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| Jeff Spicoli (Sean Penn) in "Fast Times at Ridgmont High" (1984) |
What would it take to help students focus on improvement and the hard work it requires instead of finding the most efficient way to get a high grade while expending the minimum amount of work? Is this a challenge that teachers can manage or does it depend more on the attitude of the students?
I don't know if I fully disagree with the idea of excelling with as little effort as possible. I guess as long as you're still making good grades and learning, it shouldn't matter how much effort actually went into it. I think this idea of doing as little effort as possible stems from busy students. When you have class work and homework in multiple classes, tests, sports, clubs and other extra-curriculars, it can be tough to put your maximum effort into everything you do. It all depends on the attitude of the student. They ultimately decide what is most important to them and what deserves the most effort.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, Brayden. To be considered an excellent student one must spread themselves thin between many extracurricular activities. Often they are faced with a crisis of not enough time, and unless they have excellent time-management skills, they quickly find themselves staying up late to finish homework or squeezing in some social activity. This is not only difficult, but it can cause permanent damage to their mental health and circadian rhythm. So it is understandable for effort to be placed partially. The only remedy for this conundrum is to improve your time-management skills or cut out some of your activities. Which can be difficult when you barely have time to sleep in the first place.
DeleteAlthough I agree that a student's attitude can make all the difference, I am left wondering what the teachers might think of the situation. I feel as if that perhaps all students were on board with a positive attitude and making good grades then there is nothing to be worried about. However, how would a teacher feel if all kids did as little as possible, except say maybe one student, and then wondering if they are actually learning for knowledge or "learning" for a grade. I could see a teacher in this situation being grateful for the student who wanted to learn but wanting more from others. This proposes a challenge for teachers and it could possibly be stopped. Maybe to fix this, the school should meet up to discuss a way to prevent academic burnout and try to liven up the classroom environments. Perhaps if a student is not overwhelmed that then they can use all their potential.
ReplyDeleteI like your perspective on the student. It was very helpful in letting me see another side to the question.
-Chance Zernicek
I know that just trying to keep your GPA up was a big deal in my high school. It didn't matter if the knowledge stuck with us- as long as we learn the topic enough for the test and repeat over and over. If the teacher changed the way he taught and promoted the growth mindset, yes it would help some students- depending on how open the student is to change and growth. Also if only one teacher is developing this method of teaching in one district, then all the other classes the students would only be searching for the A, therefore making in ineffective. I think it is a little bit of a give and take with teacher and student and how they learn and trying to help them grow. But I do agree with Brayden, when he said it all depends on the attitude of the student. If the teacher is putting all their efforts out there and a student doesn't reciprocate then it wouldn't succeed.
ReplyDeleteMy parents have always said this phrase concerning my grades: “If you give your best effort and you make an A, we will be proud of you. If you give your best effort and you fail, we will still be proud of you.” I have grown up believing it is all about my effort. That is what is praised, so that is what I strive to give. That’s not to say I was never guilty of searching for the most efficient ways to earn high grades with minimal effort, but the times when I used those methods and made an A were not as rewarding. For me, it sacrificed a potentially greater understanding and retention of the knowledge.
ReplyDeleteAll that to say, teachers can HELP to foster an environment that encourages students to focus on their improvement and hard work, but only if that is what is praised or rewarded in their classroom. Even still, it solely depends on the individual student buying into that mindset and choosing to invest their energy in the idea.
Brittany West
I love that you outlined the point that students must also buy into that mindset. Many people place blame solely on the teacher rather than the students energy and effort. Great points!
DeleteSo much of learning is dependent on the student's attitude toward learning. If a student simply does not want to learn, they will not learn. However, a large portion of a student's ability to learn depends on the teacher's attitude towards teaching as well as the teacher's ability to teach the subject. I had a math teacher that had a phenomenal understanding of mathematics. However, he taught in a way better suited for a college environment, not high school students. Only a handful of students, across three subjects, could understand his teaching. My classmates would frantically write down whatever little bit of his teaching they could understand. I sat and watched him work out equations on the board in the longest, and hardest, way possible. I would show him a simpler way to solve the equation, and ask him why he did not do it the simpler way. He replied, "I like it the hard way". He was doing problems the hardest way possible for his enjoyment. So, I would have to reteach all the material to my classmates. The point of the story is that, as much as it depends on the student's attitude, most of a student's learning is dependent on the teacher's ability to teach the subject in a way that the students can understand and follow along.
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Delete-Tyler Macon
I feel like there has to be a combination of both teacher and student effort in order for a student to improve. For instance in my chemistry class. I loved doing chemistry and I looked forward to it every day. However when we got to balancing equations the class became more difficult for the majority of the students. So like most high school seniors a lot of people chose not to do their work. Our teacher noticing over half of our class was failing called together all of the students who were passing and asked us for help. He said " we can do one of two things. We can either move on to the next lesson and leave the kids behind who can not or will not grasp the assignments or we can go over all of this again and you guys can help the other kids." We had all chose to help the kids who were struggling. After a few weeks had gone by everyone had caught up but the students who already knew what they were doing did not further their intelligence. We had still had half a semester left to learn new things but even after we had all successfully learned to balance equations our teacher chose to keep repeating the same section of the book for the next 9 weeks. So without both the teacher and all of the students working together the only effective thing I learned in chemistry is stociometry.
