More handpicked essays just for you.
Stressful life for college students
The effects of anxiety among students
The stress associated with being a student
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Evan Nave writes: “I was / too busy calculating my / mortality to bother solving / for the value of x.” (lines 15-18). In these few lines, someone can easily think of a time when they were in school and they had other things on their minds besides the actual subject of school. It can be difficult for students to focus on the subject of school when they are facing personal problems in their daily lives. Students are often forced to disregard personal problems or face the consequences of their grades suffering because they brought their issues along with them to school. In our education system, there is not any room for a student to bring their personal lives with them once they enter the doors of the institution. The poem, “17” by Evan Nave …show more content…
accurately displays how in our education system there is more often than not an obvious disconnect between a student’s everyday life and a student’s “school life;” our educational system does not provide room for a student’s emotional needs, but instead has a wide girth for a student’s statistical capability. In order to clearly see the disconnect between a student’s everyday life and a student’s school life displayed by the poem, it is important to look at the overall structure of it.
Each line of the poem reads as an incomplete thought, except for lines 1 and 10, which read: “I am choking /.../ I was not well” (Nave). Even though these lines can be considered complete thoughts, they are still choppy and short in content. These two lines introduce us early on to the student’s internal conflict versus the setting that the student is currently in. Besides the fragmented thoughts, the poem as a whole appears as one large stanza and there are not clear breaks where a new stanza begins or ends; or in other words the syntax of the poem is difficult to cipher through. In order to help piece things together, I broke it up into four stanzas for each sentence of the poem. Three out of four of the sentences begin with “I,” while the other begins with “my algebra teacher.” This is important to note because the student, 75% of the time, is thinking about his personal situation rather than the subject of class. The disjointed thoughts throughout the lines of the poem standout in the last couple of lines of the poem. Evan Nave writes: “my thoughts are not / math.” (lines 19-20). These two lines exemplify how our educational system is focused on what a student can bring as a statistic. It exemplifies this because math is a black and white subject, and one can infer that these lines are saying …show more content…
that the narrator’s thoughts are more sporadic, while the educational system as a whole is calculated like the subject of math. Another example of this disconnect, within the structure of the poem, are the number of lines that can be considered as open-ended questions, such as line 7, “how I am,” or line 14, “how can I explain to,” (Nave). These open-ended questions are focus on emotional responses and not premeditated expectations. These questions display how within our educational system many students’ questions are left unanswered because the institution does not cover real-world material, but instead provides plenty of material that will provide our education system with positive statistics. As well as the overall structure of the poem, the reader must also examine the language and word play of the poem. The words the narrator chooses are very determined and deliberate. Some examples of this are choking, twisted, paper basket, abacus, and mortality (lines 1,3,5,13,17). The narrator’s words leave a metallic kind of taste in the reader’s mouth, meaning that the words almost cut the air, or they have a heavy tone to them. All of these words imply that there is some sort of tension around the student. This displays the disconnect between the student’s everyday life and the student’s “school life,” when the reader is introduced to the algebra teacher. Evan Nave writes: “My algebra / teacher walks by and asks / how I am/ well enough to sit / through lunch if / I was not well / enough to sit / through his morning / class /” (lines 5-13). This scene is an example of when a student is having personal problems and it is hard for the student to go about the mundane tasks of school. The algebra teacher has no concern for the student’s well-being, but instead why the student was unable to provide what the teacher wanted in class. Nave writes in the scene beforehand: “I am choking / down lunch after / my thoughts twisted my break / fast into the school nurse’s waste / paper basket./” (lines 1-5), and the reader knows that the narrator had an impossible time keeping down food this morning and that the narrator is barely able to eat at that moment. The teacher is a representation of our educational system and how it requires all who enter the doors of any institution to leave all outside thoughts of life at the door. The word play throughout the whole poem is very heavy. For example, in line 