In the essay “Generation A+”, I agree with some of the things Suzanne Britt argues. In my high school almost every student slacked off on their homework and still got good grades. Yes it was partly the students fault for not studying or wanting to learn, but in my school it was also the teachers fault. Our teachers were told to teach what was on the big Kentucky states test, instead of preparing the students for college. By my senior year the teachers did not care anymore and did not want to teach or have us learn the actually subjects they were teaching. In high school I got good grades and did well, but now being in college for one semester I can already tell they did not prepare me enough for college.
I believe that now days we are expected learn more in a year’s time, than back in the day. The grading scale has been lowered and easier for students to earn a better grade. If a student struggles on tests they are still able to pull out a good grade in the class because of the grading scale. I remember in high school not doing the best on some tests but because of the grading scale I still got a high A in the class at the end of the semester. Teachers let the student’s just slide by to get an easy grade.
I do not agree with Britt that today, college is high school and high school is junior high. In my first semester here I have had some very tough class that I believe not all high school students could pass. I was in a few classes that were very hard and required a lot of time to study so I could understand the material. While there were some other courses that were a piece of cake. I think that depending on what your major shows how well you focus to try to do your best.
Britt stated in the essay that she always wonders if students with disabilities really have a problem. I have to agree with her, I feel like there are many ways for students to get out of hard things. Yes, they may have a problem but there are many that just have the note for an excuse to have it easier in school.
When I first began college I noticed that I was not as prepared for college that I thought I was. I would spend all my nights and weekends just trying to understand the material and finishing my homework. In high school I was done with homework in the early evening if I even had any. Now starting my second semester I have already noticed a change how I have been studying. I have not spent my entire night working on homework, I get to relax more and have more time to myself.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
Kristine Obert
One hot summer day my mom, sisters and me decided to go to the local park and play tennis. My mom and dad had played all throughout college but never had taught me how to play. My mom and I would try to hit it back and forth, but every time I would try to hit the ball I would either miss it, hit the ball in the net, or it would go over the fence. I thought we were there just to have fun and try something new but I never would imagine actually liking it and deciding to work hard to improve at it.
A few weeks went by and I really wanted to start playing again. I would ask my mom to take me and play some more, but she would always come up with an excuse not to take me even though I know she would get frustrated with me cause I could not hit the ball. Finally one day when my dad got home from work and told me that there was a new guy in town that was teaching tennis lessons for a summer job. I got so excited and told my parents that I would love to take lessons so I can improve.
On my first lesson the coach already helped me improve by actually getting to hit the ball over the net. He taught me so many new things that I could do at home by myself so I could always practice. When I got home that afternoon, I stayed outside all day just trying to improve my swing, and form so I could do even better the next day at my lessons. Every day at practice I would improve more and more and my coach asked me how much I practiced everything when I got home. He could tell all the time I spent working on everything to become a better player.
When the summer had ended and my coach went back to school my dad and I bought how-to books to help me with even harder forehand and backhand strokes and serves. We ordered magazines that taught you different styles of play. We would take them to the courts and look at the images and the captions to learn how the pro’s play. By then my parents got me a surprise gift that was a really nice tennis racquet. They told me since I loved tennis so much and had been working hard that I deserved it. I would go out every night that fall to practice and by the next spring I improved so much I got to play in tournaments. In my very first tournament I made it to the finals of my division but got beat there. Since then I have been in more tournaments and gotten to be in higher divisions every time.
Since starting tennis that summer I have worked real hard to become a better player. I played on my high school tennis team two years and my senior year I became the first seed player for our singles and doubles teams. I have taken even more tennis lessons worked my hardest. But what I have been most proud of is how I would play every night in the summer and never get tired of it because it was something I did to make myself get better.
One hot summer day my mom, sisters and me decided to go to the local park and play tennis. My mom and dad had played all throughout college but never had taught me how to play. My mom and I would try to hit it back and forth, but every time I would try to hit the ball I would either miss it, hit the ball in the net, or it would go over the fence. I thought we were there just to have fun and try something new but I never would imagine actually liking it and deciding to work hard to improve at it.
A few weeks went by and I really wanted to start playing again. I would ask my mom to take me and play some more, but she would always come up with an excuse not to take me even though I know she would get frustrated with me cause I could not hit the ball. Finally one day when my dad got home from work and told me that there was a new guy in town that was teaching tennis lessons for a summer job. I got so excited and told my parents that I would love to take lessons so I can improve.
On my first lesson the coach already helped me improve by actually getting to hit the ball over the net. He taught me so many new things that I could do at home by myself so I could always practice. When I got home that afternoon, I stayed outside all day just trying to improve my swing, and form so I could do even better the next day at my lessons. Every day at practice I would improve more and more and my coach asked me how much I practiced everything when I got home. He could tell all the time I spent working on everything to become a better player.
