ALERT: By Friday, publish your paragraphs here so we can talk about them.
Read your summary of Singleton's main arguments and pick one you can effectively disagree with. (Whether you actually agree or disagree or not doesn't matter.) Argue against that point in a paragraph.
Some advice:
1. Your topic sentence is about the point YOU, not Singleton, intend to argue. You have a point to make. You are using Singleton's argument as a "straw man" to knock down. In fact, this paragraph move is sometimes called the "straw man" technique.
2. State Singleton's point clearly and objectively. You want to avoid the appearance of bias. Announce when you are interpreting, rather than objectively stating your opponent's point of view. Quote your opponent to show that you are being objective.
3. Remember, this paragraph is theoretically part of a larger essay. You don't need to summarize all of Singleton's argument or even his main point. You've already covered his thesis nad his main arguments in the theoretical essay's summary paragraph.
Here is a sample organization, which is by no means comprehensive. (We'll discuss other methods in class.)
5 Topic sentence -- the point you intend to argue for
4 Singleton's point from which you intend to argue (reword it objectively)
3 A quotation to show that you aren't over-interpreting or reflecting your bias
4 The IMPLICATION of Singleton's argument that you intend to argue against
3 Your argument in response
2 Evidence in support of your argument
and, as necessary,
4 The IMPLICATION of Singleton's argument that you intend to argue against
3 Your argument in response
2 Evidence in support of your argument
etc.
Some parents are very active in their children’s academic careers, without their child bringing home an F. In “What Our Education System Needs is More F’s”, Carl Singleton argues that F’s need to be given to those students who do not master the material and he believes that by making students take home F’s to their parents, the parents will be forced to play a more active role in their child’s education. Singleton states, “Sending students home with final grades of F would force most parents to deal with the realities of the children’s failure while it is happening…” By stating this, Singleton implies that most parents are not already invested in their child’s academic careers; however, most parents are already active in their child’s academic careers. There are memories of my mother sitting on the back porch helping me with my reading assignment and others of my father giving me impromptu spelling tests. My parents did not need to see an F on my grade card in order to take an active role in my education; they were already active. There are also memories of going over to my friend’s house after school and we were not allowed to play until we finished our homework, so it also did not take an F on a report card for my friend’s parents to be involved either.
ReplyDeleteGiving out more F’s to students will not help students learn the required material because it is the educator’s ability to teach a subject well that has an impact, not the mark they make on a paper. Carl Singleton argues in “What Our Education System Needs Is More F’s” that educators need to give more F’s in order to improve the student’s comprehension and the education system. As he explains, “Insisting on respecting the line between passing and failing would also require us [the teachers] to demand as much of ourselves as of our students.” Although he states this point, he implies throughout his essay that educators giving F’s needs to be the first step to bettering the education system, not improving their methods of teaching or certification to teach. Singleton clearly states, “…until we start failing those students who should be failed, other suggested solutions will make little progress toward improving education.” The most important thing that needs to be fixed in order to get students to learn basic material is to fix the source where learning begins: teachers. If we focus our time and energy on bettering the educators, the results will show in the students. For example, in high school I had a math teacher that would give tests that were incredibly difficult, and you either received the grade you wanted or failed. However, receiving an F on an exam did not resolve the class’s problems in learning the basics of pre-calculus. It was evident that the teacher needed to go back and change his teaching methods, like cutting down on the busy work and YouTube surfing, in order for the students to succeed.
ReplyDeleteMany school systems can help students learn the material without handing out F's, as it usually does not result in better education. In Carl Singleton's essay "What our Education System Needs is More F's," he argues that school systems should give more F's to those students who have not mastered the required material in order to improve the educational system. Singleton emphasizes that "school systems have contributed to massive ignorance by issuing unearned passing grades over a period of some 20 years." He therefore implies that if the school system enforced giving more students F's, the students would be less ignorant and learn the material. However, many school systems are able to give students the motivation or extra help needed to boost their grades before they must give out F's. Many times once students see their grades falling, they will immediately attempt to do better. If they have an F it is harder for them to pull their grade up and therefore they may try less. For example, one of my peers in school received an F in a class and instead of trying to pass, quit going as she was already failing. As a result of her flunking, she lost all motivation she had before receiving the grade, and gave up in the class. If the school system had not automatically given her a failing grade, she would have attempted to do better and learned the material while doing so.
