Change for the Better free essay sample

In contrast, Shanker contends that changing the traditional academic letter grading scale will surely encourage mediocrity and decrease work effort in students. Author John Staddon, who has spent his professional life studying adaptive behavior-how changes in the environment lead to changes in the ways humans act (Staddon 307), and much time in both the U. K and the U. We will write a custom essay sample on Change for the Better? or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page S, has noticed a disturbing fact about the American roadways. often when I return to the U. S. , I see a fender bender or two within a few days. Yet I almost never see accidents in the U. K. I begin to think that the American System of traffic control, with its many signs and stops, and with its specific miles tailored to every bend in the road, has had the unintended consequence of causing more accidents than it prevents. (Staddon 306). Research and years of observation by Staddon in both the U. K and the U. S, show that when drivers spend so much of their time and attention seeking out all the signs on the roads in the U. S. , they 1 re more likely to get into a wreck. The more you look for signs, for police, and at your speedometer, the less attention you will be to conditions (Staddon 306). Though it appear in reading Staddons essay that driving in the U. S is hazardous to health, he does offer some suggestions for changing and improving the situation. What Staddon proposes is a more modest adoption of the British traffic system one British alternative to the stop sign is just a dash in the road on the pavement (309) in the drivers line of sight. Another alternative to the ever present stop sign in the U. S. is the roundabout. Though roundabouts can be found in the U. S. , they are typically large. But us drivers get used to them, as they have in the U. K.. they can be made smaller and smaller. Small white dots in the middle of intersections in the U. K. give instructions for the driver to yield to traffic from the right (Staddon 309). Though Staddons essay points out the flaws in driver safety and excessive signage in the U. S. his premise that our roads could be made safer by adopting a more European relaxed attitude that would ultimately make the driver more aware of their surroundings gives hope for American drivers. In contrast, Shankers essay concerning changing our traditional grading system, proposes that the change will do more harm than good to students. According to Shanker, Grades used to tell a ninth grader and his parents how successful the student was in mastering algebra. They also distinguished between level s of performance, showing who was doing well and who was not cutting it (Shanker 312). Traditional letter grading scaled were excellent indicators of where a child falls in knowledge of a particular subject. Parents, teachers, and students all understood the difference in an A, and a C or an F, however, new worded grading scales are much 2 more difficult to understand and interpret. On the new grading scale, words like emerging, developing, meeting, exceeding, and extending are much harder to interpret and also much more subjective. The new grades are the educational equivalent of the familiar smiley face (313) shares Shanker. Proponents of the new grading scale claim now there will be no more hurt feelings or damaged self-esteembecause somebody got a D or an F and no more swelled heads because of a straight-A report card (Shanker 312). Shankers essay further reveals that much more than self-esteem will be lost if we let the new grading scale take over. The real reason school officials insist on blurring the distinctions between students is that they think it is somehow unfair to acknowledge that some students have achieved more academically than others. If this is our attitude towards academic achievement, we will never convince students that working hard in school is worthwhile (Shanker 313). Ultimately, the difference between failure and success will lead to less effort on the part of the learnesr who do the best academically. Finally, Shanker contends they will work only if we get rid of the smiley-face approach to academic achievement and attach real stakes to what students do in school when it comes to graduating from high school and getting a job or getting into college (Shanker 314). Staddons expectations are that with decreased signage and regulations governing speed zones, drivers in the U. S would pay more attention to the current conditions and traffic on the roads rather than all the signs everywhere but on the road where the drivers eyes should be focused. Shanker on the other hand, is adamant that changes to the traditional grading system would have the opposite effect than the one intended by those 3 initiating and pushing for the change. While change can be perceived as a good thing, many times the reason for change does not hold the best intentions of all the parties involved.