Wednesday, November 19, 2014
Where does the modern student attitude come from?
Today as we discussed student's attitudes and goals during college, we discussed that students are more focused getting a good GPA to then get a good job rather than actually learning and perhaps exploring new subject matters. It got me thinking well who is responsible for this attitude students have? It could be the students themselves, but I think it is more accurate to say that it is society's fault. Society has conditioned us to get good grades and do well on standardized tests, but they are never saying I hope students are learning a lot. Do people agree with this or do they think this student attitude is due to something else?
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I think that the education system is to blame for its valuing grades as indicators of learning. Many teachers provide all the necessary tools for their students to earn high grades. Things like staying after school, providing study guides for tests, and meeting with students individually to address concepts that they don't understand all help the students earn high grades. Few teachers provide tools to foster learning. I attribute this fault to how the education system approaches teacher evaluation. They base a teacher's effectiveness on average grades, standardized tests, etc. However, it is difficult to pinpoint a solution to this issue. How do teachers show parents that their children are learning without standardized testing? How does the education system ensure that teachers are teaching a set curriculum? I don't think I have an answer to these questions as it is a very complex issue. However, I do think that the education system's interpretation of GPAs and SAT scores as the measurement of learning is definitely influential to student attitude.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with Meaghans comment on the usefulness of standardized tests and GPAs when it comes to determining how much a student has learned. I also agree that society is to blame for our obsessions with performance. I think that there is no way for us to combat this issue. As time has evolved the educational system shifted gears from a place of pleasure of learning to a place to go prior to receiving a job. The complex economic scenes of our time make it imperative for students to demonstrate that they are able to think critically and learn in order to respond to the rapidly changing world. So I guess the only way that we can once again view learning as pleasurable in itself would be for a technological and societal disaster to occur which would simplify the workplace and with it our outlook on learning and life in general.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Charlie on how society is to blame for the pressures put on students forming the poor attitudes students have regarding school. I think we have all heard our parents say how school in general is definitely more difficult from when they were in school. I don't necessarily think that could be a bad thing, I just consider it different. Since we do not know what school was like for them we can only deal with what we have now. The pressure to find a great job after college is definitely difficult however, without it would students be really motivated? In high school students had the motive to go to school everyday and study so they could get into a great university. And here we all are, we did just that. Now, we all go to class and try to do as well as we can to get a great job. I think it would be naive to say we don't have fun along the way. More goes into a college education than just the 6 classes you take a semester. Friendships are made, memories are shared and those experiences cannot be taken away. I think as difficult as the pressure is sometimes we should all be grateful for what we have and the opportunities we are given.
ReplyDeleteI agree with all previous comments on how the modern attitude of the student originates from society, especially how the current economy is a crucial aspect to the development of this attitude and mentality. Because our current economy is largely fueled through jobs regarding technology and computer science, a large majority of students now focus their studies on obtaining jobs that are able to offer them a stable profession after graduation. This mentality and emphasis regarding money rather than passion causes us to mirror the goals, dreams, and achievements as those of the successful people who have proceeded before us. Many people now pursue a particular degree that can successfully guarantee them a decent and well-paying job after graduating.
ReplyDeleteTo add another point, my mother has been a teacher for 20+ years now and when she first entered the education system, the students were more encouraged to learn for the sake of gaining knowledge. There was not as much pressure and emphasis on standardize testing as there is today. Furthermore, society’s expectations has shaped the new education system in terms parents viewing how greatly these standardize tests impact their child’s career and future; therefore, they are going to demand the education system to start preparing students to succeed in these standardize tests. Thus, switching the education to “teaching to the test” rather than teaching for the sake of learning.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with Janine's point. Many years ago, people went to college to get an education that will lead them to a specific job after graduation. From what my parents tell me, it was a lot less stressful in that if you grasped the concept of what was being taught, you would be able to land the job you wanted. In today's age, you can get A's by studying what the professor says will be on a test but months after the class is over, forget all the concepts. We are all so obsessed with getting a good GPA that we are stressed out because one bad grade means a lot when going up against people with a 4.0 GPA for a job. This stressed atmosphere inhibits the ability to correctly learn and instead of going to class and absorbing the material, we are going to class to simply retain the information needed for the time being because there are so many other topics and classes to cater to. So I definitely agree that the education system is to blame for the modern student attitude.
ReplyDeleteI think it’s important to also take a look at the education systems of other countries. When my parents were in college, they would be up all hours of the night, every single night, just so they could do well. This was not necessarily because they had genuine interest in the subjects (although my parents still use what they learned in their daily lives), but because people who aren’t near the top of the class were essentially shunned. We see this in countless documentaries about the education systems in other countries—if you don’t study, you won’t get anywhere. In this case, we can argue that it’s societal pressures which push students to do whatever is possible to do well, whether or not they actually enjoy learning about the subject. However, I haven’t noticed these pressures on an overarching level in the US. Students can learn whatever it is they want to learn, and they aren’t pressured to “learn or perish.” I guess my follow-up question to this is—Why does this pressure culture exist in other countries and not in other countries? I know from personal experience that education is held in very high esteem, much more so than really anything else other than familial bonds and religious obligations. It surely seems like a societal pressure, though.
