Most people see teachers and professors in the same light. They perform similar tasks. They teach. However, they are separated by a fine line of distinction. High school teachers help a student build a foundation of knowledge, and train the student to focus on learning. College professors help to shape and define a student’s foundation of knowledge, and challenge the student to cultivate the mind. High school teachers and college professors have similar goals and guidelines, but they take a differing approach to achieving the end result. The way the class is conducted, academic expectations, and view of student responsibility are a few of the contrasts between high school teachers and college professors.
A high school class and a college class are conducted in different ways. In high school, teachers exercise control over the flow of information, while college professors encourage the student to seek out pertinent information. Throughout the year, a high school teacher will remind the student of upcoming due dates and assignment requirements. If a student misses a test or homework assignment, the teacher will provide missing notes or study guides so that the student is kept up to date with the rest of the class. For example; when I was in high school, I missed a week of school to go on vacation with my family. My mother spoke with my teacher before we left and he agreed to let me turn in my homework when I returned to class. Furthermore, my teacher allowed me to make up the single quiz that I missed during my absence. Neither the late homework, nor the missed quiz reflected in my grade. A college professor would have made me choose between a good grade and a vacation with my family. In contrast, the college professor...
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...udent to monitor their own progress and find solutions to problems as they arise. A college professor will not listen to excuses, nor will the consequences of failure be withheld. For example; I failed a math final by a mere six points, but the rules dictate that a c minus is not passing. It was my responsibility to realize that I needed help with math before I took that final. I had to face the consequences and take the course again.
A high school teacher provides a foundation of knowledge in preparation for the higher expectations of college. The college professor works to encourage independent learning, critical thinking, and self reliance. High school teachers and college professors may have differing points of view, but both affect the world as a whole. Henry Adams once said “A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.’
Two professors of different backgrounds, Mike Rose of California, and Gerald Graff, of Illinois, discuss the problems college students face today in America. Though similar in slight variations, both professors view the problem in different regards and prepare solutions that solve what they feel to be the heart of this academic problem.
During my first few days of sophomore year at Stuyvesant High School, I saw how the ways of thinking were diverse in each of my classes. In my European Literature class, where, in our first reading assignment, we questioned the purpose of education itself. I always went with the flow in my learning, and never stopped to say to myself, “Why am I doing this to myself?”. However, once I read Live and Learn by Louis Menand, I started to think about Menand’s three theories of college and juxtapose each of them to my experience so far in high school. In the end, I concluded that many of my classes followed the main points of Theory 2, which was the theory that I mostly agreed with when I read the article for the first time.
It is a well-known fact that students entering higher education increasingly lack the academic skills necessary to succeed in their collegiate endeavors. It goes without saying that this is largely due to the widespread substandard education provided by legions of mediocre teachers—teachers who deliver shoddy instruction due to their own innately inferior academic abilities. At least, these facts are what Notre Dame Professor of Philosophy Gary Gutting would have readers of The Chronicle of Higher Education believe in his article “Why College Is Not a Commodity.” Although he makes many points that, if true, would be damning of the elementary and secondary teaching professions, Gutting stops short of proving his arguments logically or empirically. He claims today’s budding K-12 teachers often come from the bottom of the heap academically, directly leading to poor teaching—yet he provides no research to back up this connection. Furthermore, Gutting attempts to provide a solution to this so-called travesty by recommending that teaching be “professionalized,” ignoring the already-present professional practices and standards present. Gutting’s critiques, though thought-provoking, ultimately are logically and statistically unsatisfying in both their explanations of the state of teacher qualifications and in their calls to action.
Students in high school and below worry about their grades and moving up another level because of their grades. In college, students worry about their study skills and common sense because in college the grading system and learning are completely different. Mandrell and Farber worked with the idea of high school student and that education system, but Vogel gives insight to the college education system. As a college student, there’s not a way to be able to do the same things as in high school and still expect to pass. As Vogel experiences different situations with his students, he learns that students are focused on their GPA (Vogle, 390). He questions one of his students about why they wanted a higher grade and creates this idea that everything we build on leads to money. Vogel states, “If Grades are money, then learning is a cost...” (Vogel, 391) which is true. From the time a person is born all they have to do is to get ahead in life, to be able to beat everyone around because life can become a competition. People go to school and “learn” to go further in life. However, Vogel makes a good point about learning: “...it’s the learning that 's the goal, we say, not the grade; we want our students to learn about history and philosophy...because doing so will make them better people, better citizens of a democracy.” (Vogel, 390). Somewhere along the line of our education system we have let grades overshadow the real meaning of
"The more we know the world around us, the more successful we will be." This quote, from the introduction of my high school chemistry book, was my driving force as a teenager to attend college. My expectations of college were to gain insight into a world that I had not yet discovered. I had high aspirations of receiving a good education and obtaining a good job when I graduated. But four years later when graduation day arrived, I felt unfulfilled. In evaluating my education, I realized that I learned how to get good, but not great grades. I learned how to study to make the most of my time. The focus I shared with many of my peers was not always to appreciate the information received, but rather, to value the counsel from someone else who previously took that professor's class and maybe to be lucky enough to get a hold of last semester's examinations. Basically, I acquired useful skills for any job: to follow directions, to give the boss what he or she was asking of me, and to network and gain insight from other colleagues. It was still disturbing to me that after four years of schooling, I felt I had not received the education I initially expected. Overall, college does not bring out the full academic potential of the students who invest the time and money into an education. Teachers need to set aside their biases and restructure and develop curriculum, as well as student-teacher relationships, in order to truly develop college students into freethinking, exploratory people.