ReplyDeleteHanding out a mass amount of F’s to students who have not learned the required material is not going to solve the problem that our education system is facing today, and has been facing for some time. In his essay What our education system needs more is F, Carl Singleton claims that students who have not learned the required material should be given F’s. Although this seems like a reasonable answer, the reality is that, despite the terrifying glow of a big red F, students are not going to be affected by this alone. Simply giving out failing grades is not going to cut it if this problem is really going to be solved. Singleton’s view on this issue is that “giving those F’s – by the dozens, hundreds, thousands, even millions” is a good idea. This is a good idea, but not by itself. Parents and teachers need to come together and form a support system for the student so that he or she knows that they are being supported to do well. The F’s alone will do nothing but scare the student away from his or her schoolwork and make them loose confidence in themselves. If a teacher is going to give out an F, it should be a particularly horrible situation, not a casual thing as Singleton believes it should be. Once an F is given out, some type of conference should occur between teacher and student so that they student knows exactly why he or she received this F.
ReplyDeleteGiving out more F’s is not the best or only way to motivate a student struggling to learn. In “What Our Education System Needs is More F’s” Carol Singleton claims that through “the massive dispensing of failing grades” parents, teachers and school administrators are then forced to react to their student’s situation. While it is true that those in charge of the student and his education will most likely react to a failing grade, Singleton’s argument implies that the student does not truly care about his grades but the reaction of those in authority over him. Singleton is more concerned about motivating the parents “to get themselves away from the TV set” and take a part in their child’s education, than motivating the student. It is more important to understand why the student is not mastering the material. All of my academic success is the product of a teacher who cared enough to take the time to understand what was hindering me from reaching my true potential. I was an average student with parents who cared enough about my education to sacrifice financially and send me to a wonderful private school. I was given everything I needed to succeed. Until my teacher, Miss Raymond, all my other teachers figured that receiving low grades would be enough to motivate me. Miss Raymond, however, realized that part of my problem was that I was bored. I learned fast then the other students, so I would stop paying attention which resulted in not learning everything and failing easy tests. She also realized that instead of being encouraged to study more when receiving a low grade, I thought I was incapable of doing better and was discouraged. Through her concern and interest I realized how intelligent I was and completely turned my academic career around; and went from being an average student to the top of my class. Miss Raymond always gave me the grade I deserved, but realized that sometimes that is not enough. I did care about my education and what my parents thought but receiving bad grades only made me think I was inept and did not motivate me to do better; however, the time and energy of my teacher has forever impacted my life.
ReplyDeleteMany students have parents who are involved in their lives and try to help them as much as possible when it comes to school. In Carl Singleton's essay "What Our Education System Needs is More F's" He talks about how student's parents don't care about their childrens' grades until they start getting F's. He says "it would force concerned parents to get themselves away from the TV set, too, and take an active part in their children's education." Singleton assumes that these parents just aren't helping to begin with. Many parents do care quite a lot how their child is doing in school, sometimes the child just sincerely struggles with school and their parents are doing as much as they can. My own brother used to struggle horribley at school, it wasn't because he was stupid, he just had A.D.D. and struggled with certain subjects. My parents worked very hard to help him with school, even getting tutors. He still didn't master all the required work, but it wasn't lack of effort from him or my parents. Singleton also implies that parents are also able to help their kids with the work. My parents don't remember how to do all the math they learned during high school though and I could never ask them to help me with it because they just didn't know it. They did make sure I went to my teachers though and had them personally explain what I didn't understand. Carl Singleton may be correct that some students' parents don't care until they get a failing grade, but I know this isn't true of most parents.
ReplyDeleteA mass distribution of F's where they are deserved would have no effect on parenting strategies. Singleton claims that worried parents would get involved and better their child's education if their child brought home F's. He explains that "sending students home with final grades of F would force most parents to deal with the realities of their children's failure." By this, Singleton suggests taht most parents are not at all involved in their children's education. He assumes that the students who would take home F's would completely shock their parents. He fails to realize that the only students that would bring home F's are the students that now take home C's and D's. If Singleton's plan were to take effect the parents of what would be failing students would change nothing. No "concerned" parent would allow his or her child to continually bring home C's and D's without making a change. A friend of mine in high school rarely talked about his parents attitude toward his consistent D's. He would say that they just didn't care. However, at the end of our junior year he told me his dad paid him for bringing home all C's.
