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Vol. 7 2 / 2002
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Soá baùo Xuaân
ñaëc bieät |
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The Importance of Social Attachments in Schools
Hoang
After
tutoring and observing the students at Aki Kurose for 9 weeks, I’ve come to
believe that attachments to peer groups is the
strongest motivating factor among the students.
It’s not to say that the students do not feel any sort of attachment to
the school or the community, it’s that their primary ties are with their
friends and peers. Many students will do
their work in class but once they are out of the classroom, they won’t bother
to complete the assignment. During the
weeks I spent at the school, I wondered why some students would do the
assignments but not turn them in. I
believe that to many students, homework and school are not as important as
having friends and fitting in.
There are
certain things like residential mobility and social class, which educators
cannot control and it’s obvious that those are variables that exist in the
I’ve noticed
that both Ms. Wilson and Ms. Barton genuinely want their students to do
well. In Ms. Wilson’s class, she lets
students make up their work and she knows which areas certain students need help
with. Math isn’t the most glamorous
subject and a boring and stern teacher will never be able to form social
attachments with the students. Ms.
Wilson is always available to the students and I let them know that they can go
to her for help. I believe the reason
they don’t bother is because they see things as “us” versus “them.” In period 5, I’ve noticed several cliques
within the class. For some students like
Tim and Will, number one priority is entertaining their friends. They will often do so despite being warned by
the teacher. Most of the other students
are amused by the antics although there are a few like Anh
and Betty who would much rather learn math than to be distracted.
Ms. Barton’s
study skills class is a bit different since there are noticeably less students
and the class is less structured. The
attachments between student and teacher seems to be stronger in this class
since the teacher is supposed to help them with whatever assignments they are
having trouble with rather than trying to teach them a subject for the whole
period. Many students who finish their
work early even take time to socialize with Ms. Barton. To some students like Amir
(who I think I’ve formed the strongest attachment with) getting help from a
teacher or volunteer is a hassle but getting help from peers is not a
problem.
Although
I’ve been able to talk to some students like Ricky and Amir
on a more informal level, I realize they will never see me as one of their
fellow students. Sometimes it’s the best
you can get, but some trust is better than no trust at all. Maybe that’s why students harass substitutes
so much. These are people who the
students have no social attachments to so they aren’t necessarily worried about
hurting the substitute’s feelings the same way they would with their regular
teachers or me for that matter.
I’ve noticed
in general there are three types of students at Aki Kurose. There are the loud and attention-seeking
students. Examples would be students
like Will, Tim, and Billy. For whatever
reason, their number one priority seems to be to entertain others. Their friends usually just watch and laugh
since they aren’t in danger of getting an infraction. Billy told me that he acts up in class because
he gets bored with the lesson. He just
needs something fun to do since he thinks class is the opposite of fun.
The next
group of students is the inactive ones.
They are largely indifferent to what goes on in the classroom and make
up the majority of students that I’ve seen.
It’s not to say that they don’t care about school or their peers,
though. They usually go to school and
learn the lessons then turn in some of the work. They aren’t oblivious to the distractions of
the loud and attention-seeking students but they never act up themselves. In addition to rarely acting up in class,
they seldom volunteer in the classroom.
They don’t directly take part in any tomfoolery or class participation. They basically act as silent observers. The inactive students are not in school because
they want to be there but rather because they are expected to be there.
The last and
smallest group of students are the studious ones. These include students like Anh, Tuyet, Betty, Veronica, and
Daniel (although he definitely shows signs of being one of the loud and
attention-seeking students). I’ve
noticed a disproportionally high number of girls in
this group as opposed to boys. Many
factors can be involved but I’ve noticed that female students seem more likely
to comply with the teacher’s instructions than male students. In Ms. Barton’s class, it’s the girls who
usually finish their work early and socialize with the teacher. Some of the boys like Jimmy, Louie, and Ricky
will usually socialize among themselves regardless of whether or not their work
has been completed.
While the
studious students are relatively unaffected by the attitudes or antics of their
peers, many students consider their primary groups as being their friends. They are friends first and students second. It is this type of association that prevents
some teachers from getting through to certain students. Many students would rather talk about video
games, pro wrestling, and sports than schoolwork – even if it means getting an
infraction. This is hardly a new
phenomenon but definitely one that requires attention. Students at Aki Kurose seem less affected by
infractions than I was when I was their age.
When I was in middle school, getting the equivalent of an infraction was
serious business. The thought of being
held after school was enough to scare most students but some students I
observed like Louie are not the least bit afraid of getting in trouble with the
school. The case of Louie shows just how
strong peer groups can be with some students since he was a polite and diligent
student at the start of the quarter but the desire to impress his friends was
enough to make him drop those habits and become more of an attention-seeking
student, although he has not become nearly as bad as he wants others to think.
I think the
key to improving school attendance and grades lies in developing stronger bonds
with students on the social level rather than the academic level. The student/teacher relationship must become
less rigid and formal. On the whole,
these students do not come from conventional two-parent households like others
in more upscale neighborhoods. They have
little contact with legitimate authority figures since for many of them, their
parents are either separated or always working.
Students like
In addition,
many students are recent immigrants.
Asians make up the majority of the
This more
informal approach to teaching does have certain weak points, however. If the ties between teachers and students
become too informal, then students might not give as much emphasis to tests and
assignments as they would attendance.
They would show up to school since they want to Tuyet
out with their teacher but actual work will be a hard pill to swallow since
none of their other “friends” would give them work. In addition, if things become too informal,
then it won’t prepare them for the grim realities of everyday life. Major colleges and universities are very
formal institutions where intimate social ties between the instructor and
student are very rare. They will find that
more often than not, holding a job also requires strict adherence to formal
rules rather than close social ties.
Major crime
in