Is The Drive For Success Making Our Children Sick Analysis

The issues in this case study involve Melinda Smith, a veteran special education teacher, Derrick Yate, a student with behavioral disorder, Greg, the school principal, Barba Cole, the school social worker, Mrs. Yates, Derrick’s mom and Mr. Douglas, a general education teacher. Besides being a student with behavioral disorder, Derrick was low achieving and had developed a notorious reputation around school. According to Karen, one of the fifth-grade teachers, “Derrick has terrorized everyone”. Despites all the putdowns on Derrick, Mrs. Smith decides to take on the challenge to straighten his behavior.

I am writing to you to protest the School Board’s proposed banning of the book A Child Called “It” by Dave Pelzer. The book spent six years on the New York Times best-seller list, was an international best seller, and received a Pulitzer Prize nomination. As an award-winning author, Mr. Pelzer has shared his true-life story based on a childhood where he received physical and mental abuse by his alcoholic mother.

The Essential Conversation: what parents and teachers can learn from each other, written by Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, focuses in on the “essential” discussion that occurs between parents and teachers when it comes to a child’s education and life while looking further into the hidden meanings behind this exchange. Lawrence-Lightfoot describes how often times the dialogue that occurs between parents and teachers has hidden undertones such as anxiety along with parental ghosts from the past along with several other trajectories that may impact how effectiveness of parent and teacher discussion/collaboration. The theme of Lawrence-Lightfoot’s book can best be summed up in a quote she shared about parent-teacher conferences; “Beneath the polite surface

At Hazelwood High School, they do things differently than at my school. At Hazelwood, most of the people worry about themselves and nobody else. Most of the school doesn’t get good grades and the school does not do anything about it. One day in English class Andy walked out when they were reading Macbeth because it was too emotional for Andy to handle. His friends were concerned and told the school counselor. They said, “But… but… it seems like… like… he needs help or somethin’.” Then the counselor said, “Well, I probably shouldn’t tell you boys this, but he is getting some outside counseling… So you boys can relax and be assured that he is getting whatever help he needs”(100). At Harrisburg High School, if someone had an issue like that, the counselors and teachers would be concerned, even if the person was getting outside help. Another thing about education that is different than mine is the school. In Ronda’s English homework, she wrote, “Our school building must have been built about a million years ago, because it was brown and tall and raggedy-looking, but it fit right in with the rest of the day”(16). At my high school, we are very fortunate to have a very new building to learn inside of. At Hazelwood High, they were not fortunate enough to have a new high school be built. Culture and education are very important pieces of people’s

School, everyone summons different thoughts and connotations whenever they hear that word. Although people range in their opinions of school, many can agree that schools all have the same goal: to educate their students. This is proving to be false; John Taylor Gatto provides evidence of this in his essay, “Against School.” Within this text he explains how schools are not educating students to be the best they can be, instead teachers are teaching them to become role players in today’s society and to be desensitized from their natural creativity. Gatto, a three time New York Teacher of the Year, has had his fair share of teaching. Gatto provides evidence to the audience that they have been wrong all along about the way a school functions. His ideals prove that the schooling systems in today’s society are not what they seem; schools are thought to develop and help a student unlock their full potential but through the evidence that Gatto provides us he shows that the education system does anything but that. He shows us this by appealing to the audience’s logos and pathos or their logical and emotional natures.

One study found that kids felt maintenance in school were almost as unnerving as the passing of a guardian or losing their sight. More positive options recorded by the creator included additional help amid the school year or summer school. In the wake of perusing the article, I find that I am in finished concurrence with the writer. My own child, who is a low accomplishing understudy, was horrendously unnerved that he would be kept down after second grade. When he enlisted for school and we inspected the class list for third grade, he inhaled a capable of being heard a murmur of alleviation. He let me know that he had been perplexed all late spring that he was going to

Childhood is the most sensitive period of human development. A well-structured academic enabling environment allows children to flourish, learning 15-20 new words every week all while adapting to and learning specific motor functions of all sorts. The correct environment carries an extremely important role and promotes learning under the proper circumstances, however a poor learning environment with constant conflict and poor role models can actually inhibit or slow the growth of a child. By no means does the perfect learning scenario exist, but psychologist can often identify a scenario where parents and/or guardians foster a variety of developmental issues from a psychological, physical, and mental perspective. The authoritative figure's unique and condescending style of teaching the girl in "Girl" by Jamaica Kincaid, directly leads to harsh social and developmental consequences short term, with diminished long term social and developmental effects including troubled relationships, attachment issues, and a poor understanding of basic social scenarios.

