Analysis of Rites of Passage Essay Example

Analysis of Rites of Passage Essay Example Analysis of Rites of Passage Paper Analysis of Rites of Passage Paper Rites of Passage by Sharon Olds It would be impossible to go through life without attending at least a single childrens party. In these special occasions one scarcely remembers the details, just the assessment at the end of the day whether the food was good or if it was fun. But for poet and writer extraordinaire, Sharon Olds, she did not only remember the minutest detail – for instance the shape and design of the dark chocolate cake – but also the intricacies of schoolboy behavior. While everyone was distracted with the bewildering whirl of childhood activity, the poet discovered that there is more than meets the eye. In the opening part, the first two verses introduced the poem without fanfare. The author simply stated that she was hosting a party for her son. The visitors came and went straight to the living room. There was no additional information with regards to the demographics of the incoming guests. It is fair to assume therefore based on what was given that majority were boys, all first-graders and their age range, between six and seven. Before going any further it is interesting to note the amazing display of skills; the author was able to describe the setting and the major characters involved using only a few words. It is only in poetry, where the suggestion to read between the lines should be followed at all times. Heeding the aforementioned advice one can see how Olds skillfully chose words to create a double entendre. The first example of this technique can be seen as early as the third line of the poem when she when she used the term â€Å"short men† to describe her son’s guests. The intended effect was to make the reader to see the outward appearance first. They were short and since they were of normal height then they must be children. But immediately afterwards the author offered another description, they were men. The adults inside the house could only see boys but the author saw something else. She saw a glimpse of their future. She realized that even at such a young age the boys are already showing off an inner fire, a competitive spirit that would later on help them in their life’s quest or bring them to ruin. After an uneventful introduction, the atmosphere began to get tense. The other adults inside the house were oblivious to the ensuing power play between little men. They were jockeying for place, jostling to occupy a prime spot inside the house – near the toys or the TV set. Others saw children playing but Olds was certain that they were role playing practicing for the day when they will be asked to play the adult version characterized by an executive initiating a hostile takeover of a rival company, a general barking orders or a banker evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of a proposed deal. The children’s version of a power play does not require money or complicated paperwork but the effect is as intense. One kid tried to appraise the pros and cons of challenging a playmate and demanded to know his age. The one being interviewed answered six and hoping to intimidate the boy in front of him, the interviewer confidently declared, â€Å"I’m seven. † Sensing that the older fellow is ready to go for the kill the younger boy curtly retorted, â€Å"So? † It was a verbal slugfest and at the same time, demonstrating their ability to initiate psychological warfare. Since they were still young and not yet fully matured they could not continue to act like adults and continue to pretend that everything is all right. One of the â€Å"short men† had to express what he felt, he had to release the pressure building up inside him and approaching one boy he said, â€Å"I could beat you up. † One can almost be sure that no is going to back down from such a challenge. After a while a new game is in progress. The author’s son mindful of his role as the host was up to the challenge of leading his men. But before going into the middle of the action, Olds had to first highlight the frailty of his son and yet with such small frame he declared, â€Å"We could easily kill a two-year old. † Nothing to fear it was only a game but Olds knew there is something more than that. Underneath the facade these â€Å"short men† are showing everyone what they are made of. But no one noticed this plea for attention everyone thought that they were simply acting out as boys. Conclusion In one Al Pachino movie where he played the role of a CIA counter-intelligence expert, he uttered a memorable line that goes something like this, â€Å"I am a scary judge of character. † No one knows if Al Pachino in real life can substantiate his character’s boast but one can be sure that Sharon Olds is one scary judge of character. She seems to know more about human nature than the average person. In a crowded house where children are playing she saw the meaning behind their actions. It has been said that for a child it is not simply a game. Their actions in a party, in the playground and in the classroom are done with purpose. They may not be fully aware of the extent of their actions but they are preparing for something. In fact by observing how children play one can tell if this one is a future leader or if this one will grow up to be an expert negotiator. When Olds used her power of observation she did not see mere children, she saw future bankers and generals.