15, Nave uses the word “abacus” to describe his algebra teacher. An abacus is an old, outdated manual version of a calculator. Nave uses this term in a sarcastic tone and implies that the teacher is a manual, or auto-piloted, version of the education system, which displays the disconnect between the student and the algebra teacher. Another example of wordplay found in the poem is line 18: “for the value of x/” (Nave). The word value can mean worth in a numerical sense or how useful something is to a certain situation or person. The way that Nave is using the word value, on the surface, it appears that Nave is simply talking about value in the numerical context, but under the surface one can infer that Nave is also using the word value in the personal context. This displays how the narrator is internally evaluating their value as a person and an individual while they are learning to find the numerical value of a given equation; which in turn, is an example of how our school system is not concerned with a student’s emotional value, but instead their numerical value. Along with the overall structure and language of the poem, another element that is significant in displaying the disconnect between students’ everyday lives and school lives is the subject the poem discusses. Out of all of the various school subjects Nave could have selected, he chose mathematics. In my opinion, math is a very cold subject; and by this I mean that there is not any freedom in the subject of math. People do not have the option for creativity or “rule-breaking” when math is involved. In any equation, there are wrong answers and there is singularly a correct answer. This is notable, because it contrasts what Nave is actually discussing internally while the narrator is sitting in the hallway trying to eat lunch. The narrator is trying to express that his thoughts are irregular and unrestricted while the subject of math is very rule oriented. This helps display this disconnect because typically students are not very structured in life and are often spontaneous, while within our school system there is a set structure and no room for spontaneity. Also, throughout the poem, Nave uses several math lingo, or terms, to help describe his personal feelings. For example, some of the terms Nave uses are: “algebra, calculating, solving, and value of x” (lines 5, 16-18). Nave’s use of these terms extend the poem’s subject matter into the realm of mathematics. The subject matter of math is substantial in displaying the disconnect between a student’s everyday life and their school life because math does not allow for emotional processes, but instead statistical and numerical processes much like our educational system. Although this poem is short in content, it is rich in context.
Through the use of this short structure and being concise to depict the setting and emotional state of the narrator, the reader is able to identify with the turmoil and conflict what the narrator faces. One can easily relate to the difficulty that students face trying to achieve academic success with little to no emotional support in the school environment. The poem, "17", by Evan Nave holds substantial evidence to support the obvious disconnect between a student's everyday life and a student's "school life" in our educational system. It also makes a point to show that our educational system does not provide room for a student's emotional needs. Instead, students are seen as numbers based on their individual academic achievement and what they bring to the district in statistical data of school achievement. The reader can feel this obvious disconnect and need for change in order to meet the students needs by the authors use of language, word choice, subject matter and overall structure. Upon reading this poem, one should hope for a better way of helping students with all of their needs. Perhaps, through structural changes schools will be able relate students personal lives to their academic lessons in order to produce well rounded individuals that are able to cope and contribute to society upon entering the real world at their time of
graduation.
Pashtana said she would rather die than not go to school and acted on her words. Her education is limited and she doesn’t have all the recourses to make school easier, yet she still loves and wants all the knowledge she can get. While I sit in my three story private school, a clean uniform free of holes or loose seams, my macbook air in my lap, the smell of cookies rising up from the cafeteria, wishing to be anywhere else but there. No one has beat me because I want to go to school, no one has forced me into a marriage, I’ve never put my life in jeopardy for the sake of education. Pashtana’s life and choices made me take a moment to stop and reflect on my own life and how fortunate I am to have what I have.
The poem is written in the style of free verse. The poet chooses not to separate the poem into stanzas, but only by punctuation. There is no rhyme scheme or individual rhyme present in the poem. The poems structure creates a personal feel for the reader. The reader can personally experience what the narrator is feeling while she experiences stereotyping.