ReplyDeleteIn Carl Singleton’s essay “What Our Education System Needs is More F’s”, he argues that our school systems need to undergo a massive reform. One thing that Singleton says that will help improve our school systems is “simply a widespread giving of F’s.” Singleton argues that many students in our high schools are being graded higher than they deserve, and should be failed when necessary; no exceptions. Using this argument, Singleton gives us the assumption that the kids who need to be failed are possibly lazy and could care less about their academic prosperity. However there is one issue that Singleton never addressed, and that issue is that some of the students that should be failed may have some type of disability; disabilities such as aspergers, autism, dyslexia, any LD-related disability, etc. If the proper needs of a special education child are not met (and those needs come in the form of an IEP), then they will not be as successful as they could be and will therefore be one of the many that end up failing. This is an issue that needs to be strongly taken into consideration if our school systems decide to undergo a reform using Singleton’s method. If a teacher is considering failing a student altogether, the teacher needs to make sure that the student has special needs, and that those needs have been met before the teacher decides to give that student the infamous red F.
ReplyDeleteStudents don’t always need to depend on cost to help their educational systems, but they need to depend on their own personal motivation in order to help themselves. Carl Singleton, author of “What our education system needs is Fs,” argues that in order to help facilitate students to pass that have failed that more money needs to be given to educational systems. Singleton suggests, “As the numbers of students at various levels were increased by those not being passed, more money would have to be spent to accommodate them.” The implication of this statement is that money will increase the motivation of failing students through accommodating them with special help from teachers, new technology in schools, or such areas that would require more money. Money doesn’t increase ability to motivate, the students own desire to pass the class and master the material allows for their motivation. When students fail more money is not distributed to improve educational systems but rather taken away for poor performance. Like some type of giant and dysfunctional rewards system, money is appropriated to school based on higher state test scores (in Rhode Island for example). Such an example can be taken from my high-school. Woonsocket Senior High School was going to be forced to cut down on already minimal AP level classes due to lack of money we had for the school. The reason for this lack of money was our schools poor performance in academics. The ones who suffered here were not those students who had failed but those students who were trying to maximize their opportunities to learn.
ReplyDeleteBesides just failing students, there are many suggested solutions on how to improve the American education system and some of them could be very beneficial. In “What our education system needs is more F’s,” Carl Singleton argues that the only way to improve the education system is to start handing out failing grades, but only to those who don’t know the required material. Singleton states that “unless and until we start failing those students who should be failed, other suggested solutions will make little progress.” This implies that the only solution to the low quality education system is to merely hand out more F’s. But giving more F’s is not the only offered solution, and it may not be the best one. One possible solution is to have other means besides tests to determine what material a student knows. This will help as sometimes students do know the information but they are not good at showing they know it. For example, i had a friend who knew the material for a class very well but the phrasing of the test questions confused him. Due to the confusing ambiguous wording, he was not sure what the questions were asking but he answered them to the best of his ability. So although he knew the material, he still received an F on the test. Another solution that could improve the education system is more stringent certification procedures. If the teachers are required to fit higher standards then it gives the students a higher chance of receiving a good education. Singleton says that “we have low-quality teaching because of low-quality teachers who should never have been certified.” More stringent certification techniques could improve that as the new standards could weed out most of the lousy teachers.
ReplyDeleteMany students spend countless hours trying to understand material given to them in class. After school, before school, and on the weekends, you can find those dedicated students trying to master everything they need to learn, but still fall short of receiving an A. Carl Singleton believes students do not do the work needed to earn a good grade, but are still passing. He states, “the basic problem of our educational system is the common practice of giving credit where none has been earned.” Singleton implies students are lazy and are not putting in the appropriate amount of work, but are still getting by. Many students spend more than enough time attempting to understand the mass amount of material given to them, but the content does not come as easily to them. Should they not be given some credit for the time and effort they put in? A paper that was well thought out and carefully written may not fall directly into the A category, but still deserves to be rewarded for their attempt, does not justify an F. Math has been my most difficult subject throughout school. I have always put in the work needed, such as getting a tutor, staying after class, asking questions, studying for hours, asking for help and always being diligent about my work, but I still seemed to fall less than an A. Although unhappy with a B or C, I still felt I did all that I could and accepted my just passing grade. I do not believe I should have been given an F, after I had put in so much effort. There are always those students who do slack off and pass, but for the most part, students do whatever it takes to learn the material they are required to.
