AB>>>Hew guy, I just found out that people in high school, have been failing 
more,
AB>>>and more the last few years.  I heard that 14% of the high school people 
fail! 
AB>>>:~( I just wanted to let you teachers know that you should help the 
students 
AB>>>out! :)
AB>>>        Aaron S. Butcher (I am a student)
AB>>>---
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Aaron:
        It seems that everytime I pick up a newspaper or watch the news on
TV someone has an opinion on what is wrong with the education system in
our country.
        Sometimes it is the Administrators fault, another time the
teachers, then the state legislature, then the federal government, then
the school boards, and last but not least the parents.
        Well I just read an article about a book, "Teen Culture Impedes
School Reform." It was written by Laurence Steinberg. I plan to read the
book when I can find a copy.  The article was informative.
        He has picked out another group to point at.  He blames failure to
improve high school students' performance is do to a formidable
adversary:  a teenage culture that frowns on school success.
        He says, "Part of the problem is that we keep asking schools to
fix what's wrong when it's beyond their capability."  "No curricular
overhaul, no instructional innovation, no change in school organization,
no toughening of standards, no rethinking  of teacher training or
compensation will succeed if students do not come to school interested
in and committed to, learning."
        He stated that regardless of the schools population's
socioeconomic level, they found was pervasive.  Roughly 40 percent of
the students said they were "just going through the motions" in school.
        "True, most students report that they attend classes regularly
--only 10 percent cut classes routinely--and well over 80 percent say
they would stay in school eve if they were able to secure a good
full-time job, but at the same  time, it is clear that when they are in
school, a large portions of students are physically present but
psychologically absent."
        He stated that a large proportion of the students belong to
social cliques that sometimes deride high academic achievement.
        The reason Asian-American students succeed is that they are
locked out of cliques and Asian-American students tend to associate with
other Asian-American students who value hard work and achievement.
        Think about it Aaron, if you are not achieving the goals you
have set, if you ever really set any, could it be because you are
psychologically absent most of the time.  Or is it because you don't
want to overachieve for fear you will be scorned by your peers.
        Who can we blame next week?
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 þ OLXWin 1.00b þ I'm not aging, I'm marinating!
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