Great literature transcends time because of its inherent qualities: the author has a clear purpose, the author achieves that purpose, and the purpose is a worthwhile one.
Sunday
Blog #5
Why do so many students lack the dedication to excel academically?
I definetely agree that the lack of dedication to excel can be attributed to many different reasons depending on the student, as Sam said. With so many outside distractions in today's fast paced world, the students aren't even to blame anymore (though I believe they never should have been). Dedication requires an immense amount of concentration and motivation, and as teenagers get caught up in the endless social temptation of internet and cellphone chatting, the long-term importance of academic work can be undermined or at least be temporarily veiled. This is instant gratification, not a new concept by any means. And its all the more tempting as modern technology develops and seeking all different kinds of pleasure because more easily accessible.
I believe that the students that are academically motivated have a keen sense and constant awareness of their goals and attribute this long-term dedication to two major things, culture and family. When I say culture, I don't necessarily mean the student is well educated about his or her heritage, I simply mean that they have some knowledge of the history of their people and from this knowledge (generally instilled at a young age), they form a desire to be like their own or to perhaps shatter a stereotype. It would be unfair to point at any culture in particular because I truly believe that this notion can be proven to be equally influential in a person of any culture.
The next idea that I believe academic decication comes from is family. Now this is a far more complex issue. Perhaps a student gets their motivation from aspiring to be like a successful sibling, or appreciates that their parents worked hard to support them and wishes to do the same. The possibilities are really limitless as no two family situations are exactly the same. The problems come not when one of these factors are missing, or the balance between the two is uneven, but when both are missing entirely. When the child was not educated about his surroundings or family, or even history. When the child was given too much unstructured time away from the family, that is where the problem can develop.
Aside from the long-term aspect of academic dedication, I believe that the majority of students lack the will to get things done because of all the immediate distractions present at any given time.
The last issue that I can think of that attributes to a student's demotivation is SLEEP DEPRIVATION. Personally, I often fall victim to distractions for many hours after school each day, and I force myself to get all my homework done before I sleep. I don't get as much sleep as my growing body needs at all, and I suppose I have my easily distracted personality to blame. However, I am appalled that high school starts so early. I can assure anyone that even if I did sleep at 10 o' clock every night that starting school at 7:30 am is absolutely too early for my mind to function the best it could. I have read of other states already making the effort to have school start a bit later in the morning...why doesn't new york, the best damn state in the country do it!?
The assertion that some teachers "just simply don’t care" is inaccurate. All assignments in this class have due dates with the caveat of a built in system of flexibility. Do adult students need fear of punishmnent in order to self-regulate their production?
2 comments:
I definetely agree that the lack of dedication to excel can be attributed to many different reasons depending on the student, as Sam said. With so many outside distractions in today's fast paced world, the students aren't even to blame anymore (though I believe they never should have been). Dedication requires an immense amount of concentration and motivation, and as teenagers get caught up in the endless social temptation of internet and cellphone chatting, the long-term importance of academic work can be undermined or at least be temporarily veiled. This is instant gratification, not a new concept by any means. And its all the more tempting as modern technology develops and seeking all different kinds of pleasure because more easily accessible.
I believe that the students that are academically motivated have a keen sense and constant awareness of their goals and attribute this long-term dedication to two major things, culture and family. When I say culture, I don't necessarily mean the student is well educated about his or her heritage, I simply mean that they have some knowledge of the history of their people and from this knowledge (generally instilled at a young age), they form a desire to be like their own or to perhaps shatter a stereotype. It would be unfair to point at any culture in particular because I truly believe that this notion can be proven to be equally influential in a person of any culture.
The next idea that I believe academic decication comes from is family. Now this is a far more complex issue. Perhaps a student gets their motivation from aspiring to be like a successful sibling, or appreciates that their parents worked hard to support them and wishes to do the same. The possibilities are really limitless as no two family situations are exactly the same. The problems come not when one of these factors are missing, or the balance between the two is uneven, but when both are missing entirely. When the child was not educated about his surroundings or family, or even history. When the child was given too much unstructured time away from the family, that is where the problem can develop.
Aside from the long-term aspect of academic dedication, I believe that the majority of students lack the will to get things done because of all the immediate distractions present at any given time.
The last issue that I can think of that attributes to a student's demotivation is SLEEP DEPRIVATION. Personally, I often fall victim to distractions for many hours after school each day, and I force myself to get all my homework done before I sleep. I don't get as much sleep as my growing body needs at all, and I suppose I have my easily distracted personality to blame. However, I am appalled that high school starts so early. I can assure anyone that even if I did sleep at 10 o' clock every night that starting school at 7:30 am is absolutely too early for my mind to function the best it could. I have read of other states already making the effort to have school start a bit later in the morning...why doesn't new york, the best damn state in the country do it!?
The assertion that some teachers "just simply don’t care" is inaccurate. All assignments in this class have due dates with the caveat of a built in system of flexibility. Do adult students need fear of punishmnent in order to self-regulate their production?
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