ReplyDeleteWhile many students are deeply affected by receiving an F on their report card, the majority of the time the students that are least affected by an F are the ones that need the most help mastering the material. Carl Singleton, however, suggests in his essay “What Our Education System Needs is More F’s”, that teachers need to brand more papers with the letter F in order to hold students back who do not master the material. Singleton argues, “Let me make it clear that I recommend giving those F’s—by the dozens, hundreds, thousands, even millions—only to students who haven’t learned the material.” This simplistic approach would have a strong effect on the students who are worried about their grades because they are generally more involved in their schoolwork and understanding the material that is being. However, think of the students that are not motivated by grades or who have no goals to master the material because they are having problems in other areas of their life. For this reason, I believe that teachers should put more effort into raising their failing students and help them reach their goals instead of writing them off with an F and breaking down their confidence. For example, when I was in high school one of my very close friends was having a difficult time at home which correlated to receiving bad grades in school. Once a teacher noticed that it was not their lack of mastering the material but rather other problems, the teacher reached out and found ways in which to help them. If my friend would have received more F’s on their report card they would have had even more challenges to face. Without this added help my friend would not have been able to succeed and would have essentially failed if a teacher decided to believe what Carl Singleton endorses.
ReplyDeleteInstead of blaming parents for not helping their children more with school work, teachers should take more responsibility in helping their students. Singleton points out that “Sending students home with final grades of F would force most parents to deal with the realities of their children’s failure” however the unfortunate reality is that some parents either don’t care, or don’t know what to do to help. Singleton also believes that by failing students that do not learn the required material the more material will be mastered but this is not the case. For the parents that don’t care, they may feel that it’s up to the child, and teacher, to meet the required grades and it’s not their job to work with the student. On the other hand some parents may want to help meet the required grade, but don’t have the ability to help the child themselves. By teachers putting more effort into helping students their grades will ultimately improve. Parents can only do so much to help their children in the classroom and as Singleton states “As every teacher knows, a failed student can be the product of a failed teacher” and this is what I believe is true.
ReplyDeleteThe reason for the decline in our educational system is not merely grading inefficiencies, but costs and educational resources. In Carl Singleton’s essay, “What Our Education System Needs is More F’s”, he contends that giving a plethora of F’s will fix the mistakes of our educational system and set it on the right track. He believes that “the immediate need for our educational system from prekindergarten through post-Ph.D. is not more money or better teaching but simply a widespread giving of F’s.” Singleton implies that F’s are the way to motivate students, teachers, parents, and school boards into getting their act together to recreate our academic operation, is to give the students F’s to emphasize increasing failures and alert the authorities to take action. The only reason our system is a failure is due to the fact that the right techniques are not being taken to correct this endeavor, such as proper funding of underpaid teachers to support their teachings and for them, also, to be further educated. If teachers are assisted in going back to school and perfecting their skills then their abilities to educate their students would have a tremendous improvement on the academic structure. Education needs to be funded first with passionate teachers that have the skills to properly instruct students, not fueled by desperate grades of F’s and then, over time, the system may mend itself.
ReplyDeleteParent involvement is not one of the key solutions to assist failing students master class material and proceed to a higher level in the education system. In, “What Our Education System Needs Is More F’s,” Singleton states that by grading students more strictly based on their ability to learn the required material, there will be a rise in students receiving failing grades. The sharp rise in failure will cause parents to take action. Singleton further expresses that, “Giving an F where it is deserved would force concerned parents to get themselves away from the TV set, too, and take an active part in their children’s education.” Singleton assumes that many concerned parents are able to one on one assist with homework and studying so that their child can pass to the next level. Most often, there is only so much a parent can do to help their child with their education other than to scare them into receiving good grades. From personal experience, my mom and dad expect me to receive good grades but leave me the responsibility to find the means to do so. If I don’t learnt the required material I deserve to stay at the same level until I do so. Additionally, my parents do not have the background knowledge and time to sit down and make sure my calculus homework is correct. Singleton makes an assumption that overestimates parents’ ability to fix problems that students should take the responsibility to address or accept the consequences of failing.
