Schools: Conformity vs. IndividualitySynthesis Weeds and Roses

Hooray!!This paper went

really well for most of you; this is a natural skill that we just need to hone for collegiate and professional writing purposes.

Weed #1—Comma, Comma, Comma• I know you are writing on demand, but these

comma rules must be engrained in your head. • The introductory clause was the one with

which we most struggled.• PAY attention to these words when you use

them to begin a sentence: ▫Because▫Of course▫Despite▫However▫If▫Since

,This is your brain on comma. It’s a beautiful, beautiful thing. It will procure you good-looking dates, high writing scores and a lifetime of infamy.

Weed #1—Comma, Comma, Comma•Write three sentences that begin with a

lengthy, independent clause that necessitates a commma.

Weed #2—Use language from the prompt•If the prompt asks you to discuss the

hierarchy between “individuality and conformity,” you best use those words▫When to use them, when to use synonyms?

▫“Schools should focus on people and not on schedules.”

▫“Schools should not have a mandatory dress code.”

Weed #3—Possess me!! (Properly!)• What is the rule for when

we use apostrophes?

▫ The three cats hats donned frogs eyes.

▫ The tabby cats hat donned frog eyes.

▫ Ms. Kitchens horse, Echo, is a wild, old Thoroughbred.

• Why does grammar matter?

Weed #4—Use detail to support generalizations

• Schools rarely pay attention to individual students’ needs; instead, they focus on the big picture and force everyone through the same classes.

• Schools rarely pay attention to individual students’ needs: one student has a knack for auto mechanics, but he’s forced into Algebra II twice a day; another student excels in writing, but no creative writing courses are offered. Instead, students are forced into the same rote schedule, with a bell commencing school at 7:55 for all students and the entire student body finishing their studies at 2:55 (Source E) without care for after-school jobs, needs, or the passions of each unique learner.

Roses! (Finally, I remembered!!) • “Education is important. And by education, I do not

mean “schooling.” While yes, it is important to learn, is it important how we learn? Does the hard and fast rule of six hours a day, five days a week, and nine months year work effectively for everyone? The simplest answer is no. Not all kids need this suffocating structure in their education. Source A mentions that “2 million happy homeschoolers have surely put that banal justification to rest” (Source A). Kids don’t need this conformity to learn. While some amount of conformity is essential to function in society, the extent to which schools demand conformity and discourage individuality is detrimental to the preparation for student for life in the world.”

Roses!“The bells ringing throughout the school day

signal when classes start and begin. It is a normal occurrence for most students in high school to work according to a set schedule. The sample bell schedule with eight periods, each forty-six minutes long, illustrates this point (Source B). Children’s creativity is limited to 46 minutes per subject and is not based upon the amount of time needed. Putting thinking into a box, running from class and to class, and conforming to the time allotted is what the public school system forces children to do. The level of thinking is not nearly as high as it could be. If children were allowed to study a subject and learn until they fully understood, there would be no set schedule. A loss of learning goes along with conforming.”

Roses!“Some people believe that mandatory

attendance keeps ‘kids in school who would rather not be there’ and ‘costs the schools an enormous amout of time and trouble’ (Source E). This is true, but the kids who do not want to be at school leave. They break the conformity which allows for individualism. The kids that are left to attend are not only there for the mandatory reason but because the choose to be there. Conformity leads to individuality.”

Roses!“mandatory attendance now serves a different

use than its original intention. According to Source E, ‘our compulsory school-attendance laws once served a humane and useful purpose’ (Source E). That purpose was to protect children’s right o an education instead of being taken advantage of for their cheap, underage labor. Now mandatory attendance is simply to force children through more classes. If a child can leave school at age 16, why not let them come and go as they please? Instead of students going to unnecessary classes, they could be developing skills for the workforce and saving money.”

Roses!“In schools, rules and time provide

protection as well as restriction.”