Preview

Summary "In Praise of the F Word"

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
292 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Summary "In Praise of the F Word"
Summary: “In Praise of the ‘F’ Word”

In this article, “In praise of the ‘F’ word”, Marry Sherry makes the point that in order to help kids do their school work and get their education; they must be threatened with failing. Before she started teaching her class, she would blame the poor academic skills our kids have today on drugs, divorce and other impediments to concentration necessary for doing well in school. She had an experience with her sons grade 12 English teacher. The teacher told Marry that because her son was talking in class, she wasn’t going to move him since he was a senior but was going to flunk him. At first she was a little put off by the fact that the teacher was going to take sure a drastic measure, but after a moment of thinking she realized that the teacher was making a reasonable decision. Marry goes on to talk about passing students who haven’t mastered school work cheat themselves, as well as their future employers who expect them to have those basic skills from high school. Their excuse for not having those skills is that kids can’t learn if they come from bad environments, but really the reason is that kids don’t put the right amount of school work into their lives as they should. Students that attend night classes are more determined to get their education and they make it their number one priority. Marry really believes in using flunking to help motivate kids to work harder because passing kids who aren’t actually doing the work are just going to suffer in the long run.

Sherry, Marry “In Praise of the ‘F’ Word” Developing Reading Versatility.
2003: Page

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    The general argument made by John McWhorter in “Why ‘Redskins’ Is a Bad Word” is that not every thing you say about race is offensive but you should be careful. He states, “It may not be mean to tell someone their skin happens to be reddish. But it’s mean to call someone a Redskin (6)” This shows that he doesn’t believe that every thing referred to the color of your skin is “racist” but a slur is. McWhorter also believes that there are better alternatives from words like Redskin. He shows us “ ‘crippled’ had a less neutral connotation after a while, upon ‘handicap’ was a fine substitute (6)” This shows us that he thinks that there can be healthier substitutes than Redskins. I think Mr. McWhorter’s thought process isn’t logical at times and…

    • 262 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the essay, “In Praise of The “F” Word”, by Mary Sherry, she provides a very good argument on the subject of the failure of kids in school. Her argument is supported by her thesis which, which is that kids shouldn’t just be passed through school without learning anything and they should be encouraged to try harder and try to achieve success by threatening them with the word “failure.” Argument elements are very evident in her writing. She identifies the controversy, supports her thesis by examples, uses supported evidence, and even uses only one point of view in the argument.…

    • 463 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Because they can't pass algebra, thousands of students are denied diplomas. Many try again and again -- but still get Fs.” This was the opening line in January 30th’s LA Times that was to catch the readers attention for Duke Helfand’s, an LA Times staff writer, The Vanishing Class: A Formula for Failure in L.A. Schools. Helfand’s article is blaming the L.A. School Board’s decision of making mandatory that all high school students need to pass algebra before earning there diploma, the reason for such high drop out rates across the school district.…

    • 576 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    There has been a debate regarding whether struggling students should repeat a grade. Proponents point out that grade retention gives another chance for the student in trouble to “get it right” the second time. On the other hand, opponents argue that the harms retention bring outweigh the benefits. Though there are valid arguments on both sides of this issue, those who disagree with grade retention policy have a strong case for the following reasons:…

    • 488 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Prompt: "You can tell a true war story if it embarrasses you. If you don't care for obscenity, you don't care for the truth; and if you don't care for the truth, watch how you vote. Send guys to war, they come home talking dirty" (O'Brien 69).…

    • 1814 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Anyon visits a couple of middle class schools next. “In middle class schools, work is getting the right answer. If one accumulates enough right answers, one gets a good grade.” Anyon(1980)states. Middle class schools focus on getting the right answers, and how to get those answers, and if the students aren’t understanding it, the teachers will focus on teaching the children how to get the right…

    • 693 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In the article, “Want to Get Into College? Learn to Fail”, Angel Perez argues that if students want to get into college they must learn to fail. Failure isn’t something that we want to happen. The way Perez perceived failure is that it’s a learning tool for the future. Seeing someone else fail can teach another of what not to do. Perez wants his readers to know failure isn’t the end but is the beginning of something…

    • 78 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    During this essay the authors tone was very direct and persuasive toward anyone whom was reading the article. All in all, you could conclude that the author, Carl Singleton thinks very poorly teachers and the schooling system in general. Within in the composition the author claims that “Illiteracy among high-school graduates is growing because those students have been passed rather than flunked; we have low- quality teachers who never should have been certified in the first place…” in other words he [the author] believes low quality teaching leads to unfair grading. I believe that teachers probably realize that when kids always get F’s after putting in a lot of effort it lowers their self-esteem and will make them want to give up. Instead of keep trying. I know for a fact that if I kept getting F’s on papers that I worked my heart out on all the time I would eventually quit because I would feel stupid and feel…

