Monday, January 10, 2011
Using kairos as a means of invention
Now that we've generated a list of possible communities that might be interested in our debate, I'd like you to use kairos as a means of invention to help you start writing. Pick one of the communities that you think is the most interesting, compelling, or important one to address as you begin writing about this issue. Write a paragraph in which you introduce this issue to them and make a case for this issue’s urgency, in any way that makes sense given this community. How or why could this issue matter for them, right now? What’s the most effective and appropriate way to appeal to them using kairos?
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As a student who already went through high school and all it has to offer, I have learned a lot, which clearly is the point of school. While I did learn various skills in math, science, history, and an array of other subjects, I learned a lot about myself. So to those who are entering high school, or have just begun their journey, it is important to know that you hold the key to your future. Only you can decide what classes to take, what you’re interested in, and what you want to do. If you have an interest in music, take music classes. If you do what you love, then you’ll stay focused, be involved, and they work wont feel like work therefore reducing stress. Given that you are the main part of your future, how hard you work is up to you. Even if you do take music classes or art classes, the grades you achieve in those courses are equally as important as any grade you earn in math or science. Grades are what we use to show how well you understand and retain information. While you may disagree with the current grading scale, one must consider that this is how it is, and this is how it is going to be for years to come. Just because we use grades doesn’t mean that you cannot still take enjoyable classes, just make sure you work hard, and earn good grades. If you hate science, do not take an A.P. science course just for class rank or for the credit. Instead, take a course in science that is most interesting and strive to well in that field. In my opinion, keeping in mind I am not a college admission worker, it is better to earn in an in a non-A.P. or Honors class than a C in one that is advanced. Do what you love, and if you love science, and you want to become a doctor then you will have to undergo a lot of stress. But you are the one who chose that path and reaching your goals isn’t easy.
ReplyDeleteWhen a high school student is stressed, I believe that they bring on the stress. Each student categorizes success differently. For some success is graduating from high school as the valedictorian with a long list of extra curricular activities and heading on the Ivy Leagues. For others, success is just graduating from high school. This is something that is so challenging about our education system. High school students don’t necessarily need to be bogged down by their grades and their SAT scores but they should have a genuine interest in learning. This is why this issue is so urgent. Students’ drive to learn is being taken over by the fact that they need to have straight A’s and perfect SAT scores in order to get into the best universities. This issue has so many different sides but I think that one major problem is that wisdom is no longer linked to a free will to want to learn. It is linked to success and the next level of education.
ReplyDeleteOver the past couple decades, the education system in the United States has been focusing more and more on having students not actually learn. Rather, they are pressured to achieve certain things that will enable them to have a chance at acceptance at elite colleges and therefore elite jobs. Unfortunately, the burdens placed upon these students have negative effects, and in the end, the students have not even learned anything of use. They have been trained to retain information for a short period of time and regurgitate it onto a Scantron sheet. This needs to be fixed. The education system needs to be tweaked, and if that will not suffice, then it must be reformed. The matter at hand is not something that can be done halfheartedly. It must be accomplished completely and thoroughly.
ReplyDeleteThe high school years are a time for the student to grow, learn, and experience. Although, growing, learning, and experiencing new things seems to bring on unnecessary stress during these years. To parents of students who are about to enter high school, your child’s stress free, carefree life may now take a turn once they enter their freshman year. In my life, my parents did not put tremendous pressure on me to do well. My parents had already taught me good values to live by and I used those values to perform well in high school. The high school years may be some of the best bonding years for you and your children, do not ruin this bonding experience by putting unnecessary pressure on your child to do well in school. There are many social pressures from your child’s peers; they do not also need pressure from you, their parents who should be there for them for love and support. Some parents want their children to go to the top colleges and some just want their children to be happy, do the best they can, and accomplish their personal aspirations.