The fundamental flaws in our education system are exposed on a national level in Vicki Abele’s “Race to Nowhere” documentary. All of the compulsive, stressful, and competitive aspects of our society’s perception of education are put on full display by the use of an abundance of facts, intimate and nostalgic visuals, and personal anecdotes. To convince the audience to pay attention to the argument, the film gives concrete facts on the system. There are a variety of administrators, psychologists, and doctors giving similar views on how their patients have been mentally or physically damaged by the stress of school.

When children dread going to school, do you ever question why the child has already lost their eagerness for learning? In Chicago, Illinois, and numerous other places in the US, you can come across kids walking with their heads down and hands behind their backs in a single file line as if they are inmates. You’ll also discover that the cafeteria is dead silent to avoid the “overwhelming noise” of children enjoying their food and friends. With all of this being said, these schools sound more like boot camps than a place of learning. In the article, “Why some schools feel like prisons?” the writer, Samina Hadi-Tabassum, begins with a brilliant introduction, provides outstanding personal stories, and detailed examples to support their claim. The

It is important for teachers and educators to be aware of the impact that stress and trauma have on the life of children. As I was reading the book I could not help but go back to my own experiences and how they have affected me as a person. Growing up in a country that provided little opportunities for growth was challenging. My mother only finished fourth grade because my grandparents needed her to work on the farm. My mother wanted to have an education and mentioned that she cried for months when they forced her to leave school.

A school’s main mission is to set up its students to succeed in the future. Almost everyone goes through the experience of school, but everyone experiences it differently. For me, I was fortunate enough to not worry about my education while growing up. For some, a good education is never a concern and these students do not have to worry about being prepared for the future. For others, such as the ones in Waiting for Superman, a good education does not come as easily. These students and families must struggle to obtain an education that sets students up for success. These families often end up in poorly managed public schools where their child receives a poor education due to their socioeconomic status. These

Chapter 1 Case Study Review “Making a Difference in a Children and Adolescents” is about a little girl named Tonya who lacks many skills in her child development. Child development is defined as “the study of the persistent, cumulative, and progressive changes in the physical, cognitive, and social-emotional development of children and adolescents.” Her teacher named Mary knew that Tonya had positive qualities, she just needed support to help her with her child development. A daily struggle in Tonya’s life was that her mother was sick with lupus, leading Tonya with the responsibility of taking care of her little brother. This caused Tonya to not have time to eat breakfast in the morning.

Public school systems need to be more sensitive to their students. Parents play the major role in determining a child’s academic outcome, but the school system needs to notice children who don’t necessarily acknowledge their gift. These children need guidance -- I believe it is the schools’ responsibility to provide it to them. I have been through a situation that makes me feel strongly about the subject. My example is an indisputable case in point.

There's something about the mindset of high school students that seems to make them think they're unassailable. If you walk down a high school hallway and look around, you see the faces of kids that carry themselves as though they're invincible and ready to take on whatever comes at them. The reality is, almost all of those faces are concealing suffering that's consuming them.

Even though schools and instructors do not want a change and don 't consider the fact that success is making students sick, a strategy to encounter this would be to encourage college educators and fellow students to adopt in instituting a half-day off every other week. This strategy was implemented in Vicki Abeles’ essay, “Is the Drive for Success Making Our Children Sick?” In her essay, she argues about how children’s academic efforts and extracurricular involvement are “eroding children’s health and undermining their potential” (par.6). Therefore, when reading this, I figured that this strategy would be most encouraged to adopt at the Madera Community College Center. The strategy that Vicki Abeles provided will benefit the student to remember the lecture as well as help the students to have less stress and depression. Furthermore, in adopting a half-day off every other week will have its benefits, disadvantages and its obstacles to implement it.