The poem told the story of a man who is inhibited by language, and has never quite had the ability to articulate his thoughts and feeling through words. It is said that his family members have tried
The article “A Letter To My Younger Self” written by Terrance Thomas is made to motivate readers, especially teenagers that share similar concerns and emotions as the author’s younger self. By writing a letter to his younger self, Terrance created a motivational and melancholic tone. The style of writing is, therefore, informal with a poetic touch to it. The article is written to motivate readers which results in it to have a motivational and melancholic tone. “Those moments of fear, inadequacy, and vulnerability that you have been running from, are the moments that will shape you.”.
In the poem, the poet uses symbolism to show how teacher was not actually grading the paper, but she was trying to see her inside the student. First instance which shows this is when the teacher tells the student that she would have wrote the paper differently. The teacher said, “I’d have said it differently, / or rather, said something else” (17-18). This shows that the teacher was not grading the student on his writing, but she was comparing him to herself, and she was trying to tell him that he should have written the way she writes. Another instance which shows symbolism is when the teacher tells the student that she would have quoted the context. The teacher says,” I would have quoted in this context” (24). This shows that not only she did not grade the student on his writing, but she is showing the way she would have written the paper. Another symbol that the poet uses to show that the teacher was not grading the paper, but was trying to see herself in the story is when after finding the mistakes, the teacher says that after all the student is not her and it is natural to have fault in his paper. The teacher said, “You are not/ me, finally, / and though this is an awkward problem, involving/ and inescapable fast that you are so young, so young/ it is also a delightful provocation” (34-38). This shows that the teacher is telling the student that because he is not her and he is very young, there are
From the beginning of high school, students strap on their seatbelts and prepare for one of the most vigorous races of their lives – becoming successful. With the rare occurrence of a break, kids are expected to keep on driving as fast and as powerfully as they can in order to get into a “great” college, which would be followed by graduate school and then an actual job that would make a lot of money. In American society, common values include working hard, determination, and being so productive that free time is not even a question. However, this philosophy is taking a major toll on American college and high school students. For at least 40 years, America’s future has been steadily growing unmotivated, tired, and hopeless due to the overemphasis on performing well in school. This phenomenon is appropriately expounded in William Zinsser’s “College Pressures”, which takes a look at the top four sources of tension that cause these feelings of dejection and agitation. After reading this article, I came up with a few solutions to this national problem. It is time to switch the harsh, over-encouraging green light of education to a comfortable yellow one. In order to make this ideal transition, directors of education across the country need to primarily reduce the amount of out-of-class assignments, lighten the grading system, and incorporate days in the school year that allow students to express their thoughts about school and provide useful feedback.
“School can be a tremendously disorienting place… You’ll also be thrown in with all kind of kids from all kind of backgrounds, and that can be unsettling… You’ll see a handful of students far excel you in courses that sound exotic and that are only in the curriculum of the elite: French, physics, trigonometry. And all this is happening while you’re trying to shape an identity; your body is changing, and your emotions are running wild.” (Rose 28)
Students encounter many complications during their school career. Some students are smart, but just don’t apply themselves, or have similar hardships that are going on in their lives. These can be fixed if one can find motivation and confidence. In the story “Zero,” Paul Logan coasts through high school and college. Logan doesn’t know the tools to succeed in school, which causes his grades to fall. In the story “The Jacket,” Gary Soto explains how the way one dresses can influences how they feel about themself. Which in this case he gets an ugly jacket; which causes him to be depressed and his grades to fall. Albeit Logan and Soto went through similar hardships, they both succeed with motivation and confidence.
"Poetry is the revelation of a feeling that the poet believes to be interior and personal [but] which the reader recognizes as his own." (Salvatore Quasimodo). There is something about the human spirit that causes us to rejoice in shared experience. We can connect on a deep level with our fellow man when we believe that somehow someone else understands us as they relate their own joys and hardships; and perhaps nowhere better is this relationship expressed than in that of the poet and his reader. For the current assignment I had the privilege (and challenge) of writing an imitation of William Shakespeare’s "Sonnet 87". This poem touched a place in my heart because I have actually given this sonnet to someone before as it then communicated my thoughts and feelings far better than I could. For this reason, Sonnet 87 was an easy choice for this project, although not quite so easy an undertaking as I endeavored to match Shakespeare’s structure and bring out his themes through similar word choice.
