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Copy of Kate Gilmore - H Argument Essay
Copy of Kate Gilmore - H Argument Essay
Copy of Kate Gilmore - H Argument Essay
Kate Gilmore
Mr.Smith
Junior ELA
6 November 2023
We’ve all been there, it’s 12AM and you're looking at the red “Missing” next to your
literature essay, you feel like a failure. When it's graded and returned to you, you see a grade that
leaves you feeling awful. You aren’t alone, 75% of high school students report feeling consistent
stress as a result of school work. That's not an accurate representation of yourself as a student,
it's a representation of yourself at a time of stress. Student’s and/or athletes, amongst many other
time consuming things, often find themselves cramming to get assignments done at the last
minute. If teachers assign more open due date assignments, perhaps students would be able to
complete and submit higher quality work without any stress or interference with our personal
lives.
After researching this topic, It was found that most kids reported doing better when they
were able to follow their own due date, rather than one being assigned to them. Of course, due
dates establish structure and remind the students that they have work to do. But they also create
an unnecessary amount of stress. Furthermore, some colleges such as UCONN and Fairfield
assign their work as “semester long”, meaning they are not officially due or graded until the
semester ends. High schools are constantly reminding their students that they are trying to set
them up for the next chapter of their lives, and although not everyone is going down the college
path, many will. If students aren’t learning how to complete assignments the way they are given
in college, they won’t be able to adjust easily to them when they finally get there. This is
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expressed by John Warner, in his article Deadlines in the "Real World". Warner states that “As
professionals we are given the autonomy and latitude to push deadlines when it’s agreed that
pushing that deadline is in the interests of creating the best possible end product” (Warner, 1).
This proves that some teachers understand the importance of time to result in the best work. In
the real world, the work we submit is about quality not quantity.
Many claim that by allowing students to work on assignments for longer periods of time,
they would procrastinate and put it off all semester. While that may be true in some cases, hard
working students will work proactively and complete their assignments earlier on in the
semester. This will eliminate the added stress of completing multiple assignments when the end
of the semester arrives. A teacher by the name of Sue Ishaq decided to test this theory by
allowing students to establish their own due date, and the results were fascinating. “ I think the
soft deadlines kept me in check, however it’s nice to know that if things unexpectedly get crazy
for me that I won’t be penalized for taking extra time to make sure that I submit quality work.”
(Ishaq 1) one student claimed. By practicing time management overtime, students will develop a
manage time on our own is an essential aspect of life. when due dates are given to students they
aren't able to develop these skills. I also feel that when we are given semester long assignments
our work can in a way “grow with us”. in the sense that as we acquire new information we can
add to our work. This way the work can be top quality by the time it is ready to turn in.
Due dates demote meaningful learning. By eliminating due dates, students will develop a
more meaningful sense of the importance of the information they are taking in. When
assignments are given rigid deadlines, students focus more on getting the material completed,
than evaluate the information and learn about it. Although due dates keep students on track and
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focused, the quality of their learning is much more important than the quantity of assignments
they can complete in a certain amount of time. Christopher Koeppen, a professional in Education
claims that “It puts a deadline and limit on learning” (Koeppen, 7). Learning is a skill that takes
time, it's not something that can never really be mastered but it can be grown and strengthened. If
students are cramming to get the information down, they don't really learn it. Students are given
such an extreme time crunch to complete work, the assignment becomes pretty much useless, as
the student isn’t benefiting from it, rather, it is promoting extreme stress. Study shows that when
class, they start to feel negatively towards the topic. For example, when a student gets multiple
bad grades in one science class, they may continue to dislike science throughout the rest of their
years in school, despite the fact that they may be a strong learner in that specific subject. In
contrast, when a student is excelling and succeeding in a class and does not feel pressured or
stressed when completing assignments, not only will they have more positive thoughts associated
with the class, but they will also learn the information much better. So important to take into
consideration that every student learns at a different pace. Therefore, expecting that all students
will be able to complete work at the same time just isn't fair.
To conclude the argument I have stated above, students are tired. Sometimes teachers
may forget to take into consideration that we aren't just doing the work of their class. We are
given work from 5-7 other courses. In addition to working, playing sports and other various
extracurricular activities. The workload piles up quickly and due dates just add to the stress that
we are already facing. by allowing more assignments to be open due date, students will be
Works Cited
Ishaq, Sue. “Reflecting on “suggested deadlines” for assignments – The Ishaq Lab.” The Ishaq
https://sueishaqlab.org/2021/02/18/reflecting-on-suggested-deadlines-for-assignments/. Accessed
9 November 2023.
Koeppen, Christopher. “8 Reasons Your Deadline Policy Is Damaging to Your Students.” Grit,
https://gritandrigor.com/2017/01/12/8-reasons-your-deadline-policy-is-damaging-to-your-student
Warner, John. “Deadlines in the "Real World."” Inside Higher Ed, 7 October 2019,
2023.
https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Instructor-Guide/What-is-the-difference-between-assignme