When the summer had ended and my coach went back to school my dad and I bought how-to books to help me with even harder forehand and backhand strokes and serves. We ordered magazines that taught you different styles of play. We would take them to the courts and look at the images and the captions to learn how the pro’s play. By then my parents got me a surprise gift that was a really nice tennis racquet. They told me since I loved tennis so much and had been working hard that I deserved it. I would go out every night that fall to practice and by the next spring I improved so much I got to play in tournaments. In my very first tournament I made it to the finals of my division but got beat there. Since then I have been in more tournaments and gotten to be in higher divisions every time.
Since starting tennis that summer I have worked real hard to become a better player. I played on my high school tennis team two years and my senior year I became the first seed player for our singles and doubles teams. I have taken even more tennis lessons worked my hardest. But what I have been most proud of is how I would play every night in the summer and never get tired of it because it was something I did to make myself get better.
Friday, January 22, 2010
It was the end of a chapter in my life, I was getting ready to graduate from middle school and start high school in the fall. My eighth grade graduating class only contained twenty-seven students was getting ready to go on our class trip. We had raised money throughout the year to go on a to Washington D. C. I had been excited about this trip as well as the entire class. We had been talking about this trip since I was little and could not believe it was already here.
After church Saturday night we got onto the charter bus and left for our adventure in D.C. We had driven all night to make it to Washington by morning. Me and my friends were so hyper and crazy on the bus ride and could not wait to get there. Around ten o’clock the next day we finally got to D.C. and already started making memories. Throughout the week we went to many churches, famous sites, and parks.
That week had been one of the most fun weeks I have ever had and also the most exhausting. By the end of the week I was ready to be home and see the rest of my family, but not looking forward to the twelve hour trip home. We packed the bus and left early that morning so we could get home that night to see our family. One the bus trip everyone slept and tried to relax thinking about all the fun we had that week. It was about eleven o’clock that night and we were a few of hours out of Lexington, Kentucky, when I woke up from sleeping to hear people panicking. I look out the window and see that our bus was on the side of the road just sitting there. Our teacher had told us that the bus driver said that the bus was not working right and that a part broke.
He had to call the bus company to have them ship another bus to us so we could get back on the road and head home again. The company called back and told us that they could not find a bus to use because the derby was going on and all the extra buses were taken. They decided that we should stay in a hotel in the next town until the morning so the part could get fixed. A truck came and only got to pick a few kids up at time to take to the hotel. After several hours my dad, me, and two other girls were the last on the bus and got to leave. When we got to the hotel it was three in the morning and the rest of the class was already asleep. We woke up that morning and had to find things to keep busy until the bus was fixed. About two in the afternoon the bus was ready and we could leave to start home again. Having our bus brake down was the worst thing that happened all week, but I had made so many memories from just that night that I love. Before we left for D.C., I knew I was going to make memories but I did not realize how many wonderful ones I would have.
After church Saturday night we got onto the charter bus and left for our adventure in D.C. We had driven all night to make it to Washington by morning. Me and my friends were so hyper and crazy on the bus ride and could not wait to get there. Around ten o’clock the next day we finally got to D.C. and already started making memories. Throughout the week we went to many churches, famous sites, and parks.
That week had been one of the most fun weeks I have ever had and also the most exhausting. By the end of the week I was ready to be home and see the rest of my family, but not looking forward to the twelve hour trip home. We packed the bus and left early that morning so we could get home that night to see our family. One the bus trip everyone slept and tried to relax thinking about all the fun we had that week. It was about eleven o’clock that night and we were a few of hours out of Lexington, Kentucky, when I woke up from sleeping to hear people panicking. I look out the window and see that our bus was on the side of the road just sitting there. Our teacher had told us that the bus driver said that the bus was not working right and that a part broke.
He had to call the bus company to have them ship another bus to us so we could get back on the road and head home again. The company called back and told us that they could not find a bus to use because the derby was going on and all the extra buses were taken. They decided that we should stay in a hotel in the next town until the morning so the part could get fixed. A truck came and only got to pick a few kids up at time to take to the hotel. After several hours my dad, me, and two other girls were the last on the bus and got to leave. When we got to the hotel it was three in the morning and the rest of the class was already asleep. We woke up that morning and had to find things to keep busy until the bus was fixed. About two in the afternoon the bus was ready and we could leave to start home again. Having our bus brake down was the worst thing that happened all week, but I had made so many memories from just that night that I love. Before we left for D.C., I knew I was going to make memories but I did not realize how many wonderful ones I would have.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
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