ReplyDeleteGiving students who fail to complete high caliber work F’s in order to hold them back over and over until they gain a mastery of a subject will not be accepted by the American taxpayer. In Carl Singleton’s essay “What our Education System Needs is More F’s,” Singleton argues that handing out mass F’s to students who fail to achieve a high understanding of the subject matter being taught will force, “voters to come to terms with cost as a factor in improving our education system.” Singleton is basically stating that if school districts fail massive amounts of students and in turn keep them a taxpayer responsibility longer that voters will give more funding to school district in order to help pass the failing students. Voters however, will do the exact opposite voters will believe our educational system is failing far beyond any problems we may have today. They will then seek to oust the people within the system who brought about this change through electing leaders that will send us back to a system similar to our current one. On an even more practical level, voters in America quite frankly hate voting for anything that will cost them more money than they already have to. For example, look at how many schools struggle and often fail, today to pass levy’s to pay only for simple operating cost. Imagine if taxpayers across the country were asked to pass levy’s that would possibly include such things that are often regarded as luxury items, such as extra teachers, the latest technology, and tutoring services. Although most Americans would agree that these are good things that schools should have they would not be willing to spend the vast amount of money needed to have these things at every school in America.
ReplyDeleteIt is a widely accepted fact that A and B students care about grades while D and F students don't. However, Carl Singleton, in his essay "What our education system needs is more F's", postulates that in order to fix our educational system teachers must start issuing out F's. Singleton emphasizes that "...I recommend giving those F's... only to students who haven't learned the required material." Singleton makes the false assumption that students on the edge of failing will start to care about grades if they fall one letter. It’s quite ironic that the students Singleton intends to motivate by failing, are the very students who are least motivated by grades. Many of these same students have thought about dropping out of school and failing them may just push them to give up completely. Having seen this very scenario play out on five different occasions during my high-school years, I recommended an alternative solution should be found.
ReplyDeleteMastering a subject should not be the only determining factor in giving a person an A. Carl Singleton believes in administering A's only when the subject material is known perfectly. "School systems have contributed to massive ignorance by issuing unearned passing grades over a period of some twenty years." By 'unearned', he means that the knowledge is not known 100% perfectly. Apparently, every mind is wired the same. Struggles in certain subjects-- whether the subject be science, language, math, english, exct.-- are existent, making a perfect A potentially impossible to get. Does effort mean nothing? Putting forth maximum effort is just as worthy of an A grade, especially when the subject is super difficult for the individual receiving the grade as knowledge and understanding. For example, if someone attends a language class in college and does not understand the material enough to get an A, but they are putting in five times the amount of effort and work into learning the language tban anyone else, why flunk them? Hard working people make for good businesspeople and parents. In the end, not mastering the material should not automatically lead to an F.
ReplyDeleteWhile today’s students do suffer from laziness and mediocrity, using failing grades and stricter grading procedures would be ineffective in the attempt to motivate students because of the point that students who are failing or slipping by are content with this. Singleton argues that by failing students more and being less lenient with passing grades, students will be more motivated to do well in school, providing more intelligent people for the working world. Singleton states in one of his essays “The results of giving an F where it is deserved would be immediately evident. There would be no illiterate college graduates next spring – none. The same would be true of high school graduates, and consequently next year’s freshman – all of them – would be able to read.” It is implied by Singleton’s essay that students would in fact be more motivated to do well if they received more failing grades for not learning the material. This might work for a select few students, but not the whole. Most students not learning the material will not be motivated by a big, bleeding, red F at the top of a paper. And what is wrong with that? Our society needs fast food workers.
ReplyDeleteWhile Singleton raises a valid point that F’s are not being given to kids who deserve them, I think he over emphasizes the usefulness of an F and over looks other possible solutions. It’s true that kids who don’t deserve to pass shouldn’t, but I think he’s missing a key point, and that is why they are failing. Singleton says that, “The immediate need for our educational system… is not more money or better teaching but simply a widespread giving of F's” but I believe better teaching is extremely important and can have a profound effect on how students do. I believe it is a lot of bad teaching that is causing our educational system to fail and if we simply correct that and give teachers more effective teaching methods students will do much better. In fact, research shows that even simple techniques such as standing still when giving directions to little kids instead of walking around and seeming distracted will keep them much more focused so you only have to explain things once. If something as small as standing still can have an impact on how kids learn I find it almost impossible to argue that changing teachers’ methods for the better would not greatly increase learning. Furthermore, the way Singleton articulates his argument also gives you the feeling that he is extremely narrow minded about giving kids F’s by stating things like “more stringent certification procedures, getting back to basics will have no effect on the problem until we insist on giving F's” yet that contradicts what he’s already said. Having more stringent certification procedures means that you are failing teachers who don’t know how to teach, which is what he’s asking for. Because of things like this I think Singleton losses his point and all you get from his essay is the idea that we have to fail kids and that is the only way to effectively correct our schools.
