Towards the end of the previous school year, there was an academic assembly. Freshmen received teacher recommendations and sophomores, juniors, and seniors had to have a 4.2 GPA in order to get a reward. Those who were to receive an award were called out of class to move onto the football field before the rest of the school was sent out to the bleachers. During the assembly, nearly everyone was talking and not supporting their classmates. Comments like "this is stupid" and "why are we doing this?" were frequent, and Twitter saw several comments over it. A student posted, "Get those nerds off my football field." Many of the comments were harsh and critical of the award recipients. On the other hand, some of the people who got awards posted things like, "We're going to be your bosses some day." Both sides said some incredibly offensive things to each other.
The reality is that those people on the football field are still our classmates. The "nerd" and "jock" thing only created separation and conflict between us. The response to the assembly seemed so unusual to me. Not even the friends of the awardees were clapping!
There are two main opinions: the assembly is unfair to those who do sports, and the assembly is a positive way to reward those who do well in the area of academics. I believe those in opposition were frustrated with the assembly because they spent their time doing sports. The amount of work and dedication it takes to be successful at sporting events is tremendous. It is especially difficult to get A's in three or four high-level classes while juggling a sport on top of everything.
On the side of the so-called "nerds", they put their time and effort into their course work. It is so similar to the "jocks", only their dedication is directed to a different area. To many of them , they feel as if they should be recognized for being good at school. Unlike with sports, there aren't huge trophies and medals to be won. The assembly is the recognition for their hard work, instead of a trophy case.
In the end, none of it matters. Every single person on that field was a classmate who deserved attention and respect. They are our classmates, so we should still be supportive of them no matter where their strengths lie! Personal feelings like jealousy, feelings like you are not treated fairly only separate us. Why focus that much on the negative aspects of our humanity? So much effort is made to gain equal rights for all people. On this very blog, there are so many posts on this topic. We should love our classmates, whether they have a 4.5 or are an All-State football player. No matter who it is, we need to support one another and boost each other up, not tear each other down.
Can I just come out and say, yes I thought it was stupid. Not because of jealousy, but cause of rewarding people who do good in a specific region. We don't get assemblies for those who are great at art or music, it's just for those who get an A, does it mean they really try or did they stay in their outline of getting an A.
ReplyDeleteI hate the grading system since there is always a way of getting an A without the thought and heart others put into it. "Jocks" aren't the only one who hated that assembly (I didn't have a twitter last year so I don't really know what's posted) the fact of sitting there knowing that some people get straight A's and a chance they didn't experiment with the work they were given makes me sick.
^TRUTH^ And I felt the whole teacher choosing a student thing was dumb, because it's just, alright. So that teacher believes that person is better than me, or if you're student chosen, wow she likes me more than everyone else. See, it's an American thing. We all look for the reward, but is that really a great prize? Is that helping you push forward? Or helping you give a reason why you think you're better? That's why students like myself just quit trying in school as hard, because it just doesn't matter. I feel the teachers don't appreciate it half the time, why should I? I know it effects my future, but America is screwed up so I'll just have to deal with it.
ReplyDeleteThoughtful responses. I really agree with both of the comments.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the experimenting part--but I don't think that's why students don't get good grades. In most instances, when I give a poor grade, it's because a student HAS NOT completed the assignment thoughtfully and thoroughly. I can think of only one instance where I did not give a good grade when someone experimented, but there was a rewrite option, so I do not feel that counted as an example.
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