There is a student Emma, who has recently graduated from Austin High School, where 90/10 grading system is used; 90% of Emma’s grade is knowledge based with scores such as tests and projects, while her practice work such as homework is worth 10% of her grade. Emma, finds school somewhat easy and since homework was only 10% of her grade, so she often did not bother to do her practice work. Even though she did not do her homework through high school she managed to keep above a 3.00 GPA. When Emma enters college, she is shocked to see that she would have to complete homework, and that it would affect her grade drastically if she didn’t complete her homework. Emma is feeling unprepared and overloaded with work. She is not prepared for college,
However, such accusations such as laziness and entitlement, although common, have been prevalent amongst those of college age as proven in “A’s for Everyone.” Shepard had investigated the cause behind this and had put the blame on grade inflation in the years prior to entering college, the pressure to get superb grades due to high tuition costs, and most importantly the belief that “effort” constitutes a grade bonus. However, if one has entered the school system in America, one could see the relative ease in which one could improve their grades through inordinate amounts of extra credit. Multiple students have heard and even seen fellow students ask their parents to even come in for meetings of which equate to blaming their child’s poor grades on the teacher and harassing said teacher to allow their child, soon to be a hardworking, productive citizen of society, to get the “grade they
Students go to college in search of knowledge, a new lifestyle, and the hope of a job after graduation. For many young adults, college is a rite of passage into an independent, mature new lifestyle. Not only is higher education a rite of passage, for some, it is also an opportunity to have a better life. Overall, college is a wonderful part of many people’s lives, yet the way the college education system is conducted wastes students time and money. College is basically composed of two parts: general education classes and major specific classes. General education courses are the source of wasted time and money, and should not be required of students. A few of the problems associated with general education classes are that they are basically a repeat of high school, unfortunately they can be the demise of students, they are costly, and they waste time.
Teachers help us expand and open our mind by giving us skills throughout students’ early life to help students when they are older. By learning information from teachers, students become better people, in a couple of ways. Besides inquiring knowledge from their teachers, students learn to work with one another, open their mind to other peoples’ thoughts and ideas, respect one another, and learn different techniques for life’s issues.
In high school, the teacher pretty much babysits the students. The teacher always has to get on their students to pay attention in class, to do their work, and to stay awake during the lecture. Also high school teachers don’t really expect their students to read ahead in their textbooks. In college the professors are very different. College professors expect the best from their students, because they know that their students are spending a very large sum of money in their education. The professors expect their students to read their textbooks before class, and to do their homework. They also expect their students to stay awake during the lecture, if not they will kick the student out. College professors don’t care if a student doesn’t turn in their homework or if they forget to read a chapter in their textbook. College professors are not worried about this because it’s not their grade, they already have their degree. Also, college professors won’t accept any late work. They also are very strict on absences and most college professors will rarely give any extra credit to replace a student’s absences. This is one of the reasons why high school teachers and professors are not the
School plays an important role in our lives. Many people will spend more than fifteen years at school in order to get the qualifications that are required to work in a specific field. Those years are broken down into several levels, some of them being more enjoyable than others. Two very important levels that people go through are high school and college. Even though some think that these levels are almost the same, there are significant differences between them. The cost of high school is not the same as the cost of college. Also, some differences apply from an academic point of view. Typically, the social environment also differs from high school to college, which can be related to the question of freedom versus responsibility.
Education plays a very important role in a person’s life. Basic education is attained through primary school and high school. Education may be further perused after graduating from high school by attending university. This decision can make a person’s future brighter because, in most cases it is really hard to get a well-paid job and live a stable life without having a bachelor’s degree. However, people who want to peruse higher education must know that although there are similarities, there are also some differences between high school and university in terms of assignments, teachers, and responsibilities.
Teachers in college for the most part don't really care whether or not you are in class. All it means is that if you are not there, you are going to get a failing grade if it happens too often. Missing too many classes will cause the teacher to withdraw you from the class, resulting in a failing grade. If you do it the smart way you would withdraw from the class yourself because then it would have no negative effect on your overall G.P.A. In high school the teachers are always on you about attendance. If you miss too many days you can fail. If you are not in class they want to know why. They also want a note from your parents excusing you from class. Some schools even want your parents to call you in sick if you are not going to be there. If you do not have a note they can write you up for an unauthorized absence and, give you a detention.
College is something that many high school students anticipate; A new transition between two very similar yet diverse worlds. This transition can be something very exciting but also very nerve raking and difficult. Students, Ready to leave behind high school, being researching to find the most prestigious schools and programs available, soon forgetting to remember that although the two, high school and college have their similarities such as doing classwork, and homework the differences are endless.
Teachers serve as the guiding force in a student’s life. They are responsible for molding a student’s personality and shaping his/her mental orientation. Teachers deeply impact our lives and direct the course of our future. One cannot deny the influence of teachers in one’s life. In fact, it would not be an exaggeration to say that, till a certain age, out life revolves around our teachers. They are our constant companions, until we grow old enough to come out of their shadow and move ahead on our own.