ReplyDeleteThe widespread distribution of F’s will not improve the quality of teachers and teaching methods. Singleton miserably tries to argue that teachers would believe the failures of their students are in direct relation to their ability as teachers. Singleton states “We [teachers] could not, after all, conscionably give F’s if we have to go home at night thinking it might somehow be our own fault.” He implies that teachers will worry about their teaching methods being the cause of the F’s that students receive. This is absurd because only the students have the responsibility in completing their work and studying. If students need help, they themselves should ask for assistance either from teachers or parents. I know full well that not all teachers even think twice about giving out F’s and having a good night sleep afterwards. My calculus teacher in high school has been teaching will over 30 years and in those years he has given out F’s like they were candy and every test day was Halloween. His teaching methods have not changed over the years as well, my sister had him 8 years before and when we compared tests and quizzes, the only difference was the order of the problems. He himself, always said that we deserve the F’s since we weren’t prepared and even if his entire class failed he would not be fired because he had tenure, we (students) were the only one who lost sleep, studying.
ReplyDeleteMany parents remain an active participant in their son or daughter’s education without he or she bringing home failing grades. In "What Our Education System Needs Is More F’s" Carl Singleton argues that parental involvement in their son or daughter’s education comes only after he or she earns a failing grade. Singleton claims, “Giving an F where it is deserved would force parents to get themselves away from the TV set… and take an active part in their children’s education.” Through this statement, Singleton argues that parents will not become involved in their son or daughter’s education until they receive a failing grade. Many parents however, remain active in their son or daughter’s education without he or she earning an F. I never once earned a failing grade, but my parents remained a critical component in my education process. I was an All-American soccer player in high school, but my parents said that if my grade point average dropped below a 3.5, they wouldn’t let me play on the team, it was the fear of letting my teammates and parents down that motivated me to keep my grades up.
ReplyDeleteLow grades alone cannot motivate a student to do better. While failures are the pillars of success, break down those pillars too much, and its maker will throw up his hands. Positive encouragement, praise and inducing a passion for a subject go a long way in helping a student to excel in a subject. In other words, it helps him “to learn the required material”, as Carl Singleton puts it in his essay “What Our Education System Needs Is More Fs”. Mr. Singleton says that “Johnny should pass only when and if he knows the required material.” He is referring here to the academically poor students who should, in his opinion, be failed if they don’t cut class. What he does not consider is the dampening psychological effect low grades (especially when they are handed out continuously) could have on students. It is clear that Mr. Singleton does not consider any debilitating factor (learning disabilities, poor aptitude in a subject etc.) that could result in a student getting low grades. He is assuming that the student who doesn’t learn is a work shirker and a truant. And that low grades would automatically bolster him to do better. Contrary to what he says, ‘Johnny’ could stop caring once he gets 3 Fs one after the other. A ‘go-ahead-do-your-worst’ attitude would sprout in him along with a sincere dislike (or worse, phobic hatred) of the subject. This was what had happened with me. I was the ‘Johnny’ in math Singleton is talking about. I was never good with numbers, let alone calculus or geometry. I hated math to death because I was never able to pass it. And I didn’t have teachers like Singleton describes in his essay. They didn’t “conscionably give Fs” and “go home at night thinking it might somehow be” their fault. They just gave the F. Exam after exam, I flunked. And I had started to go into the ‘don’t care’ phase. It was my math tutor (not my school math teacher) who changed me by bringing about a love for numbers. He threw sum after sum to challenge me and bailed me out when necessary. I cannot describe the joy in mastering a method to tackle a difficult problem. I grappled with the sums, trying to solve them. My tutor helped and encouraged me throughout to improve myself. As a result, my grades shot up. More importantly, I was leafing through my Math book like never before, hunting for tricky sums. He proved that the F grade alone didn’t boost me to get an A. Motivation, after all, is a strong positive force that could change human behavior. And low grades alone cannot be a major cause for motivation.
