In the essay “I Just Wanna Be Average” (Rose, 2007), the author used those words to describe how it is human nature that most students will work just hard enough to meet the objectives set by the teacher, but no harder. In other words, except for the students fired with passion for the subject, or maybe those motivated by their ambitious parents to constantly strive for excellence in their school work (yes, there are such parents), the average student who in many cases perceives school as a necessary though not perhaps pleasurable part of life, will simply do only as much as they have to do in order to achieve pass grades. In Rose’s essay the classes were vocational classes; i.e. classes for those students who were the least able academically – the bottom of the heap. Sadly, there were probably more such “floating” students in that category of class than in the more usual classes. Having said that, in any “normal” class there is likely to be quite a few students exhibiting that “floating” behavior, though not necessarily in every subject studied. However, it is my firm belief that with the right teaching approach, many of those “floating” students can be converted to students “reaching for the sky.”
Relating that to personal experience, there were a number of factors that affected my own studies, both in school and in college. The most significant of those factors was probably my own aptitude for and interest in the subject concerned. As a prime example, my abilities in Art came naturally to me – probably inherited from my Dad who although he had a very limited education, leaving school at 14 years old, had a natural flair for drawing and painting; an inbuilt talent that he exercised until his dying days, creating drawings and paintings requested by fellow patients in hospital.
In my own case, my inherent talent passed down from Dad kept me in the top echelon in art through high school, culminating in an offer of a scholarship to a dedicated Art College following school. Unfortunately, the need to contribute to the family budget was more pressing, so the Art College had to manage without me. In contrast, again referring to schooldays, sports were not my forte. I was not overweight or in other way handicapped as far as sport was concerned, just wasn’t good at it and so didn’t like it. As a consequence, for me physical education classes and sports sessions were to be endured rather than enjoyed.
Moving onto college, to an environment where there was less overt discipline than in school, the opportunities for “floating” were therefore greater, since supervision and monitoring by the tutors and lecturers was less direct and less evident. However, us students were now at an age where the importance of achieving good results was better understood, especially for those (and that included most of us) who needed to obtain good results to succeed in getting a good job afterwards.
Some of the same influencing factors still applied of course; the subjects a student most enjoyed were as a consequence most interesting and therefore encouraged harder work, producing better quality of work submitted. In addition, and this seemed more significant at college than it had been at school, the teacher-student relationship played an important part in my success or otherwise. A striking example was in Math. In my second year at college myself and the Math lecturer seemed to trigger the same reaction as in the “like” poles of a magnet (they repel each other). I found the work incredibly difficult, seeming never able to please that Math lecturer. At the end of the year I failed Math (final mark below 40 percent) and had to repeat the Math year, whilst carrying on with the other subjects as normal. This time I had a different lecturer, we got on famously, and I finished Math with over 80 percent; a Distinction grade.
With the remaining subjects at college there were no such difficulties for me, although with hindsight I can see that Mike Rose was right; it is safe to say that all of us taking our Final examinations were targeting the pass mark, no more. For example, if you were asked to write an Essay in English of “at least 3 pages”, you are unlikely to write one of 6 or 10 pages – you are “floating to the mark set.” In my opinion, students gaining significantly higher grades in any particular subject usually do so because they have a special interest in it or natural aptitude for it.
Of course there are exceptions to the rule, but the vast majority of students will do their best to achieve the pass mark. However, as mentioned earlier, relationship with the teacher is an important factor. As I found to my own cost, a poor relationship between teacher and student can have a serious negative impact on student interest in the subject and therefore of academic achievement. It is my firm belief that a good teacher can and should find the key to motivate every student in his/her class. If a student is performing badly, the cause may not be simply a lack of ability in that subject. In my own case with the Math lecturer for example, maybe he should have sat down with me for a one-on-one chat, to try to iron out that distance between us, and to encourage me to try harder with the subject, in return offering me whatever support I might have needed to properly get to grips with it.
Every student deserves to obtain the best possible outcome of those “once-only” years in school and college, and it is up to the teachers – those with the greater knowledge and life experience in the situation – to maximise and nurture the inherent abilities in every student, to give them the best possible start.
Works Cited:
Rose, Mike. I Just Wanna Be Average. San Francisco State University. (2007). Web. Accessed 27 June 2013. Available from <http://userwww.sfsu.edu/mmartin/rose.pdf>.