ReplyDeleteI think there is a major societal implication with this topic. I would argue that students of our generation, especially high school students, are under greater pressure to perform than any of the generations before us. Ignore the actual school work for a moment and consider something as simple as a college application. When my grandfather was a applying to schools the application was a single page front and back and that was it. When my mother and father applied to colleges it was a little more extensive but not by much. Today, the college application consists of several pages of demographic information, two essays, recommendations, and an entire section dedicated to things that you've done outside of school such as community service and other extra curricular activities, all before you get to your GPA and standardized test scores. Today’s application seems to more closely represent a job application than anything else. Turning our attention now to the tests such as the SATs and the ACTs presents a whole separate level of stress for students. First, you need to decide which of the tests you plan to take, and later on how many times you plan to take on each one. Then, many students take time to prepare for these tests by either studying on their own or taking a review course or both. After all of the effort and time people sink into preparing for these tests, there is an increasing trend of placing less weight on the standardized test scores and giving more weight to GPA. Speaking from personal experience, my standardized test scores were definitely not what got me into Villanova. Not even close. My GPA and measures of my character presented in the college application were far stronger than any of my test scores could have ever been. I spent a summer preparing for the SAT and I ultimately didn’t submit my scores when applying to schools. I did better on the ACTs, but not well enough to really boost my chances of getting into a school like Villanova. I truly believe that the worth of standardized tests are being increasingly questioned. Many students will probably reach a point of wondering if it will even be worth taking the tests. Finally, I think an examination of how we view our own school work and academic performance is quite telling. Villanova students come from a largely similar background, high achieving individuals from strong high schools and fairly well off families. There is no doubt that this shapes our opinion of academics to a certain degree. How many times have you heard a friend say something like, “oh man, I just bombed that test!”? More often than not when “bombing” a test to our eyes means a low B or a C at the very worst. We think this way for two reasons, first, because we are taught that anything that isn’t an A isn’t worth very much, and second, because for most of us, A’s were probably fairly easy to achieve in high school. This type of thinking skews our perception of what it means to be successful in school. We are placed under such pressure to produce this results that it is no wonder that school has become a rather laborious process that is viewed as a chore rather than a tremendous opportunity. Personally, I have never really loved school, I recognize its value in the long run which is what motivates me to do as well as I can. To me school is something that needs to be done and to get through it as efficiently as possible is to be successful. This view is probably largely dependent on the individual but if the attitude of the modern student is to ever improve we as a society must work to alleviate some of the pressure and make school more enjoyable.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Catherine's point above that the education system is to blame. I find it interesting that two courses in the same subject with just a different teacher can be entirely different. I find this applies most to English classes especially. For example, different teachers expect different writing styles. I writing what the professor/teacher what’s and what their style is rather than improving my own. Students generally focus on writing for an A rather than taking risks. This seems to be a major problem; however I do not see a solution for it. Hypothetically if we got rid of the grading system we would be risking taking away motivation to work. If we keep it students will continue to strive for an A rather than focusing on learning and maintaining the knowledge. We may be too far into the system to even try to find a solution anyways.
ReplyDeleteI agree that too much emphasis is being put on grades in today's society. It seems that students often forget that they are actually in school to learn because they are too focused on the final grades they will receive. Personally, I get so caught up in memorizing material in order to hopefully get a good grade that I often forget to stop and think about what the material means. I think this has a lot to do with the pressures put on students. Potentially due to parents, jobs, and the schools themselves, students often think that, if the final grade is not good enough, their time was wasted. However, if students started looking at education from more of a learning perspective, perhaps the knowledge they gained from the class, whether the final grade was good or bad, would make it all worth it. I think it first has to do with changing society's idea of the ultimate goal of education.
ReplyDeleteIts a more specific of a problem than just society. A lot of the attitude we have it taught to us by our families and friends than anyone else. They have the most influence on our lives at an early age, when we are developing our work ethics. They are the ones who say "go do your homework" and judge us for the grades we get. If you grew up in a family/with friends who didn't care about school/learning then those norms that you were exposed to have way more of an effect on you than a teacher who feels pressure to make sure their students have high standardized test scores.
ReplyDeleteI agree to an extent. We are a culture that puts heavy merit on success through the lens of obtaining high SAT scores and getting a well-paying job. At the student level, many students begin to think that what matters is the destination. They have a goal in mind to obtain the highest GPA. Academic mistakes and failure become outcomes to fear because we view it as hindrance to our destination. But if we viewed education as a journey, we would see that we can learn just as much from our mistakes as we can from our wins. Taking that challenging class may pose a threat to one’s GPA, but ultimately a student can become a better writer and critical thinker. I think it’s a bit presumptuous to claim that society has conditioned the student body to feel this way. While I do think it is a view held by the vast majority of people in America, I do think that parents and teachers can teach their children that learning is a process. Although it may not change the education system over night, I do think that this attitude can create a shift in the way we perceive academics.
ReplyDeleteI agree that these student attitudes are a product of society. Even starting in middle school, students are placed into different leveled classes that dictate their courses throughout high school and college. I think that pressure is placed on getting a good GPA throughout high school, so that students can get into college, but once they are in college this mentality is instilled in their mind, so they continue to work like this. While it is important to do well in school, it is more important to get something from the classes you take, and learn new and interesting information.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the statement above. From the moment we start middle school, we start gathering our extra curriculars, figure out what sport we want to focus on, and start planing for our high school career ahead. Once you start high school, the cycle continues. We have placed so much emphasis on our education from a young age that it has become a normal part of us. Yes, some people have different levels of education and or goal they are trying to reach, but in general, we all want to make something of ourselves. So yes, society does push students attitudes one way to make sure find our place in the world.
DeleteRight, Payal has hit on a question that I've been thinking all along. I think it is fairly obvious to see who is responsible for this attitude we hold toward our education. Society certainly dictates and pushes students at a very young age, teaching us exactly what academics means and what it can do for us in the future. From elementary school to high school we are rewarded and shown what a high quality education means. So why does that change in college? Our liberal arts education would have us to believe that being well-versed and versatile in our education is more important than the performance, which hasn't been the case all throughout our schooling before. Otherwise, we wouldn't work so hard to get in and be able to go to the college of our choice. So, I wonder why the reversal of attitude in our society at different points in our education. Just a thought.
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