THE ARGUMENT: CHAPTER 9 (p 144-154)
Stevenson's Class Rank: Too Much Pressure? Or Beneficial to the Prestige of our School?
What do
you think about Stevenson’s decision to remove the GPA class rank system and
instead replace it with the percentile rank system?
According
to David Shenk, “success begets success.” Would other peoples’ high class rank
motivate students to do better? Keep in mind that when we are faced with
competition, those of us that are HAMs (high in achievement motivation) surge
ahead and “perform better under directly competitive competitions,” better than
they do under noncompetitive conditions.
Relating to the interdependence the
theme of biology, argue whether or not Stevenson should bring back this class
rank system. Will this harm the LAMs (low in achievement motivation) if we
thought of each other “always as rivals” (149)?
Also explain whether or not Stevenson will
become a less prestigious school, since the learning environment has been
altered so there is less pressure on students to achieve. Are there any
suggestions you would make to the School Board after reading about HAMs and LAM
personalities?
It may be helpful to refer back to Shenk’s
examples of artistic geniuses such as Michelangelo, Raphael, Leonardo, Titian,
and Corregio as well as Shenk’s idea of the “agonistic” (148) spirit as a positive
pressure when responding about interdependence in nature and competition. These topics can all be found in Chapter 9.
(Tina Ding:
yuning.tina.ding@gmail.com)
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ReplyDeletetevenson’s decision to remove the class rank system and replace it with a percentile system is in accordance with the Western, especially American, mentality of “No Student Left Behind”. Schools don’t want to lower the chances of an average student not getting accepted into college due to his or her grades. They want colleges to look at the application holistically. As Range-Stranton said, “schools have quite a number of high-achieving students with very competitive GPAs and test scores, which may not be reflected by simply looking at class rankings.” To level the ground between high-achieving and average students, schools are now removing the class ranking system.
ReplyDeleteDavid Shenk statement, “Success begets success”, only applies to HAMS. When high achieving students are faced with a challenge, they work diligently and dedicatedly to overcome it and become the best. Class rank systems, especially in Asia, have proven to be effective in intensifying the competition between students, and thus promoting greater success. I can speak on this topic from personal experience from studying in India. Competition among students to be the best is crazy. To perform well in such a competition, students spend hours studying and practicing, which in turn promotes academic success.
In this society, HAMS are not challenged, and thus, can become complacent or overconfident about their abilities. As Shenk points out, “child achievers… develop a terrible fear of new challenges” (92) and therefore bring down academic levels and success. HAMS essentially exhibit a form of mutualism. Supporting Shenk’s “Success begets success”, HAMS are continually in a vortex of challenge, study, overtake because there is always someone better who is helping the second best succeed. (Campbell 1203).
Even if there is less pressure on students to succeed at school, there is still the pressure for success from home and self. Any concerned student will care about his or her education, regardless of competition, try to excel, and succeed in life. HAMS will most likely exhibit this kind of behavior, as they are self-motivated and are aiming high levels. LAMS on the other hand, might not be motivated to succeed. With the removal of class ranks, they will feel relief toward not being ashamed in front of their peers, but will lack the motivation to succeed. If a class rank system was in place, LAMS would at least study and be motivated so they won’t be embarrassed by their peers.
http://www.planostar.com/articles/2010/10/10/plano_star-courier/news/522.txt
Rohan Dasika (rohandasika@gmail.com)