Gold Stars For Effort And Smiley Faces For Self-Esteem Analysis

Dr. Kurt A. Wiesenfeld states that college students in today 's society were brought up on “gold stars for effort and smiley faces for self-esteem” and I completely agree with this statement. Students having been rewarded for everything in their childhood still have the demented illusion that they will be rewarded for whatever they do. The problem with this, however, is that students are performing with minimal effort and still expecting outrageous grades in return. I personally know multiple people who do the minimum amount of work required, when they receive a poor grade in return they throw a tantrum. They freak out to the teacher. They beg and plead for a better grade, they then usually get it. It’s a never ending cycle of poor work and …show more content…
If only he wasn 't pressured by so many people as soon as he graduated he would actually be doing something he enjoys and wants to do. Rather than sit in a classroom four days a week. Lynn O’Shaughnessy would agree with my brother and me when we say that he doesn’t belong in college. Although 70% of high school grads now go to college, compared to the 40% in the 1970’s; O’Shaughnessy states that the issue isn’t too many students in college, but too many students failing college courses. My brother being just one example of a college student who has failed courses. I know many people who spend thousands of dollars to take a course and just can 't pass it regardless of how many times they attempt it. I agree with O’Shaughnessy when she says that too many students are failing. We need to establish a system besides placement exams to determine a student 's education levels. As for my brother, he just is not good at algebra. Because of this he can’t take calculus even though he is good at calculus. If we had a good system in line he wouldn 't have to take this course so many times …show more content…
I also think that students have to work harder in the courses they take. Students everywhere need to stop assuming that they can do the bare minimum and still retain passing scores. Teachers in turn need to put their foot down, they need to stop letting students guilt-trip them into thinking they deserve a higher grade than their work deserves. It is very easy for students to put on a quick act as to how they worked so hard and studied for so long but only managed to get a C- on the assignment. If teachers put their foot down and start cracking down on students, I think more students will fail out of schools. Although this is not what O’Shaughnessy would like to see, I think that the garden needs to weed itself. With more students failing out of universities teachers will be able to work closer with the students they have. This in turn will create a higher quality of work with a greater want for learning. Teachers won 't have to tell a student no when they ask for a grade change because a grade change is not an option. In conclusion, I agree with both O’Shaughnessy and Wiesenfeld. Students need to work harder in all aspects of class and teachers need to stop being so lenient with grade