, peer pressure, and self-induced pressure” and how there are “No villains; only victims” that fall

    Read More

  • CAPS After School Program

    867 Words  | 2 Pages

    One goal being to promote academic achievement in curricular areas. Kiara and Jocelyn provide students with strategies to support student achievement such as arts and crafts, visual and performing arts, social skills education, academic games, activities, and gardening projects. Providing these strategies help show the students that education is important and that Kiara and Jocelyn are there for encouragement and motivation. Making an impact in a child’s future education is a priority for the CAPS

    Read More

  • International Students' Experience

    975 Words  | 2 Pages

    Nathan, R. (2005). My freshman year: What a professor learned by becoming a student. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.

    Read More

  • Comparing and Contrasting High School Teachers and College Professors

    936 Words  | 2 Pages

    A high school class and a college class are conducted in different ways. In high school, teachers exercise control over the flow of information, while college professors encourage the student to seek out pertinent information. Throughout the year, a high school teacher will remind the student of upcoming due dates and assignment requirements. If a student misses a test or homework assignment, the teacher will provide missing notes or study guides so that the student is kept up to date with the rest of the class. For example; when I was in high school, I missed a week of school to go on vacation with my family. My mother spoke with my teacher before we left and he agreed to let me turn in my homework when I returned to class. Furthermore, my teacher allowed me to make up the single quiz that I missed during my absence. Neither the late homework, nor the missed quiz reflected in my grade. A college professor would have made me choose between a good grade and a vacation with my family. In contrast, the college professor...

    Read More

  • Similarities Between High School And College

    1152 Words  | 3 Pages

    In many ways, some people might say that the college experience is not all that different compared to that of high school. In fact, both share a wide variety of things, but there are of course differences that they share as well. Although things such as class structures, grading systems, and education methods of high school and college are alike, there are certain dissimilarities in both such as the workload, the amount of responsibility one undertakes, the teachers, as well as the social activities and atmosphere of the institution. Differences can also be seen among college and high school in homework, teacher-student relationships, and attendance policies. It should also be noted that one of the main differences between high school and college

    Read More

  • The Negative Effects Of Peer Pressure On College Students

    1090 Words  | 3 Pages

    As years pass, more and more high school students are continuing their education by going off to college. The importance of earning a college degree is higher than ever. College gives these young adults the opportunity to start a new life and work towards a career of their choice. With this new experience, these students have to learn how to balance their schoolwork, social life, and any other extracurricular activities they are involved with. As a result of this, students start to feel pressure from many places. Economic, parental, peer, and self-induced pressures have been problems faced by college students for many years, but since the late 1970’s, they have only got worse due to tuition rising, students overexerting, the use of

    Read More

More about Testing the Teachers: Is College Really as Hard as They Say?

Open Document