For your first blog homework, you need to link to the article below on Graduation Project. Read it. Then, in the comments section of this post, write your thoughts on whether or not schools should implement Graduation Project. Think of what the link says, then give your opinion on the validity/necessity of Graduation Project. (You can be honest. If you don't think the state should have the class, say so, then back up your argument.) Once you have posted your ideas, you must read someone else's comment and make a reply to it. Say the poster's name in your reply.
The first original poster will obviously need to check back at a later time and read someone's post to comment on.
So:
1. Read link
2. Post your comments on the validity/necessity of Graduation Project
3 .Read someone else's post
4. Comment on classmate's post
Rules: Use correct grammar/punctuation, high-level vocabulary (bonus if you can use an AP Word of the Day), and insight. Be kind. Don't be rude!
http://www.ncpublicschools.org/graduationproject/overview/
Your post is due no later than Sunday at 8:00 pm.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
18 comments:
I for one do not believe that Graduation Project is a necessity for our final year in high school. I understand the main goal behind the project which is to prepare us for our future years in college or any other occupation we decide to endeavor into. The overview of Graduation Project states that its purpose is to evaluate how computer savvy we are, our employability skills, our research skills, reading, presentation ability, writing, teamwork, and thinking/problem-solving skills. It seems to me that haven’t we constantly been tested on these principles our entire high school career if not longer. We have had a myriad of papers written in English alone not counting other core and none core classes that require papers. So why must this paper this one paper determine our ability to complete all that was listed above. As our generation progresses it’s obvious that we are technologically advanced so why test us on typing a paper and researching a topic? This process appears to be redundant of what we have been tested on all our lives. Some may say that there is one ability we have not been tested and that is the ability to become employed. That fact is the only difference between all other tests our seniors have taken at Laney. Unfortunately it still becomes unimportant for the ability to graduate. I will be so bold to assume that if you were to ask every senior at our school if they have a job or had one recently the answer would overwhelmingly be “yes”. One of the life lessons that students learn as they grow up is the importance of a job. We don’t need our school teaching us how to obtain a job if we have acquired one already. I strongly believe that Graduation Project is not the valid way to determine someone’s readiness to graduate from high school. This one project once more combines every aspect of what we have already done before and commands us to do again.
Honestly, I think that while the goals behind graduation project are good and worthwhile, I don't think it is necessary. First of all, I think that it's ridiculous that you have to complete a graduation project in order to graduate. Because of all the attention and time that is devoted to it, it's almost like the project is used to determine whether or not you are ready to graduate. Also, it is very, ridiculously, painfully time-consuming. It's not like colleges ask about it on their applications; they don't even mention it. One thing they do ask about is what classes you will be taking your senior year. Of course, you want colleges to see you taking some pretty demanding classes your senior year so you don't seem like you're slacking off. For example, I am taking 4 AP classes this year. On the application, those AP classes will look pretty good. I will also put down HNS. English IV. To colleges, an HNS. course looks good, but that's all they see. For me, because of the workload of graduation project and all my other AP classes, HNS. English IV will probably turn out to be my most demanding class. Colleges won't care if I get in a sticky-wicket(ugh) and my grades in other classes suffer because of graduation project because they won't know about it. That's why I HATE graduation project. But I LOVE Frankenstein!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks for agreeing with me Sarah. I was gonna say the same thing you did about how graduation project doesn't teach us anything new and that it basically just makes us redo stuff that we've done over and over and over and over and over and over and over again in 12 years of school. But, I just wanted to stop typing and start reading Frankenstein.
I think you made some great points Andrew. For my senior year i was taking four classes but as the work load for Graduation Project increased I found that it was needed to drop my fourth block class to get that time to devote to my project. Im hoping that colleges will not look at me as a slacker for only having three classes this semester and having 3 AP classes next semester. I believe you hit your point straight forward and it makes complete sense.
while i do believe that graduation project is a sorry excuse for 'real life application', i think that is better than nothing. it does bring out some work traits and habits that one would want to have in a professional job setting, i.e. writing, teamwork, and thinking/problem-solving skills. And i am completely aware that whilst the process is taking place, the work load does not exactly piquemone's interest, yet once a student has completed the project, they are most certainly glad that they did, and leaving with the aforementioned skills, even if the skills were simply highlighted and not taught.
I believe that Graduation Project should not be a requirement to graduate from high school. While it does accentuate major skills that are needed in college and to hold a career, I personally think we could be doing something more with our time. Most students should have already been acquainted to these skills by the time they have reached their senior year anyways. It would be more efficient for the time spent on Graduation Project to be focused on more important topics such as AP classes where you can actually obtain college credit. We have already done a Junior Project that is supposed to be a replica of Graduation Project on a smaller scale and the number of papers I have written through my high school experience are countless. It seems to me that Graduation Project is just reiterating everything we have already learned through out high school. I also believe it is stupid that if you fail Graduation Project you will not even considered to graduate, even if you have a 4.9 GPA and an academically thorough transcript. While the objectives of Graduation Project are worthwhile, I believe it is a feckless way to test our "real life skills."