ReplyDeleteHave you stepped into the shoes of a student recently to experience our rigorous schedules and demanding curriculum? You, policy makers, seem to have no problem implementing new standards of education within our school systems and pushing us to limits that seem unattainable. High school students face SAT practice tests numerous times a year up until the test, general requirements of their schools every day, and the pressures of life outside the classrooms. How are they expected to balance these levels of stress that build daily from new assignments, sports games, applying to college, extra-curricular activities, and family life? In this New Year, make a resolution to help these kids learn ways to manage their stress levels and lessen the pressures they feel walking into school each morning. It’s time to make changes in our school systems because the competition between students is becoming destructive to their wellness. 2011 is an opportune year to make these alterations to the problems that are ever prevalent in high school student’s lives.
ReplyDeleteThe debate if High School students are under too much stress is very important in todays society. Society has opinions on this debate on either end of the spectrum. It is obvious that schools are getting harder and expect more from their students. The reason for this is personal status in society through education. People either believe that where you attend college and the grades you receive are the most important. Because of this causes students to be driven to achieve these high goals. Students feel pressure from society as well as parents, friends, and teachers. This pressure faces the student at all angles which can be extremely overwhelming for a teenager. Depending on each individual student, their goals vary from graduating high school or going off to medical school. The argument of stress on High School students varies between individual goals as well as their mental state while dealing with work. The issue for high school students is that education is not only learning anymore it is, who can receive the highest “education” for the smartest students.
ReplyDeleteNo parent wants to admit that they are a helicopter parent. No parent wants to be labeled as a parent who doesn’t care about their child. In your own childhood, you noticed which of your friends had parents that were always around, checking in about homework, projects and not letting them go to the movies until they had practiced their scales on the piano. On the other end of the spectrum, you also noticed whose parents you never saw at school plays, soccer games or science fairs. Your student is probably going through a lot of stress not only at school, but outside of school. The stress has been built up by situations you may not even know about. Right now, your child is changing and maturing in a plethora of ways. You need to find a happy medium in which your child is comfortable coming to you to ask for help with school or other problems they may be having, but you also need to give them space to figure out their identity. With the increase in social networks on the internet, you may be concerned about cyber bullying or predators online, but don’t check your child’s internet history or put a GPS on their car. Your child will eventually realize that you do not trust them and retaliate against you. Be there for them, but let the grow on their own.
ReplyDeleteThe stress on high school students has reached an overwhelming peak. In this current time, you need a good education to be successful. The economy is on a slump and to get a decent job, you need a good background. Stress on high school students is happening because of the student’s parents. There are a lot of reasons for parents putting stress on their kids such as they want to see their kids be successful or want their kids to follow their footsteps. Sometimes parents don’t realize they are putting so much pressure on their kids. In my experience my parents did not put a lot of pressure on me to go to school. Obviously they wanted me to go to school but as long as I was happy what I was doing they were okay with it. In another example I know a kid that was forced to do well in school. His parents put the stress on him to get into the same university they went to.
ReplyDeleteThe purpose of the Board of Education is to maintain and improve schooling systems in our country. While keeping this in mind, it is important to think about the state of the Education systems in our country at this time. Education is the basis of the future of our country. It is through education and schooling that students gain acceptance to colleges and ultimately end up in their respected careers. Over time, the measurement of intelligence and growth as a student has come to be restricted by GPA’s, class grades, and standardized test scores. As a country, we have lost sight of what should really be the basis of intelligence and knowledge. A Chinese proverb reminds us of what education should be, “Tell me and I’ll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I’ll understand.” This proverb brings to the light the problems in our education system today. We, as a society, focus on achieving the “A” instead of focusing on retaining the material that we learn in the classroom. As a teacher, simply standing in front of a class and commanding students to memorize facts and dates is not teaching. We need to look past the four walls of our high school and figure out a way to apply the concepts that we learn in the classroom and apply them to real life scenarios. Just like the Chinese proverb reminds us, we must not focus on recalling something we were told, we must involve ourselves in our education and strive to improve ourselves as a whole. It is imperative that we find a compromise between the test scores in a classroom and the wisdom that we acquire through learning.