    • 481 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    This is caused by the parents in San Ramon to who grades are the most important part of their children’s life. To be one-up over other families, parents can, and will go out of their way to make sure their child has everything they need for success. Now, in San Ramon, students face too much pressure on performing well in school and bring home the best grades possible. All of this pressure may just be for the student’s own good, but sometimes it is just too much for a kid to handle. Since the majority of teachers in Gale Ranch designate Fridays to post students’ grades on Friday, pupils who bring home atrocious grades often find themselves slapped on with consequences and cannot enjoy their weekend. Since it’s mainly on Fridays, there is nothing the student can do about until Monday comes around. In San Ramon, most kids excel, and parents want their kid to be the smartest of them. According to K12.niche.com,” Dougherty Valley High School is the 11th best public high school in the state”. A future Dougherty Valley student speaks up about it. “All my parents care about is what score I got and what my grades are. They don’t care what I have learned or what I need to learn, just my score. ” Though grades are a key aspect that colleges look at, there is no point worrying about it so much. If some parents could just focus less on the score, and focus more on what their child can improve on, their child gets a confidence boost and. By knowing what they are excel at, they can make the decision they will major in college, which also affect their…

    • 496 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the article “Against School,” Gatto, compares school to the concept of boredom. Of course, almost anyone who has gone to school would obviously agree with that statement; boredom is the common condition to everyone who spends time in school. Gatto also, breaks down the purposes in placing Inglis’ “six basic functions” of school by trying to overemphasize the reason for public education. Yet the truth is that we all go to school to better our selves and our family. We all want one thing in life and that is to live the “dream life.” Just like how Mabry stated in, “living in two worlds” said not to feel guilty because success drives us away from those who we want to help by getting an education. Even though education is power, our social class…

    • 688 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the article “Against School”, John Gato brings up an interesting point of view regarding the necessity for public schools. “Do we really need school? I don’t mean education, just forced schooling; six classes a day, five days a week, nine months a year, for twelve years. Is this deadly routine really necessary?” Gato is referring to the grueling eight-hour school days that every American student must endure until they graduate in twelve years. Gato also makes reference to a group of students in the Manhattan School System, and their opinions of school. “They said the work was stupid, that it made no sense, that they already knew it. They said…

    • 687 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Educational programs demand effort and dedication to be successful. Barber expresses his concern for the lack of literacy in America. In Barbers essay, he states, “As America’s educational system crumbles, the pundits, instead of looking for solutions, search busily for scapegoats” (Barber, 2014, pp.210). America’s government takes minimal actions toward the educational crisis. The situation resembles a hole in the wall that needs fixed, but instead of fixing it America’s society hangs a picture over the hole. The lack of educational reforms causes the America’s youth to fall behind other countries youth in literacy. The lack of effort from the government, from schools, parents, teachers, and students put a strain on learning. Some American citizens proclaim that they want a change in the school systems, but nothing results from it. Barber states, “With all the goodwill in the world, it is still hard to know how schools can cure the ills that stem from the failure of so many other institutions. Saying we want education to come first won’t put it first” (Barber, 2014, pp.217). Society labels schools as “prisons,” and sadly, some are less safe than actual prisons. The lack of safety forces students to focus on their own safety rather than learning. Not all schools provide safe environments for students; The result of this problem is conflicts and disinterest for learning. The lack of effort put forth by America’s society and government is only one factor in this multitude of…

    • 822 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    No Child Left Behind Act

    • 556 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Limited job opportunities sometimes arise because students often fall through the cracks of the school system because they are being shuffled through their school. Students are sometimes rushed through to the next grade because some teachers want to keep students in their age appropriate grade. Students are muddled through school without anyone considering whether or not these students have the skills to be promoted to the next grade. The testing associated with the No Child Left Behind Act measures a student’s skills to guarantee that the student is prepared to succeed in class. The testing forces school systems to be accountable for their students’ academic weaknesses. By increasing the level of accountability educators are now challenging themselves as well as their students to work hard to improve education.…

    • 556 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the book “Rereading America” there is a passage titled “Against School” by John Taylor Gatto. In the passage Gatto asks “ Do we really need school? I don't mean the education, just forced schooling: six classes a day, five days a week, nine months a year, for twelve years. Is this deadly routine really necessary?[…] 2 million happy homeschoolers have surely put that panel justification to rest.” This passage is everything I've ever questioned throughout my whole education and condensed it into four simple sentences, and I completely agree. Forced schooling is unnecessary, half the time that I’d be in class the teachers would let us have free time, in that time I would’ve been able to sleep in longer on my bed and…

    • 659 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A common phrase among young adults in secondary education is that there are three parts to high school life: social life, grades, and sleep. Pick two. Clifton Parker, on a study by education scholar Denise Pope, states “spending too much time on homework mean[s] students [are] ‘not meeting their developmental needs or cultivating other critical life skills,’” Students [are] more likely to drop activities, not see friends or family, and not pursue hobbies they enjoy.” To achieve grades that fulfill collegiate ambitions, students must spend all of the time they may spend with family or friends on the homework that earns them points. Teachers often assume that a student’s overall productivity is defined by the amount of work completed in a night. Many end up assigning at least an hour of homework to assure themselves that the kids are learning. Real life productivity is defined by advancement and development of character or leadership. Through that lens, completing busywork is not productive. Once students reach the real world, they are underprepared and underdeveloped to face day to day challenges. In an interview, Christine Gross-Loh quotes Krista Kuru, Finnish Education Chief, describing the reasoning against this approach. She states “Academics isn't all kids need. Kids need so much more. School should be where we teach the meaning of life; where kids learn they are needed; where they can learn community skills.…

    • 683 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics