So a question that my English teacher posed to the class freshman year of high school was what motivates students to do well? Being in a scholars class (yes, I am a bit of a nerd and proud) where the majority of us were good students, some people said parents, others said money, and some said they just cared. Some agreed that competition played a factor in how hard they worked.
I agree that school is not for everyone. My cousin decided to cut lawn because he just doesn’t like school. He’s interested in making fast cash, but he doesn’t save a penny. He doesn’t think about his future; he lives for the present. So after a year off, he is going back to school part time. He likes to have flexible hours and work when he wants.
Chances are the majority of the students want to get a good job so they don’t have to live off the streets. I have seen many times that these cool people who act like they don’t care are actually quite intelligent and they could be doing really well if they applied them self, even a little bit. Maybe being an honors student isn’t for everyone because they don’t want to deal with extra work and that’s fine. Why is it that there is this “coolness” associated with being a rebel? You don’t have to be dumb to be cool or to have fun. Why is it that when people hear honors they have this image of a person with glasses and doesn’t care so much about their appearances? These stereotypes are always true and I think they are becoming less and less true.
"Coolness" is associate with being a rebel because cool is limited. If everyone could be a rebel, it wouldn't be cool. That's not to say everyone can be an extremely intelligent person either, but pretending to be smart is harder than pretending to not care. It's easy to be lazy, and once in a while, people can be lazy and turn over a profit. Or, by some alignment of the stars, or luck from a past life, good things just happen to people. For the remaining 99 percent of the world population, hard work is the only thing that consistantly pays off, and even that is not guaranteed. The stereotype of the smart individual with glasses, that doesn't care about outward apprearances disappears once you enter college or the real world. I've never seen so many diverse people with different intelects in one designated area in my life. Also, cool now, or cool when you're young is compltely different than cool when you're older. It's all about maturity and prioritizing. The person that understands and is willing to risk "cool" for now, to get ahead or have lasting accomplishments will, in the end be happy.
As to what motivates me... that's easy. Temporary unhappiness is my motivation. I'm in college, and I used to not really care. I wasn't one of those "cool" kids that performed poorly to portray an image. I was just young, indecisive, and unprepared. I'm still pretty indecisive, but I realized I was the only one with the capabilities to improve my happiness, and that in doing it myself, I would be more appreciative, satified, and gracious. My real motivation was getting into the upper division within my school and taking classes that I actually interested me. Inspiration came when I met people that had to job that I want and when I met the teacher that proved to me that success was the reward of hard work. When I understood the concept that knowledge is power, instead of just reciting it is when I had an epiphany. My future and the mistery in it is my motivation. The realization that everything is a consequense determined by my actions. Waking up hung over and broke, dependent on waiting on others for my survival, and the realization that it was all self-induced and changeable, is my motivation. "He that lives upon hope will die fasting." -Benjamin Franklin
Even though school is not for everyone, everyone needs school to survive. A friend of mine has recently gotten married and attempted to drop out of high school.... then she relized that she could not make a living without at least a high school degree. It's almost sad how school went from optional to manditory... I'm sure it makes us better people in the end but the fact that there has to be a law to make us go is pathetic.
~ Michelle
The average high school diploma will garner you an extra $100,000 over your life span. Not that much when you break it down. I'm not sure how much more you make when you have a college degree, but I would argue that even that isn't always enough. The average two person household income is $42,000 annually -- as someone who is going to college with the idea that the degree you hold will open the door to more money, you will most likely be disappointed. I know I sure was. I've been out of school for almost 3 years and still make less than $20,000 a year -- hence me on this website to go back for a J.D. The point is -- REALLY TRY IN SCHOOL. I goofed off a bit too much. And while my grades and test scores are good I failed to really put in the outside effort to further my career. So a bit of advice to the younger folks reading this... bask in your knowledge, intern early so by senior year you have a job lined up or several years of PROFESSIONAL experience to bring to the table, and always keep that carrot out in front to entice you to keep going!! Good luck to all those who come after me. I hope the job market is a bit better for your graduation :)
"Coolness" is an extremely subjective term.
For me, I definitely enjoy school and what it offers. But that doesn't extend to everyone.
As previously mentioned, school is more of a necessity than it is a luxury for many. School offers many in less than pristine living conditions a safe haven at times, and it can also give trades and marketable skills for those who do not wish to pursue a college education.
The only thing that the school can do is offer as many opportunities and resources as possible. It's up to each and every individual student to make up his or her own mind to take what they think can help them the most.
I took a couple of honors classes in high school and found them to be highly enjoyable.
The best part of it was that everyone in the class actually cared about what they were learning about. I great thing that I saw was that it wasn't just the "geeks" and "nerds", but I large diversity of people in my classes. Some could be classified as "brains", but there were also a lot of students who would have been considred "jocks" (for the stereotyping types).
I think that, over the years, the image of geeks, nerds and brains has been slowly disappearing. At least, that is how it seemed at my high school, and is probably not the same for all high schools.
As for being a rebel, I think a lot of students are tired of the way that school curriculum is being taught today. Classes seem to keep missing important events and personal opinions are not always valued. School has changed a lot throughout the years, and what teacher's teach are not always excepted. However, I think that there are many important things that schools should be teaching, and they're not.
I have a funny story about that. I have a friend named Jess, and she was the "blonde cheerleader" when she was in high school.
Well, she signed up to take AP Chem one year, and when she got there (right before the bell) .. the entire class looked at her and some people said, "Are you in the right place?"
We were in Anatomy when she was telling me this story, and now she is working to be in vet school.
So much for stereotypes, right?
I'm motivated to do well in school because I want to be accepted to a good college, which will greatly improve my chances of being successful in the "real world." The "top five" or so schools on my list right now are all highly selective, and to get in I'll have to stand out.