ReplyDeleteHigh school students are in the midst of a lot of stress these days. Many issues are being brought up now about our education system and the success of students. Kairos is involved in this because it is affecting high school students themselves. You as a high school student should see this and understand how stress is affecting you in high school. Are SAT and ACT scores weighing you down? Are clubs and extracurricular activities taking up your time for learning? Is your schedule full of AP courses and honors classes? All of these issues are adding stress to the average high school student. In today’s society colleges are requiring and expecting more and more out of high school students. But I believe it is the student who brings the stress onto themselves. The college you want to attend it your own choice. A smaller private school is looking for student with a long application of activities and grades; where as a community college requires lower grades and activities. The student has to decide what they want to do with their lives and what school they want to attend. Students are loading up their schedules and taking higher level classes in order to get admitted into the college of their choice. Not too long ago Advanced Placement classes were not even available to take at high school. The world of education is changing and it is affecting the majority of high school students.
ReplyDeleteWhen we borned in this world, most of our parents already made a perfect life plan for us. We went to the best primary school; we took piano lessons every weekend; we went to a good middle school and do home schooling at night for preparing to get into a better high school; We has been pushed to study hard during high school years for get into an excellent college. After we get into the college, our parents begin to think about our future, such as job and marriage. Firstly, we have to thanks our parents’ elaborate plan for our life. Secondly, we thanks our parents always take care of our big kick-point, such as go to a college. However, we really want our own life, we want to make our decisions by ourselves. Don’t think if the parents do not give us pressure to be success, then we won’t be success. We have our own plan, we know what to do is the best for us. We are the leading role of our life, our parents are our assistant for our life. Parents, please don’t stress your children out. They have their own stresses.
ReplyDeleteDaily stress in the day and the life of a high school student has been taken to a new level. Education has become something that has lost its way in recent years. It has become all about tests and standardization, and less about lifelong knowledge and wisdom. I think something should be done to the present day education so that young people in this generation don’t continue the out of control spiral towards educational doom. I think a lot of stress put on kids is from their parents. Parents don’t remember what school was like, how grueling and difficult it is to get all your work done so they treat it like something that is easy to do. That’s why this is such a great time to address the problem.
ReplyDeleteHighschoolers are in the prime age bracket for exploring and understanding the world around them. How can we expect them to be able to investigate to their utmost ability when they are trapped anywhere from seven to nine hours behind a desk surrounded by white walls, lockers, and hundreds of other students stressing about the same thing: success? High school is one of the first times a person understands enough about the world to make his or her own judgments and decisions about it (citation). Unfortunately, the amount of stress weighing down on today’s high school is more than enough to prevent this from happening to its fullest. We believe that taking all these different kinds of classes, playing a plethora of different sports, and participating in innumerous extra-curricular activities help to form our children into well rounded, experienced young adults. Maybe there is some truth to that, but worldly experience does not come from within the halls of a school. Why waist this precious age with backpacks as heavy as the kitchen sink and heads buried in lockers when much of the learning process can be accomplished spending time outside those hallow halls?
ReplyDeleteLet me tell you a little secret. There’s an abundance of stress that some High School students face that may not even be necessary. In fact, it can be easily avoided. The buzz word is Advanced Placement classes: classes that are taken at high school that are of college rigor and difficulty. Students are supposed to get college credit for taking AP classes and passing with an AP test score of 3 or more (the higher the score, the more college credit received). “The College Board created the first exams at the behest of elite preparatory schools, which wanted to convince colleges that their best students could dart right into advanced work.” (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/09/education/edlife/09ap-t.html?_r=2&pagewanted=2&ref=education) Nowadays, these tests have been filled with more and more information, creating more work for students, as they have been required to cover more information in the same amount of time that they had before. (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/09/education/edlife/09ap-t.html?_r=2&pagewanted=2&ref=education) Students feel the need to be very competitive to get into the school they desire (better school = better education = better paying job = more economic stability in this unstable economy). In order to get the competitive edge, they take more AP. Students can go a little overboard with how many AP classes they sign up for, though. When students sign up for too many AP classes (be it one or eight), the time required to do all of the assignments gets sucked away. The added effort and work required on top of the lack of time to do it piles upon students’ consciousness’, causing what can form into debilitating stress.
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