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Tuesday, April 4, 2006
From Kentucky to Gwinnett: “I Got Stupider”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A student moves from Kentucky to Georgia and blasts her middle school experience here as babyish and lacking in challenge. Read her op-ed here.
Krist McNight says she found an easier grading scale, monotonous homework assignments and a coddled environment.
She writes: “To address a poor work ethic and bad attitude toward learning, look at the past.
Upon entering middle school here, students are not challenged, they are babied. They are eased into the workload and are eased in mentally also. What is supposed to be preparation for high school is turning into, or already has become, a place where kids go to learn just the basics. Then they are left to fend for themselves in high school.
Middle school kids need a greater push if they are to succeed in high school. While grades are not as detrimental to their future, let them find out what they must do. While they are still in middle school, let them learn those valuable lessons of what happens when they slack off.
I compare my middle school in Kentucky to the Georgia middle school I attended because that is my personal experience. Not all people make such a dramatic shift, but I’m grateful I did so I can see the differences.”
All right people, let’s talk!