ReplyDeleteGiving out more F’s to students will not help students learn the required material because it is the educator’s ability to teach a subject well that has an impact, not the mark they make on a paper. Carl Singleton argues in “What Our Education System Needs Is More F’s” that educators need to give more F’s in order to improve the student’s comprehension and the education system. As he explains, “Insisting on respecting the line between passing and failing would also require us [the teachers] to demand as much of ourselves as of our students.” Although he states this point, he implies that educators giving F’s needs to be the first step to bettering the education system, not improving their methods of teaching or certification to teach. Singleton clearly states, “…until we start failing those students who should be failed, other suggested solutions will make little progress toward improving education.” This, however, is far from the truth. In order to get students to learn basic material, we need to fix the source where learning begins: teachers. If we focus our time and energy on bettering the educators, the results will show in the students. For example, in high school I had a math teacher that would give tests that were incredibly difficult, and you either received the grade you wanted or failed. Still, receiving an F on an exam did not resolve the class’s problems in learning the basics of pre-calculus. It was evident that the teacher needed to go back and change his teaching methods, like cutting down on the busy work and YouTube surfing, in order for the students to succeed.
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ReplyDeleteHanding out a mass amount of F’s to students who did not learn the required material is not going to solve the problem that our education system is facing today, and has been facing for some time. In his essay “What our education system needs more is F’s,” Carl Singleton claims that students who have not learned the required material should be given F’s. Although this seems like a reasonable answer, the reality is that despite the terrifying glow of a big red F, students are not going to be affected by this alone. Simply giving out failing grades is not going to cut it. Singleton’s view on this issue is that “giving those F’s – by the dozens, hundreds, thousands, even millions” is a good idea. This is a good idea, but not by itself. Parents and teachers need to come together and form a support system for the student so that he or she knows that they are being supported to do well. The F’s alone will do nothing but scare the student away from his or her schoolwork and make them loose confidence in themselves. If a teacher is going to give out an F, it should be a particularly horrible situation, not a casual thing as Singleton believes it should be. Once an F is given out, some type of conference should occur between teacher and student so that they student knows exactly why he or she received this F.
Carl Singleton has taken this issue from a militant and incentive with giving students .He claims and I quote “The immediate need for educational system from pre-kindergarten through post PHD is not more money or better teaching but simply a widespread of giving F’s. He is an extremist and has no amicable way of resolving the issues. Towards the end of the article he contradicts himself; “Teaching methods classroom presentations and testing procedures would have to be of high standard”. Singleton wants F issued by hundreds, millions, thousands but he has not addressed the issue why the students are not understanding the material. He points fingers at school system , parents and teachers for negligence and complacency. He also fails to highlight in the article the possibility that teachers themselves do not know the material. I believe that Some measures need to be put in place before you are qualified to fail a child and Singleton fails to highlight this step in solving the real problem.
ReplyDeleteA widespread distribution of F’s among students is not one of the best solutions for improving the education system. In “What Our Education System Needs is More F’s”, Carl Singleton argues that assigning F’s is the first step that must be taken if the education system is to be improved in America. He claims that “…until we start failing those students who should be failed, other suggested solutions will make little progress toward improving education”. While it is important that students should not be passed unless they know the required material, a widespread assigning of F’s should not be the first step to fixing this problem. There are many problems with the school systems, and the students’ desire to learn is not the most critical. Singleton agrees that there are many issues with the school systems, but insists that the grading system needs to be corrected first. What is the factor that determines whether students should be passed or failed? Not all of the students that are barely passing by are the ones that aren’t giving their education their best effort. Many times, the required material is complicated and there is not enough of a support system in their environment to help them figure the material out. Although there are problems with the student’s desire to learn in some cases, there are also problems with the teachers the school districts have hired to teach the required material, as well as the budget the school provides the teachers with to buy the tools necessary to teach, etc. With all of the problems there are in the educational system, a widespread failing of more students is not the best way to start correcting the problem.