I cannot recall a more rewarding experience than helping facilitate a child’s education while enabling parent participation alike. These experiences have drawn me to my current position as an Educational Assistant where I am constantly interacting and establishing relationships with students, learning about their goals and aspirations. It is that same desire to empower our future students that has steered me towards a career as a school counselor. By enrolling in the Masters in counseling program, I aspire to develop methods and experience to become an effective, experienced, and adaptable school counselor that promotes self-awareness, allowing students to realize their full potential and impetus them towards a promising future. I want to learn skills that facilitate personal and career development, ensuring that our students grow accomplishing their goals and ambitions. To discover techniques that help students improve in all areas of academic achievement, establishing relationships with students and parents alike. By becoming a school counselor, I am determined to become an advocate for underserved youth. I aim to become an effective agent educational reform, providing support for students in the various institutions that may disempower
E.E Cummings’ poem “ i carry your heart with me(i carry it in)” show’s exactly what people truly feel, it’s as if he yanked someones feelings straight from their heart and put them on paper. This poem is the best explanation of true love, that there is. He says, that this woman is his love, he will love her forever, and no matter how far she may be from him, she will still be in his heart. Nothing could ever make his feelings for her fade away. When someone really truly loves someone, nothing could make them stop loving that person. They will always have a special place in each others hearts. Cummings starts out saying in the first stanza that she is in his heart, then in the second stanza it grows into her being his world, nothing means more to him. Now, in the third stanza he tells her that she is his biggest secret, a mystery to everyone else. Lastly, the most meaningful part of the poem, in my opinion is the last stanza, where he simply states. “I carry your heart(I carry it in my heart)”(line 14). It seems so simple, but after going deep in explanation about his love, that small statement has a much bigger meaning than it did in the first stanza. In this beautiful poem, "i carry your heart with me(i carry it in", E.E Cummings shows how permanent his undying love is for this woman, and how no one and nothing in the world will ever mean more to him, He uses themes of love, and possibly longing for this woman in this poem, to possibly teach the reader how to love, or to stay loyal no matter how tough of a fight that may be.
In a typical family, there are parents that expected to hear things when their teenager is rebelling against them: slamming the door, shouting at each other, and protests on what they could do or what they should not do. Their little baby is growing up, testing their wings of adulthood; they are not the small child that wanted their mommy to read a book to them or to kiss their hurts away and most probably, they are thinking that anything that their parents told them are certainly could not be right. The poem talks about a conflict between the author and her son when he was in his adolescence. In the first stanza, a misunderstanding about a math problem turns into a family argument that shows the classic rift between the generation of the parent and the teenager. Despite the misunderstandings between the parent and child, there is a loving bond between them. The imagery, contrasting tones, connotative diction, and symbolism in the poem reflect these two sides of the relationship.
Throughout the poem he uses punctuation to effectively emphasise key points, his use of alliteration almost makes it seem as though he is spitting his words with frustration 'Guzzling and gulping'. But on top of this, the structure and layout can also display his feelings toward the majors; the lack of length displays to the reader what little he thinks of the majors, and the fact he uses no kind of stanzas to break up the points, convey the text flooding out in a flurry of anger. The use of language in the major's dialogue 'chap' shows how little he really cares, the fact he refers to the sold...
The poem is written in iambic tetrameter, which initially gives the impression that the poem will be a cheerful and upbeat poem. However, when you realise words such as ‘Weakness’ and ‘Woe’ the true hatred and resentment of the poem is shown.
Do you know someone who is failing a grade? When a student fails a grade, usually said student repeats the grade, or goes to summer school. When a student does neither of these options, school becomes more difficult, and harder to keep up with. In this essay, This essay is going to talk about the stress levels of children after repeating a grade, social skill improvement, and learning advancements, because holding kids back is a good idea.