Struggle in School Research Paper Example
I’ve watched others, including myself, struggle in school since I was a child. Lessons weren't engaging enough to complete assignments; it would either involve memorizing, reading instead of learning and understanding the topic which would often lead to me being compared at school and home, for my grades. The United States current education system negatively impacts students and their families more than it benefits them. The curriculum involves standardized tests and gradings to determine intelligence. As high scores are perceived to be the path to success, parents become more obsessed with pushing their children towards those goals, even if it means putting a strain on them.
Starting from 2009, most states in the U.S signed up for Common core to teach
students due to the fear of being behind other countries in academic performances. However, instead of advancing the standards, the federal government only promoted them, “American school children are not prepared for the so-called “twenty-first-century global economy.” Yet the Common Core standards themselves never actually define what they mean by “twenty-first-century global economy”(Bascom,1). It also took away the control of teachers who had a better understanding of what the students needed. Multiple tests are taken towards the end of the year to see if students make it to that higher level of performance. To the research on child adolescent psychology, “Standardized tests tend to measure only one sort of knowledge while discounting creativity and diverse modes of expression”.
Students aren't allowed to make much of a choice on what they want to do or study until their last years of high school or college. In a that scarcely listens to one another Allowing students to have a say in their decisions by listening to them tentatively will “... increase both engagement and motivation for tween, teens, and in fact, all age levels’’ Students should have a choice on what activities, languages, they want to do instead of having courses that aren’t fit for them.
We all have our own developed interests, and the U.S educational system tries to judge your ability to perform multiple subjects that may or may not be equally interesting to you. “The way students view their own intelligence – their mindset – is a strong determining factor for academic performance” (Flurry, 1). As a result, your grade point average is not an accurate reflection of your true intelligence, Because being able to solve problems, reason and plan your way of thinking critically, and being able to cooperate and comprehend with others is how you show your intelligence.
It’s also a problem with how teachers teach their students. “Teacher’s uncivil behavior demotivates students, causes an unpleasant learning environment, limits student’s course choices and thus negatively affects the students' learning”(Ali, Ashraf, Shuai,1).
When it comes to motivating students, parents have a variety of viewpoints on encouraging them. Although having high expectations for students can be beneficial, constantly putting pressure on them can be destructive. “Adults have also expressed concerns that kids today "can't be kids anymore" because they are pressured and expected to constantly perform well—such as getting into the most prestigious schools or getting the best scholarships (Morin,1). Once students believe that each homework project will greatly affect their future, or that every test shows how much worth they have in receiving scholarships, the pressure can be detrimental. This causes higher rates of mental illness, injuries, Self-esteem problems, Sleep deprivation, and an increased likelihood of cheating to get higher grades for the sake of their parent’s expectations.