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ReplyDeleteRevised Draft #2
ReplyDeleteLow grades alone cannot motivate a student to do better. While failures are the pillars of success, break down those pillars too much, and its maker will throw up his hands. Positive encouragement, praise and inducing a passion for a subject go a long way in helping a student to excel in a subject. In other words, it helps him “to learn the required material”, as Carl Singleton puts it in his essay “What Our Education System Needs Is More F's”. Mr. Singleton says that “Johnny should pass only when and if he knows the required material.” He is referring here to the academically poor students who should, in his opinion, be failed if they don’t cut class. What he does not consider is the dampening psychological effect low grades (especially when they are handed out continuously) could have on students. Mr. Singleton does not consider any debilitating factor (learning disabilities, poor aptitude in a subject etc.) that could result in a student getting low grades. He is assuming that the student who doesn’t learn is a work shirker and a truant. And that low grades would automatically bolster him to do better. Contrary to what he says, ‘Johnny’ could stop caring once he gets 3 F’s one after the other. A ‘go-ahead-do-your-worst’ attitude would sprout in him along with a sincere dislike (or worse, phobic hatred) of the subject. This was what I had become. I was the ‘Johnny’ (in math) Singleton is talking about. I was never good at numbers, let alone calculus or geometry. I hated math to death because I was never able to pass it. And I didn’t have ideal teachers like Singleton describes in his essay. They didn’t “conscionably give F’s” and “go home at night thinking it might somehow” be their fault. They just gave the F. Exam after exam, I flunked. And I had started to go into the ‘don’t care’ phase. It was my math tutor (not my school math teacher) who changed me by bringing about a love for numbers. He threw sum after sum to challenge me and bailed me out when necessary. He made sure that fundamental concepts were ingrained into my head. I cannot describe the joy in mastering a method to tackle difficult problems. I grappled with the sums, trying to solve them. My tutor helped and encouraged me throughout to improve myself. As a result, my grades shot up. More importantly, I was leafing through my Math book like never before, hunting for tricky sums. He proved that the F grade alone didn’t boost me to get an A. Motivation is a strong positive force that could change human behavior. But low grades alone cannot be a major cause for motivation.
What our education system is not necessarily more F’s; what we need is better education system. As humans we all learn at a different rate. Personally I learn with a more visual technique allowing me to put a mental picture in my mind. With many other students, they learn slower, faster, and others need more special attention. Carl Singleton argues that more F’s would be the solution in driving our attention to learn the material provided. I personally believe that if there were more outlets in helping students to learn techniques in learning that they would apply themselves better. At Ohio Wesleyan, there was a program that was a week long and each day was focused on a special technique to learning. Our education system needs to offer a class such as this program as a requirement for freshman, or even earlier in grade school. F’s will not change students, some will give up right there due to the embarrassment of failure. I’ve known students to drop classes due to working hard and receiving F’s, simply because they process at a different rate. If we can submerge a program that allows students to deal with different learning’s then we can better grades and understanding of the material in classrooms.
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ReplyDeleteRevised Draft #2
ReplyDeleteLow grades alone cannot motivate a student to do better. Sometimes, other factors such as a caring teacher help. While failures are the pillars of success, break down those pillars too much, and its maker will throw up his hands. Positive encouragement, praise and inducing a passion for a subject go a long way in helping a student to excel in a subject. In other words, it helps him “to learn the required material”, as Carl Singleton puts it in his essay “What Our Education System Needs Is More F's”. Mr. Singleton says that “Johnny should pass only when and if he knows the required material.” He is referring here to the academically poor students who should, in his opinion, be failed if they don’t cut class. What he does not consider is the dampening psychological effect low grades (especially when they are handed out continuously) could have on students. Mr. Singleton does not consider any debilitating factor (learning disabilities, poor aptitude in a subject etc.) that could result in a student getting low grades. He is assuming that the student who doesn’t learn is a work shirker and a truant. And that low grades would automatically bolster him to do better. Contrary to what he says, ‘Johnny’ could stop caring once he gets 3 F’s one after the other. A ‘go-ahead-do-your-worst’ attitude would sprout in him along with a sincere dislike (or worse, phobic hatred) of the subject. This was what I had become. I was the “Johnny” (in math) Singleton is talking about. I was never good at numbers, let alone calculus or geometry. I hated math to death because I was never able to pass it. And I didn’t have ideal teachers like Singleton describes in his essay. They didn’t “conscionably give F’s” and “go home at night thinking it might somehow” be their fault. They just gave the F. Exam after exam, I flunked. And I had started to go into the ‘don’t care’ phase. It was my math tutor who changed me by bringing about a love for numbers. He helped and encouraged me throughout to improve myself (I shall be expanding on this later).As a result, my grades shot up. More importantly, I was leafing through my Math book like never before, hunting for tricky sums. He proved that the F grade alone didn’t boost me to get an A. Motivation is a strong positive force that could change human behavior. But low grades alone cannot be a major cause for motivation.