DeleteThis is such an interesting question because now that I think about it, there is one teacher that comes in mind who was much more into teaching us and making the curriculum challenging in a way where we had to work hard to learn what she was teaching that we were not concerned with our grades. I think she was very much an advocate of the growth mindset and it had a lot to do with the fact that she emphasized learning and retention over grades. The students in her class all chose to be there,and I think that's where attitudes come in to play. Many students would refuse to take her class because they didn't want to put in the effort, they would rather take the easy A class.
ReplyDeleteI had a teacher my junior year who's class was extremely hard. She was so invested in us, and now that I look back, I am so grateful for the time and effort she put into us. She wanted to see us succeed after high school, not just for the semester. The challenging class filtered out all the kids who just wanted a good grade and the AP credit on their transcript. The kids who really wanted to learn and excel stayed and I know for me personally, she taught me more than any other teacher ever has.
DeleteI always loved when teachers said they taught for students to learn, not for them to memorize for a test. I knew the class would be more interesting, and less about memorization. I know that I still fall victim to the “wanting to do as little as possible,” towards the end of the semester, when I know I have the grade I want. I might study less for a final when I know I only have to get a 50 on it to make an A; but I also think that if I did my work and listened throughout the semester, I should be able to get a good grade because I learned in the first place. I would not recommend putting in the least amount of effort, and I try to avoid it myself, but knowing what you have time for is important. If that means you have to study less for one test in order to study more for another final, then that maybe what you have to do.
ReplyDeleteI think the solution for students to give maximum effort is to just teach and try to keep it interesting. The rest is up to the student, if they want to learn then they will.
I completely agree on the subject of teachers teaching for the benefit of the student and not just for test scores. As for the little effort as possible, there is such a thing as to much time. If an assignment is not due for a week I know I have a few days to relax and push it away. This attitude is a very slippery slope because some people will find any excuse to push it back until they’re completely stressed to the max from the assignment!
DeleteI was always a kid who lived by the motto “work smarter not harder”, so if I didn’t know what Dweck meant by the statement that she said students with the fixed mindset agreed with—then I’d probably agree too. But, I don’t try to choose easier assignments so that I’m guaranteed an easy success as Dweck explained. Because to me if it was too easy it was never fun, but for me it was always finding easier solutions to relieve some stress off me from my work. But I knew many classmates back in high school who were with me in my honors classes that would cheat off each other and never learn the material when they all could just focus more on sports than succeeding in school on their own laurels. I believe that when it comes to getting students into a growth mindset it takes the co-operation of the student and the teacher. It similar to the situation with the young boy that Dweck mentions on page 185-186, the boy had both a growth mindset orientated mother and a fixed mindset father but he still listened to his father’s message and bought into the fixed mindset. A teacher can do all they can to persuade the student and encourage them with the growth mindset, but ultimately the student must decide to change as well. But from what I learned in 8th grade, a teacher that can inspire change out of their students and keeps pushing even though it seems tough or pointless to try and reach their students.
ReplyDelete-Arian "Skye" Norman
I believe that a major reason many students focus more on finding easy ways to get good grades rather than developing a good work ethic and gaining knowledge is the way our education system has been directed recently in the United States. We have an achievement based system where one is rewarded for good grades and high test scores rather than effort exerted or (in many cases) knowledge gained. I believe that this system shapes students attitudes towards learning, often through positive reinforcement (If I get a high ACT, I will get a good scholarship). However, I think that the teacher also plays a role. Teachers have major impacts on students not only through what they teach them in subject areas, but also attitudes and ideas they show them. It is obvious to students whether teachers are interested in their material or not and if the teachers are worried about the students doing well on end-of-year exams. While students obviously have the final say over their attitudes, teachers definitely have an impact on the way students think and behave.
ReplyDeleteI believe that it is up to the student to decide which path he/she wants to take. A good friend once told me that you need not think about preparing for success, but to just long for it enough to drive yourself into it. Self-driven people are the ones who become great. People who are just thinking about the grade or what they can get out of doing something will end at that goal. People who are truly driven will not stop at a goal, because they really don’t have a goal. They have the growth mindset that allows them to have no ceiling when it comes to success. Do you crave knowledge, or do you crave what knowledge can get you? Yes, it is nice to think about what you could do with all the knowledge, but you will be limited in that you will feel accomplished. If you crave something that you can never obtain, such as being omniscient, then you will never stop learning or growing as a person.
ReplyDelete-Makala Millhollon
I believe that the content that kids are learning in public education weighs heavily on their attitude towards learning. Many of the classes that one takes in their academic life before college can sometimes be viewed as "pointless" or repetitive. There is a serious lack of basic life skills classes that would both benefit the students and brighten their attitude towards school. But aside from adding classes that the students would enjoy more, I think that just having a more positive outlook on education would be a great benefit. Sometimes in school a teacher can be simply exhausted, or can be teaching an easier class, where they do not focus as much on encouraging the students constantly as just having them focus on completing each assignment as quickly and efficiently as possible. I think that focusing on not only the right now of education, but making sure the students know where this education right now will take them in the future. Education and a thirst for knowledge will take you further in life than almost anything else.
ReplyDeleteKay'Lee Maddox
If someone is smart enough to be make good grades, learn a lot, and exert minimum effort I believe they should be applauded. This is because there is more to life than grades. Students are also expected to participate in extracurriculars, have a social life, and get around 8 hours of sleep a night. I do not think that the mindset of getting things done with minimum effort is entirely evil. It is more like a necessary activation of survival mode. As Kathryn Cruice once said, “When we think smarter not harder why are we condemned?” -Rachel Worth
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