Graduation Project is a long and rigorous process. With being so involving I could see how most seniors are turned off. What do you think college is going to be like though? Without Graduation Project as a required graduation credit I think that many of us would go on to further our education blinded. Some high school students make it all the way up to senior year without ever having to write a research paper. This class is very vital to students and should be a required course.
I agree with Julian's post. I think that without graduation project there would be a wide lacuna from schooling to the working world. While Graduation Project does not exactly pique most high school students, it leaves behind skills for life.
Sarah, I agree with what you said about it being obvious that our generation is "technologically savvy," because we are. I am guessing that the majority of our school has or knows how to use a cell phone and a paper would be difficult to write without the internet to help. Thats why testing us on these skills which we already know is pointless in my eye.
Graduation project should have another name. Waste-of-time sounds better to me. While North Carolina may truly believe that Graduation Project helps students get all these different skills through these project, they must have not noticed that these skills are taught in regular classes every day. Students in middle school have most of these skills, because of all technology we have in our time. Why try to focus on senior year to teach the students these "skills?" Why not just formally incorporate these skills into each class for all years, rather than waiting for senior year?
Before reading this article, the idea of Graduation Project completely seemed pointless and unnecessary. The project is not only time consuming, but also presents unneeded stress to an already stressed senior. However, after thoroughly reading the article, I found that the exposure that Graduation Project presents to students is much needed and informative. The project presents students with an opportunity to learn and interact with people that outside of the project structure would otherwise be ignored or overlooked. On the other hand, while I do feel as though Graduation Project should be mandatory, I do not feel as though it should stop a senior from graduating. My suggestion would instead be for the project to count for something like a Final, or a certain percentage of a students grade. This way, if a student does not pass, they still have the opportunity of graduating. This would prompt students to try extremely hard, however there would still be a safety net incase some emergency did happen to present itself.
I have mixed feelings towards Graduation Project. I can see the school board's good intentions behind it, wanting us to interact with the community and get 'real-world' experience with adults and whatnot, but we kind of do that already. A lot of us have jobs, babysit, volunteer, or do something that gets us involved with those around us. We have parents, we have teachers, we have bosses. We know how to talk to adults. Sure we might not all have great interview skills, but I think you need to get interviewed to be able to give an interview. You need that real-world experience and being forced to attempt it in a classroom assignment won't give it to you. And the majority of Graduation Project is writing a paper, something we've been doing for thirteen years, and would have plenty of in English IV sans the specificity that Graduation Project drags along. I don't know. I just think it's unneccesary. I think it's holding back the graduating class from experiencing things on their own, and learning through their own exposure to society and it's members. Overall, it's feckless and doesn't really help seniors. It should be gotten rid of, but there should be a more detailed curriculum put into it's place, focusing on the important real-world type situations students are going to face when they leave high school, and how to handle them.
Sarah, I agree with you on all your points. Your point about seniors with jobs is so true.
Andrew, I agree with you. I don't think we should have to complete a graduation project in order to graduate from high school.
I agree with Kathryn in terms of it not weighing so much. If a student does well in five out of their six classes, and for some reason just slacks or misses the deadlines a little too often in English, they shouldn't have thirteen years of work thrown away and not be able to graduate. That's unfair. Everyone needs to work hard, and you can do that and still make a few mistakes along the way. But Graduation Project doesn't really allow for that room.
I agree with both Julian and Madison. Julian made a very valid statement when saying that Graduation Project helps prepare high school students for the college world. It reinforces the common work ideas such as time management and deadline. Madison and Julian also stated that with out Graduation Project there would be missing information and instruction in a seniors English class.
I agree with both Kathryn and Madison. yes i did make a very valid statement when i said that Graduation Project helps prepare high school students for the college world. It reinforces the great real world work ideas such as deadline and time management. i know
I believe that Graduation Project should defiantly be mandatory for graduation. I know, and experience daily what a pain it is and how I would much rather be focusing on my other classes, getting ready and applying for college, adn doing other things that seniors do. But Graduation Prject is an important part of getting ready for every aspect of life beyond high school. It is a huge project that we have to know the deadlines for, and we have to make them. We are hurting no one but ourselves if we do not. There are deadlines in college and professors typically do not care if you make them or not. Also, Graduation Project allows for young adults to learn what it is life to be an adult in the real world. We have to find mentors and people to interview over the age of twenty-one. This allows us to learn how to better handel ourselves in the everyday adult situations that we will be faced with on our college lives. Time managment can also be learned from Graduation Project. I know that many high school students have a hard time dealing with time managment and as a result spend many nights in lucubration trying to complete their homework.
Brittany Hutton
I do however agree with Taylor that we get experience with adults in our jobs, with our parents and teachers, and in many other aspects of life.
Post a Comment