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I teach at a public high school, and it also feels like some students are more focused on the grade than the process. The instant access to information, thanks to technology, certainly plays into that. They expect quick results without putting in the work, and AI is just making it worse. But here are always a few who truly care, and make it all worth it. It’s just a challenge to shift the mindset for the others.
Chief
I agree that the kids who make great choices and put effort into their work are the reason I'm still teaching
I totally get where you’re coming from! It feels like students today are so focused on grades that they miss the joy of learning. At my school, I’ve noticed similar trends with kids wanting quick fixes and not putting in the effort. It can be frustrating! I’m curious how other teachers are tackling this.. what strategies have you tried?
Chief
I am trying a new venture. I teach business, so my students are "hired" when they come into my class. I "pay" them vouchers. They earn voucher point or deductions depending on behavior, effort, and community effort.
Today’s students are coming to age in a world where everything is instantly accessible. It doesn’t take a fraction of the time it used to, to complete a task. Procrastination isn’t a thing to kids today, because, what once was viewed as a negative of “waiting to the last minute” is now not a negative at all because you can wait to the last minute for anything and still meet your goal.
You don’t need to plan and arrange for a ride to the airport, just uber.
You don’t need to carve out time to go food shopping, just Instacart.
You don’t need to proactively order something you’ll need months later from a catalogue, just got to Amazon and get 2 day delivery.
You don’t need to spend weeks finding and researching articles then framing out essays, just ask Chat GPT.
So given the nature of today’s society and kids, we need to restructure education to reflect that.
Grade Marketing -
The A product, isn’t prime eligible, you’ve got to plan ahead if you want it.
The best you can maybe get at the end of a marking period is a C product. If you pay the full price, all the coursework.
Speak to kids in the language they understand and they’ll respond accordingly.
I’m seeing a distinct four camps of kids.
The first and largest group is the group that just wants to get by. They want a C or a D, and they’re perfectly happy with that. It keeps their parents off their backs. They think they’ll magically get a great job just for being mediocre.
Second place is a tie between those who want the grade to be as high as they can, but with doing as little work as they can, and the “who gives a crap” group. Both think school should be easy. The difference is the first group thinks they deserve an A for completing the work even if it’s wrong, and the second group thinks they deserve a C or D for just being there. Doing a handful of assignments is proof “they tried.”
In fourth place in size is the smallest group of all: the “I’m ready to work hard to get a high score, and I’m curious to learn” group. I want to clone them. Sadly, their attitude never seems to rub off on the other groups.
Chief
Interesting! You present a lot of great facts. I've never thought of it this way.
I'm in a public school and I see all types, perhaps because the kids just aren't fully formed yet. For the most part they seem pretty curious and are happy to learn things. There are those who can't be bothered and already think they know it all, but that's a small percentage. I don't really run up against many kids who are just ticking boxes for grades, but they're not yet worried about getting into colleges and all that competitiveness.
Chief
I hope that in middle school we can teach enough to spur them on to success when they leave us
I know that you didn't ask this, but don't underestimate the value of a pension.
Chief
Ha! That made me smile... oh, wait! What pension??😃
Chief
We have a lot of kids trying to use AI, other than that, it's mainly a lack of care!