In Chapter Seven: Lessons From My Year as a Freshman, Rebekah Nathan summarizes and answers questions on the knowledge she gained from becoming a freshman. The author begins the chapter with a cross-cultural conversation between professors and students. She discusses how professors are not aware of the students living conditions or the effort that goes into achieving a high GPA. Likewise, the students do not understand professor rank and advancement. Nathan also reflects on the time she spent as a student and gains a new perspective during course preparations. The writer continues the chapter with an analysis of student culture and conformity that she experienced during her field work. In the last section of the chapter, Nathan looks back
Countless amounts students are not putting in enough effort into getting good grades at school. This is why schools are making a plan to get students to achieve better grades. A student’s motivation to do well in school should be their desire to learn, not only do it for the money. This makes school more of a business transaction then a place to learn and grow. Also, there are no beneficial outcomes, paying students for acceptable grades have in the long run. Actually, the students do worse. Paying students for good grades is not a good idea because success should be its own reward, there are no long-term effects, and students end up doing worse in the long run.
Throughout the years, it has become common to hear cases of students going into debt, and the number of college dropouts has been astounding as well. High school students looking to graduate encounter difficult decisions, and when making those decisions they need to look forward to hypothesize the outcome. America generally believes that a college degree is basically a requirement just for entering the working middle class. According to the essay “Should Everyone Go to College?” by Stephanie Owen and Isabel Sawhill, higher education is not a great investment for every student. Owen and Sawhill may be right; college may not be a smart investment for every student because it is true
In Brent Staples “Why Colleges Shower Their Students With A’s”, he claims that professors in colleges in the 1990’s are changing their grading on students assignments so much where that they are just passing out good grades when students don’t even deserve them. Colleges have started to change the whole grading system over the years just to make it look like the students are doing better. For example, “In some cases, campuswide averages have crept up from a C just 10 years ago to B-plus today” (Staples 1). There are many reasons as to why they day this. They often fear that the school will begin to fall and be unsuccessful. There are some courses that aren’t attended much and they don’t want the program to get rid of so they make the classes very
Ramifications of chasing traditional rewards in, “How Not to Get into College”, “Somnambulist”, and “Iced- Cream”
Would you be happy if you had received an A in your class? Do you feel that you truly learned enough to deserve that perfect A? Students who are in either high school or college are forgetting the true meaning of having knowledge and being able to learn. People think that how well they perform in the classroom will justify how well the teacher teaches their students but necessary that might not always be that way. In Brent Staples piece, “Why Colleges Shower their Students with A’s”, he argues that there must be an end to the grade Inflation and continues by examining for a possible solution by using language techniques to emphasize the main point. He mentions, “Some departments shower students with A’s to fill poorly attended courses that might otherwise be canceled” (Staples 1065). Staples piece comes across as formal, but also has a purpose of the making both a precise idea and credible point to his readers that they might be effected as well as colleges that the essay refers to. Staple focuses
The one point Charles Murray makes about not everyone is fit to going to college. I would have to agree with Charles because college is begin focused upon us by our teachers, guidance counselors and our parents. Being forced to going to college is not the best because if the young adult doesn’t want to pursue a higher degree, and forcing the person into college, he/she won’t want to study and the two or four years will be a waste of time. Charles other point he makes is that people who believe their smart want to go to college. I would have to disagree, why because everyone is equal and it’s their decision on whether they go to college. Even if you get bad grades in high school that not the case when you go to college. For example, if you’re not smart in high school you may be smart in
David Brooks is a well-refined journalist for the New York Times News Paper Company. He writes many different controversial articles, that tends to focus around arguments of education. Within Brooks’ arguments he uses effective techniques to persuade the audience. In this specific column, he addresses society as a whole, but with special emphasis on students. David Brooks successfully persuades his audience through his presentation of his claim, his persuasive writing style, and his usage of emotional appeals.
As a college student who is currently spending thousands of dollars to further my education and achieve a career goal, it was, at first, disheartening to read Caroline Bird’s essay “College is a Waste of Time and Money”. However, after thoroughly examining her points, I now see that her essay is illogical. In her piece “College is a Waste of Time and Money”, Caroline Bird argues against the idea that “college is the best place for all high-school graduates” (1); in other words, college isn’t for everyone. Throughout her writing, Bird supplies her readers with evidence that explains how, for some individuals, college is a waste of not only time and money, but of intellectual effort, as well. It wasn’t until after reading this piece several times that I began encountering flaws within her reasoning. Although I agree with Bird that college is a waste of all these for some students, I also believe that Bird does not provide strong enough evidence to persuade her readers into thinking this.
The fascinating read, “High School Nerds Make More Money, Says Social Science” by Jordan Weissmann opens the eyes to how high school grade may impact one’s life. He states “researchers at the University of Miami have now published a study showing that students who earn better grades in high school also make more money as adults.” But this does not specify what classes will help impact the amount of money made. The study uses “high school transcripts” to validate the information. The details of the transcripts don’t give enough information to the reader. He voices, “A student’s high school GPA is a good predictor of whether he will finish college” which seems more as a opinion because there are no facts to back it up. Therefore, Jordan Weissmann article, “High School Nerds Make More Money, Says Social Science” leaves open the study, transcripts and how GPA predicts your time at college for any reader to argue.
“Kids should be satisfied with the warm fuzzy feeling of accomplishment.” Is this possible when being paid for good grades? When paid for good grades, students are no longer learning for a better future, but rather just for the reward of money. If the purpose of school is to educate, does the prize of cash take that away? From students feeling not needed pressure, to taking away the natural motivation to learn, to not remembering the material presented, students should not be paid for good grades.
Schools are just like jobs. The boss expects the workers to stay on task and do their work well. Teachers want students to work hard and also do their work with effort. If schools really want students to succeed, shouldn’t they be paid? Paying students motivate them to work hard to learn the criteria. How do schools motivate them? With money. Students should be paid for their grades because it will teach them about the real world, level out the playing field, and raise graduation rates.
The extent that grades have on hindering the ability to learn is discussed in Ursula K. LeGuin’s The Dispossessed, in which Shevek a college professor is troubled by the importance placed on the grading system as a mark of understanding of a subject at the university he recently started teaching at. One of the first points to be made is that understanding what you were taught isn’t the point of schools anymore, it’s about memorizing the information for a test or assignment.Second, is that achieving high marks in school doesn’t always equate intelligence or lack of it . Lastly, it’s not how well one is able to memorize what they are taught, but how they’re able to take that information, process and apply it to real world problems that shows the extent of one’s true education.
This review is a study of the central points and arguments the book intends to make as I understood them to be.
“Should students be paid for good grades?”. It is a common question asked by many teachers and parents. Mothers, father, and educators debate whether paying for good grades is effective, and helps children academically, or brings down their grades and motivation. Many parents argue that paying their children for getting good grades can help boost their child’s motivation to learn, while other parents disagree, claiming that bribing their children to be successful doesn’t work in the long term. Students that receive money over a long course of time have shown lower academic performances. According to some teachers, paying students for good grades can cause conflicts in the classroom, which could possibly lead to difficulty at home with parents. Paying students are also shown to be good for only a short period of time, can cause conflicts with parents, teachers, and fellow peers, and money does not leave kids with a true desire to learn.