An Achievement Gap Created by the Summer Slide Before Grade 9

An Achievement Gap Created by the Summer Slide Before Grade 9 By the time students in the United States enter grade 12, they will have spent 96 weeks, or the rough equivalent of 2 out 13 required academic years, in time designated as summer vacation. Researchers have been bemoaning the loss of this collective time as they point to the negative consequences of summer vacation up to and including high school..   Negative Impact of Summer Vacation Research A meta-analysis of 138 influences or â€Å"what works in education† was published (2009)  in  Influences And Effect Sizes Related To Student Achievement  by John Hattie and Greg Yates. Their results are posted on their  Visible Learning  website.   They ranked the effects of completed studies (national and international), and using the data combined from these studies, they developed a rating where any influence greater than .04 was a contribution to student achievement. For their finding on summer vacation,  Ã‚  39 studies  were used  to rank the effect of summer vacation on student achievement. The findings using this data revealed summer vacation as having  a negative effect (  -.09 effect) on education. In other words, summer vacation ranked at the bottom of what works in education, a dismal 134 out of 138 influences.. Many researchers refer to the achievement damage done during these months off as summer learning loss or the â€Å"summer slide†Ã‚  as described on the US Department of Educations blog Homeroom. A similar finding came from  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"The Effects of Summer Vacation on Achievement Test Scores: A Narrative and Meta-Analytic Review†Ã‚  by  H. Cooper, et al. Their work updated the findings of a 1990 study that originally found: Summer learning loss is very real and has important repercussions in the lives of students, especially those with fewer financial resources. There were several key findings outlined in their updated 2004 report: At best, students showed little or no academic growth over the summer. At worst, students lost one to three months of learning.Summer learning loss was somewhat greater in math than reading.Summer learning loss was greatest in math computation and spelling.For disadvantaged students, reading scores were disproportionately affected and the achievement gap between rich and poor widened. This achievement gap between haves and have nots widens with summer learning loss. Socio-Economic Status and Summer Learning Loss Multiple studies have confirmed that  students in low-income households develop an average two month reading gap during the summer. This gap is cumulative, and each summers two month gap contributes to a sizable learning loss, especially in reading, by the time a student reaches grade 9. Research published in the article Lasting Consequences of the Summer Learning Gap   by  Karl L. Alexander, et al, charted how a students socio-economic status (SES) plays a role is summer learning loss: We find that cumulative achievement gains over the first nine years of childrens schooling mainly reflect school-year learning, whereas the high SES-low SES achievement gap at 9th grade mainly traces to differential summer learning over the elementary years. In addition, a  white paper commissioned by the Summer Reading Collective determined that  two-thirds of the 9th grade achievement gap in reading could be between students from low-income households and their higher-income peers. Other important findings findings pointed out that access to books was critical to slowing summer learning loss. Neighborhoods in low income areas with public libraries for student access to reading materials had  significantly more gains in reading scores from spring to fall than students from high-income households with access to books as well as those from low-income households without access to books at all. Finally, the Summer Reading Collective noted that socio-economic factors played a critical role in learning experiences (access to reading materials, travel, learning activities) stating: Differences in children’s summer learning experiences during their elementary school years can ultimately impact whether they earn a high school diploma and continue to college. With the considerable amount of research documenting the negative impact of summers off, one may wonder why the American public education system embraced summer vacation. History of Summer Vacation: The Agrarian Myth Dispelled Despite the widely held myth that the educational calendar followed farm calendars, the 178 day school year (national average) became standardized for an entirely different reason.  The adoption of summer vacation was the result of an industrial society that opted to let urban students out of the sweltering cities  during the summer months. Kenneth Gold, a professor of education at the College of Staten Island, debunked the myth of an agrarian school year in his 2002 book  School’s In: The History of Summer Education in American Public Schools.  Ã‚   In the opening chapter,Gold notes that if schools were following a true agrarian school year, students would be more available during the summer months while crops  were growing but unavailable during planting (late spring) and harvesting (early fall).   His research demonstrated  that before the standardized school year,  there were concerns that too much school was bad for the health of students and teachers: â€Å"There was a whole medical theory that [people would get sick] from too much schooling and teaching† (25). Summer vacation was the solution to these medical concerns during the  mid-19th Century.   As  cities expanded rapidly, concerns were raised about the moral and physical dangers that unsupervised summer posed to urban youth. Gold goes into great detail about the  Vacation Schools, urban opportunities that offered a wholesome alternative. The 1/2 day  sessions in these vacation schools were attractive to participants and teachers were allowed to be  creative and more lax, addressing the  fears of [mental] overtaxation (125). By the end of World War I,   these vacation schools had become more in line with a growing academic bureaucracy. Gold notes, ...summer schools adopted a regular academic focus and a credit-bearing function, and they soon bore little resemblance to the vacation programs that preceded them (142). These academic summer schools were geared to allow students to gain extra credits, either to catch up or to accelerate, however, the creativity and innovations of these vacation schools diminished as the funding and staffing were in the hands of the administrative progressives that were overseeing the urban districts   Gold traces the standardization of education noting the growing body of  research on the adverse impact of summer vacation, especially on economically disadvantaged students as a growing concern. His work on how American education served the needs of a  continuously growing â€Å"summer leisure economy† clearly demonstrates  the stark contrast of mid-19th Century’s academic standards with the growing demands of 21st Century academic standards with their emphasis on college and career readiness. Stepping Away from Traditional Summer Vacation Schools K-12, and post-secondary experiences, from community college to graduate universities, are now experimenting  with a burgeoning market of opportunities for online learning. The opportunities bear names such as   Synchronous Distributed Course,  Web-Enhanced Course,  Blended Program, and others; they are all  forms of e-learning.   E-learning is rapidly changing the design of the traditional school year as it can be made available beyond the walls of a classroom at varying times. These new opportunities may make learning available through multiple platforms throughout the year. In addition, experiments with year-round learning are already well into their third decade. Over 2 million students participated (by 2007), and the research (Worthen 1994,   Cooper 2003)  on the effects of year round schools explained in   What Research Says About Year-Round Schooling (compiled by  Tracy A. Huebner) shows a positive impact: Students in year-round schools do as well or slightly better in terms of academic achievement than students in traditional schools;Year-round education may be particularly beneficial for students from low-income families;Students, parents, and teachers who participate in a year-round school tend to have positive attitudes about the experience. On more than one follow-up to these studies, the explanation for the positive impact is simple: The loss of retention of information that occurs during the three-month summer vacation is lessened by the shorter, more frequent vacations that characterize year-round calendars. Unfortunately, for those students without intellectual stimulation, enrichment, or reinforcement-whether they are economically disadvantaged or not- the long span of summer will culminate in an achievement gap.    Conclusion The  artist Michelangelo is reputed to have said, I am still learning (Ancora Imparo)  at the age of 87, and while he never enjoyed the American public school summer vacation, it is unlikely he went for long periods without the intellectual stimulation that made him the man of the Renaissance. Perhaps his quote could inverted as a question if there are chances to change the design of school academic calendars. Educators could ask, Are they still learning during the summer?