Two Pieces: Real Summer & Cheating in America
Lily Channing & Clyde Lawler
Real Summer, by Lily Channing
The final bell rings. It’s the last day of school, and summer has finally come! Students don’t have to think about school for at least another 2 1/2 months. That is the way it should always be. Schools should continue using the traditional calendar and not a year-round schedule. There are numerous downsides to year-round schooling. It has no positive effects on education, it adds to costs, and it disrupts the long-awaited summer vacation.
Contrary to the well-accepted belief, year-round schooling has no constructive impact on education. Most year-round schedules use the 45-15 method: 45 days of school followed by 15 days off. Because of this, there are many first and last days of school. All those transitions disrupt the learning process. Also, there is no evidence of higher test scores. Due to that, many schools that change to year-round schedules end up switching back. For example, since 1980, 95 percent of schools that tried the year-round schedule changed back to a traditional calendar. It is obvious that changing to year-round schooling does not help students; therefore, why is the change necessary?
Like any other facility, keeping a school open requires a great deal of money. When a school changes to a year-round schedule, the costs skyrocket. Keeping school open in the middle of summer requires air conditioning, and that adds significantly to the school’s expenses. The usual utility bills grow because of the additional open-school time. Finally, teachers must be paid for all the weeks they are working. With all these factors, the cost of keeping schools open becomes immensely high. For example, a high school in Arizona had a cost increase of $157,000 when they switched to year-round schooling. Some schools may not be able to handle such increases, and other schools that can handle these expenses could be doing better things with the money. Is year-round school really where the money should go?
Cheating in America, by Clyde Lawler
Did you know that 7 out of 10 students have cheated at least once in the past year? Did you know that 50 percent of those students have cheated more than twice? These shocking statistics are from a survey of 9,000 U.S. high school students.
Incredibly, teachers may even be encouraging their students to cheat! Last year at a school in Detroit, teachers allegedly provided their students with answers to statewide standard tests. Students at the school told investigators that they were promised pizza and money if they cheated on the test as told. Similar allegations at several schools in San Diego county have prompted investigation. A student at a local high school says she sees students cheating on almost every test, and the teachers don’t do anything about it.
The kids claim that they’re tempted to cheat because of peer pressure and intense competition to get top grades. Many kids also say that their parents are setting a bad example by “fudging” on income taxes, lying about age to pay lower admission prices, or cheating their way out of a speeding ticket. They are sending a message to their kids that it is okay to cheat and lie.
Finding solutions to this problem is difficult. In our school’s math classes, each student has different problems on their test papers, so it is useless to look at someone else’s answers. Teachers could also randomly mix the problems throughout the page. Another solution is for adults to lower their expectations. Chances are that students believe cheating is the only way to meet unreasonably high expectations. Perhaps it is time for parents and teachers to seriously examine whether higher test results are important enough to encourage cheating.
Both of the passages, "Real Summer" and "Cheating in America," are persuasive in nature. Which sentence below from one of the passages could you cite as evidence for the passage being persuasive?
Responses
A "Finding solutions to this problem is difficult.""Finding solutions to this problem is difficult."
B "It’s the last day of school, and summer has finally come!""It’s the last day of school, and summer has finally come!"
C "Students don’t have to think about school for at least another 2 1/2 months.""Students don’t have to think about school for at least another 2 1/2 months."
D "Schools should continue using the traditional calendar and not a year-round schedule."