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Less than half of high school graduates with a diploma. - an essay


amrosca 4 / 130  
Jul 14, 2011   #1
Hei there everyone! This is just a random headline I stumbled upon in a newspaper and I decided to write a short essay on it. Any suggestions would be great! Thank you! :D

Today's news are nothing but another failed attempt of parents, teachers and the always-hungry media to subliminally motivate us, the next generations, to learn in order to pass the 12th grade. Even though I appreciate their willingness to provide us with such unofficial and ineffective statistics I think it's about time to look at this matter objectively.

A paranoid concern among the masses was to be expected. Many try to figure out now how only 44.5% of all graduate students managed to obtain their high school diploma. Such an ordinary question has an even more ordinary answer. As a teenager myself, I can confidently say that students who failed have not learned. With the temptations of the modern world revolving around us all, this is understandable. Digging deeper, however, I think that those low grades also show us the level of intelligence your average 18-year-old has. For I cannot imagine how "distracted" or "nervous" [read: stupid] one might be to mistake a novel for a play, regardless of how much they have studied or not. I also tend to believe this since almost one third of the final result was relying on a simple essay. There is nothing very different between how we speak and how we write. In both cases we employ words and we try to make a point. These facts prove nothing but the incapability of the next generation of coherent, logical thinking. And this will probably result in the downfall of the shaky system that barely supports us now.

Stepping on the student's frontline now, I try to empathise with them. The main protest is against the harsh implementations (i.e.: the video cameras installed in the exam rooms) meant to provide a fair evaluation. I do believe it when they say, that it is hard to concentrate when you know so many people are watching you. However, I also know what it feels like when a fellow student who only bothered to come to school twice a week gets a high grade. It is not normal to treat someone who is not interested in learning the same way you would treat someone who is. If we would do so, that would be called "communism".

The last heavy objections were brought against the educational system in Romania. Many have critiqued the vague formulation of the exam prompts, many simply publicly insulted the minister of education. The system is indeed twisted and cannot to be compared to the ones in Western Europe. However, people have accused it for all the wrong reasons. Not the low grades are saddening, but the lack of motivation in young people to learn, to discover. All of them are the same. They all desire to win money; no, not earn, win money. We do not know what passion is anymore, we do not do something anymore just because we love it. Those who do, are few. I think it is not exaggerated to ask ourselves: are we starting to regress? Are we becoming nothing but mere mammals? Because it seems like I am missing what sets us apart from them anymore ...

If you were to ask me, we must expect this beautiful country of ours to collapse. With most of the intelligent, talented young people leaving, mediocrity settles in. We are left at the hand of incompetent leaders who try to hide their futility in this world by randomly asking future 12th graders on TV about their feelings. Perhaps that would not be so bad, if they would actually give a fuck about us.
rahji222 1 / 2  
Jul 14, 2011   #2
Hi Ana,

I like your writing style. Would you please help me look at my motivation letter for MBA program. I'm kind of nervous about it, I am not sure how to deliver my message precisely and to attract its readers. I'm a little bit urgent, will you help me, thanks a lot!
EF_Kevin 8 / 13,321 129  
Jul 16, 2011   #3
This is just a random headline I stumbled upon in a newspaper and I decided to write a short essay on it.

Sounds like you are born to be a blogger. Big bad blogger Ana. You should watch youtube vids about how to make $$ blogging.

to subliminally motivate us, the next generations, to learn in order to pass the 12th grade. Even though I appreciate their willingness to provide us with such unofficial and ineffective statistics I think it's about time to look at this matter objectively.---This first paragrap leaves me feeling a little uncertain about exactly what you mean. Just a little.

A paranoid concern among the masses was to be expected. --cool sentence.

We are left at the hand of incompetent leaders who try to hide their futility in this world by randomly asking future 12th graders on TV about their feelings. ----Well, somebody obviously did something right when educating you!

And about that last sentence... awesome poignancy, great ending. AND I think it solves the mystery. Nobody actually has incentive to care about the next generation. The rich want good employees, and the old know that they turned out okay even though their education was worse than yours. The politicians are not directly invested in the quality of education, either. EVERYBODY has goals and interests, and nobody has direct incentive to actually improve the quality of education. Even those responsible for achieving high academic standards actually have incentive only to create appearances, not high standards in actual reality.

Once in a while, though, you meet an eccentric teacher who really wants to empower others.
OP amrosca 4 / 130  
Jul 18, 2011   #4
Once in a while, though, you meet an eccentric teacher who really wants to empower others.

Oh, you just made me remember my history teacher that left this year!!! He was the best teacher ever, he made me like history and we talked about anything with him. He didn't even punish my classmates when he caught them smoking weed. He was a bitch when it came to grades, but overall a great teacher.

I feel that you learn most of the times from what you experience outside classes, from what you read, from your acquaintances and from your parents. But not the kind of "mom tells wise words". Most of them expecting you to take care of them when they are old and impotent of doing anything, so they tend to push you a lot and restrict the small range of freedom that you have. I know they mean well, but driven by instincts they fail big time. Sadly, I can count the open-minded parents I know on my fingers.

Thanks for your comment! :D
ajit88rai 22 / 188 3  
Jul 18, 2011   #5
I agree with ur last line abt number of open minded parents--- but i think its natural... v might also becme like that one day... parenthood is very tuff, i think it wud b best not to become one ever -as far as i feel- v will get all the freedom, no blame game, no liabilities n most importantly no tension at all....

- btw Ana u have written a great essay--- i hate the education system here too- just cram cram cram n no worldly knowledge- n then alll people around u expect u to crack competitive exams where there is a ratio of 1:300 students for each seat available...
EF_Kevin 8 / 13,321 129  
Jul 20, 2011   #6
He was a bitch when it came to grades, but overall a great teacher.

Sounds like the best kind.

learn most of the times from what you experience outside classes

Probably because that is what actually interests you. In my senior year of high school, my grades dropped because I got interested in a particular topic and spent all my time on it!

About closed minded parents... parents are supposed to do their best to understand how to guide a kid and then apply that understanding. So from your perspective they will always seem closed minded. Well, you probably know what I mean. You grads are ready to start raising kids and doing careers, so... you will be the ones trying to guide kids in an open minded way, ha ha...


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