Class Discussion 1/28

Today we talked about success and failure of a student. After watching six snippets of shows and movies regarding students, teachers, and the value of education we had a very thought provoking discussion. We talked about what makes a student “successful” and there were to substantial ideas about when success starts. One, which I agree with, is that success is built into a child as young as preschool. The second idea that was proposed was that success has the ability to be achieved in an instance, saying that it isn’t something that you must work towards for a long time. I know that I seem to think of success as an object, not an action but to me success is something that is achieved over years of learning from experiences and the trials and tribulations of life. I can see how one would think that success is something that a person can decided to achieve in a short time. One student explained how she was heavily involved in equestrian and then when she transferred she realized the importance of an education and the impact that great grades have over average grades.  From a young age I was constantly told of my potential from my teachers. Every year my teachers would push me to achieve my potential at that point in time. The older I became, the more potential I had. I was never allowed to slack; I was pushed to pursue endeavors that others would find nearly impossible to achieve to them. This has allowed me to realize that my potential is always increasing and that I take advantage of the opportunities afforded to me in order to maximize that potential.

We also discussed how learning was a choice, not a requirement. Both sides of the argument were defended and pressured. Some argued that the government requires a child to go to school until the age of 16 and those students don’t have a “choice” to go to school. Others argued that you have the “choice” to get on the bus, and walk in the door, and go to class. Students started to knit pick each other during this argument. I feel like, if you are going to go to school you might as well apply yourself to the fullest and allow yourself the opportunity to be a successful student, rather than a failure who goes for social hour and free food.