Students fail to be invested in their environment

Senior+Erin+Thostenson+poses+as+a+student+who+is+uninterested+and+not+invested+in+her+learning+environment.+Photo+by+Jessica+Qian

Senior Erin Thostenson poses as a student who is uninterested and not invested in her learning environment. Photo by Jessica Qian

Jessica Qian, Head Editor

In the 2013-14 school year, West Fargo High School (WFHS) failed to meet the federal No Child Left Behind Act requirements for the North Dakota State Assessment (NDSA).

This does not mean our student body has a lower than average mental capacity or that WFHS teachers are not doing well enough at teaching students – our high graduation rate has proven this, but the scores show how noncommittal students have become to their education. Everyone in the student body knows another student who only shoots for the minimum grade to pass a class, or who keeps up their grades solely to stay in their sport. They do this because there are consequences for failing a class, or not being able to participate in a sport that they enjoy and choose to be in.  The state assessment, however, has no consequences for poor scoring or effort – in fact, some students choose not to  complete portions of the test at all, and suffer no reprimands.

Whether it be education, voting or even global issues, students ought to be invested  in the  environment around them. Letting oneself become oblivious to everything other than their social lives will  have undeniable consequences in the future, a future which our generation is bound to lead.

Even those who get good grades and work hard on academics may not  truly be learning. The students who care about school in order to achieve good grades just go through the motions like a machine, memorizing and regurgitating information. They are rarely actually taking the time to learn and fully immerse themselves in the content, because they feel more pressure to get a good grade than get smarter and actually learn. But on the other hand, there is never time for genuine learning anymore. Schools seem to rush the educational process, filling each day to the brim with information that needs to be memorized so fast before the test that students cannot process the content.

The distaste for learning is not only a district issue, but a national issue. For example, the AP curriculum forces students to learn so quickly that it is almost impossible for them to understand everything. By the exams it is a guessing game for those who are not geniuses or those who balance their school life with extracurriculars and a social life.

Testing agencies need to reform and create tests based on how to do something rather than what something is, because learning is an ever-changing process and the focus should not be on memorized content, but on skill.

All around, schools and students need to stop ignoring each other, reform and listen to the other. Schools need to implement a method of teaching that focuses on comprehension rather than memorization early on, so that students have the skills when they get older to comprehend all of challenging content at the speed needed. And as for WFHS, since students are already at the age needed to comprehend anything in a snap, students need to work harder and stay motivated, while the system needs to show understanding and help to students who are at a slower learning curve and help them learn to love and care about learning again.