The Importance Of Transitions In A Student's Life

Academics and athletics are the two most important aspects in a student’s life. There are three main transitions in a child’s life: middle school to high school, high school to college, and college to the real world. As students might know, middle school is a much more relaxed environment than high school both socially and intellectually; thus, the transition to high school can be quite difficult. High School is full of physical, mental, social and psychological changes. Students enter as teens and exit as adults. College, on the other hand, is a systematic and professional environment. College students truly put their time, stress and money management skills to the test. In addition to academic success, college students must be assertive, …show more content…
Students are determined to be at the top of their graduating class. For a lot of honors students at Mountain Pointe, the narcissistic drive to success started early in middle school, where the top students took Algebra and Geometry giving them a strategic academic advantage entering high school. The desire to succeed only increases between one’s freshmen and senior year. The top students, who are the most determined, will take a full schedule of Advanced Placement and honors classes that typically offer dual college credit. Not only are the students concerned about the rigor of their classes, but also the grade they receive in them. A full AP and honors course load can be extremely time consuming and demanding. These honors students will spend most of their time catering to the needs of their studies, in order to maintain a perfect grade point average. Students can take summer school to gain advantage among their competitors. Class rank is determined by the rigor of the classes and grade point average. The valedictorian at Mountain Pointe will have received the highest grade point average as well as taken the most rigorous classes offered. The scholarly article “Motivation, achievement, and advanced placement intent of high school students learning science” written by authors Robert R. Bryan, Shawn M. Glynn and Julie M. Kittleson talks about the social cognitive …show more content…
The football team at Mountain Pointe is known for its consistent acknowledgement by top college football teams. With the help of internal motivation, athletes who have attended Mountain Pointe have received recognition from some of the best colleges in the country and often attend these schools during college. Each year many football players are offered scholarships from the most elite college football programs. Narcissism has engulfed the typical football player. Practicing year round, these athletes do whatever it takes for prospective colleges to notice them. Whether it’s in the scorching 115 degree Arizona sun with layers of gear on or 35 degree morning’s running the track to strengthen cardio, football players at mountain pointe are extremely determined and persistent. The phrase “practice makes perfect” is engraved in the mind of football players. In addition to practice, media plays an important role for narcissism in athletes. Most athletes use the sport video analysis website hudl.com not only to help learn and improve by watching themselves play on the field, but as a scouting website for prestigious colleges. An excerpt from the article “The Factor Structure and Reliability of the Student Athletes’ Motivation toward Sports and Academics Questionnaire (SAMSAQ) author Joy L. Gaston-Gayles states, “In 1988, the Center for the Study of Athletics found