Essay Reflection

I chose two essays from FHS-1500, Lifespan Human Development, coursework to share in my teaching portfolio because these two essays cover two different subject areas that I feel need change in our public school systems.

The first essay, “Overemphasis on Competition in American Society”, talks about how promoting constant competition can have negative effects on most students. The students who are achieving greatly are likely to have high self-esteem and self-worth. Self-esteem and self-worth are two of the main driving forces behind student motivation.

For students who are not achieving greatly, they feel the negative affects on the polar spectrum of that scale. These students will have lower confidence and lower self worth. This can drastically affect these student’s motivation to succeed.

I believe that reform for competition in the public school system is needed. All students should have the opportunity to be told that they are good at something. Students need to be motivated to learn. When you build up only the top achievers of the school, you are tearing down the vast majority of students who are performing at lower levels.

Were you affected by low self-esteem because you weren’t a top performer in your school? What are some ways we can motivate students who are low performers to keep at it and work hard?

The second essay, “Vocational & Educational Choices”, refers to an overemphasis on immediately going to college after high school graduation. Statistics show that 40% of college students drop out after their first year. I was part of this statistic.

When I first graduated high school, I had no direction. I was not prepared for college. I barely even knew how to enroll. Instead of emphasizing jumping into a career track in after high school, I think that more schools should provide experiences for students to understand their interests.

When I was a senior in high school, I had no interests besides my social life. That was the only reason I went to college. All of my friends went to college, and I didn’t want to be left out. I ended up taking classes that I hated and had absolutely no interest in. After my first year, I was even more lost. I had no idea which direction I should go in, so I dropped out.

It wasn’t until later, when I started volunteering and working with school aged children that I figured out what I was good at and what I liked doing. Now, I am more motivated than ever to complete school and give it my all.

I think our society and our public school systems put too much pressure on students to go straight to college after graduation. Because of the rising cost of tuition, these students, just like I did, waste so much money and time bouncing from one subject area to another, and never earning a degree. I think it is necessary to slow the college entry process for these students. Have these students take part in volunteer activities, service projects, and and internships to find out what type of work makes them feel good.

I had to find out what intrinsically motivated me to finish school. I think a lot of other students struggle with this same issue, and it is blatantly overlooked by the public education system.

When did you find your career path? How did you find out what intrinsically motivated you?