Content Standards:
A.S.9.1: Students will acquire attitudes, knowledge, and skills that contribute to effective learning in school and across the lifespan.
Competencies: Students will...
A.C.9.1.02: Display a positive interest in learning.
GOAL: Students will understand the reasons schools exist and the importance of attending school.
Activity Statement:
Students will brainstorm their personal reasons for attending school and compare them with the reasons schools exist.
Materials:
1. Pen or pencil 2. Paper
3. Handout: Why School? Procedures:
1. Ask students to think for a few minutes about the following question: “Why do you attend school?”
2. Have students work independently for five minutes and write their reasons on a sheet of paper.
3. Divide students into small groups of 3 to 5 students and ask them to discuss the reasons they have written.
4. Pass out Handout: Why School? Request that students in their groups discuss the reasons given and come to a group agreement as to the top 5 reasons to go to school. 5. Then, have students share their top 5 with rest of the class. If time is not available,
make that the first thing on the list for the next meeting. Discussion:
1. What is a school?
2. What are the characteristics of an excellent school? 3. How does school prepare you for later life?
4. What would you do if you were not attending school?
5. Are the reasons that you attend school the same as the reason that school exists? 6. How can school help improve your quality of life in the future?
Closing Statement:
When students make the connection between the skills and knowledge they acquire in school and how these will enhance their quality of life later, they will be more motivated to attend school.
Additional Resources: Extension Activities: Resources:
Source: Chicago Public Schools (9-12) 30 Advisor/Advisee Lessons
http://intranet.cps.k12.il.us/Lessons/Advisory/
Handout: Why School?
Every child tries to get out of going to school from time to time, but it turns out that attending school has real, lasting benefits for kids beyond learning about Shakespeare and the
Pythagorean theorem. In many nonacademic ways, school prepares kids for the workplace and the world.
Top Reasons for Attending School: 1. It is the law.
2. A healthy democracy depends on people who are educated enough to make good choices when it comes to voting and participating in civic duties.
3. High school dropouts contribute only half as much in taxes as graduates and that dropouts require more government help in the form of food stamps, housing assistance and welfare payments.
4. According to the National Education Association, dropouts also have an increased chance of ending up in prison.
5. School helps kids learn how to interact with others, set goals and accomplish them, learn to take turns, work as a team and deal with challenges which are skills important in the workplace and later life.
6. Educated people earn more money.
7. Schools can expose children to other children who are different from them in terms of family structure, income, ethnic heritage, religion and race which equips children to live and work in a multicultural democracy.
8. The important lessons of reading, writing and arithmetic are just three reasons.
9. Family Education lists the development of important social skills and independence as leading reasons to send a toddler to preschool.
10. Children learn how to negotiate, compromise and interact with their peers which prepares them for the world of work.
11. Learning through relationships is more reflective of the adult world in which people contribute to society by working together.
12. According to the Education Commission of the States, more than half of today's employers insist on hiring people who have at least graduated from high school.
13. A high school diploma shows colleges, technical schools and potential employers that a student has important life skills such as problem solving abilities, negotiation skills, and the ability to focus.
Adult Learners’ Reasons for Schooling:
1) To learn more about a hobby or an interest. Do you long to play golf? Have you always wanted to learn write, knit or play the guitar? Then maybe adult education classes are for you. These classes could be offered through a university or college extension program or through a church or community center, or they may be at a place of higher education for credit. Participating in a class or two can teach you something new or how to do
credit--say, European History to help with your genealogy project--you might find the basis of an education that leads to a second career.
2) To learn a foreign language for travel or fun. Have you always wanted to go to France or India or China, but are worried about not speaking the language? Enroll in a foreign language class so you have the basics to make your travels easier. Classes are usually categorized as "conversational", "for travel" or by level (i.e., French I, Spanish I, etc.). Any classes will teach you the basics--such as how to say yes, no, ask for directions, inquire as to where the bathroom is, order food, etc.
3) To set a good precedent for your children. Maybe you didn't get as much education as you wanted. Maybe you want your child to stay in school and to learn as much as possible. Sometimes the best way to lead a child is by example. If you do your homework every night, so will your child. And you can sit at the table together and use it as bonding time. 4) To get a career. Did you not have time to go to school like you wanted? You had your
children at a young age, or the opportunity or finances wasn't there and now you are thinking of what you'd like to do with your life. The thing you currently get up and go to every day is your job; you wouldn't call it a career, but now you are ready for one. Going to school, whether a trade school, a community college or a university, can get you on track to create a career from your current occupation.
5) For career advancement. Maybe you are in a job you love but you aren't sure what the next step is: do you want to become a manager or a specialist? Additional education can make the difference between paralegal and lawyer or between medical receptionist and medical assistant.
6) To find a new career. Were you in a job that was recently phased out? Are you still using DOS while the rest of the world is using Windows? Sometimes it isn't your choice to go back to school, but the skills you have learned and the life you had been leading now seems passé. New job opportunities are created every year for people willing to be trained or retrained. Programs like the Microsoft certification programs and schools that train people to do new occupations in just a few months have been created specifically for people like you.
7) To change careers. A student named Raeeka arrived to the world of music on a road less traveled. She had been a corporate lawyer for a few years and was very successful, but financial gains did not fulfill her passionate longing--to be an opera singer. So, in her mid thirties, she gave up law and started over, moving to a new city, taking new classes and making new friends. At first she worried about how she would be treated by the other students, many of which who were more than 15 years younger. In May she graduated and has been demand as a soprano at opera companies around the country.
8) To follow a dream. Like Raeeka, you may have a dream. Maybe your dream isn't so specific. Maybe your dream is to just go to school and finish your degree.
9) Work is paying for it--so why not? Will your company pay for classes? Many corporations will pay for their employees to work on courses and degrees.
GRADE 9 LESSON 15: Academic Progress and Achievement