Sally+Park's+Persuasive+Speech

Rough Draft
Sally Park September 23, 2009 English F Ms. Jacob Persuasive Speech: Rough Draft Have you ever felt overwhelmed by this schedule we go by at KIS? For instance, confused? or crammed? Of course it may be a beneficial that you may get some extra time to do some homework for classes. But, most of the time, is it not that you procrastinate anyway? Time outside of class is also a problem, however, the biggest flaw to this schedule is probably the long class times. I mean, everyone has probably felt that class seems to go for such a long time and drag on and on. Maybe the teachers sometimes feel that way too. Therefore, the rotation schedule at KIS is not the most efficient way of learning.

First of all, how long do you think your attention span is? Two minutes? Thirty minutes? Perhaps you feel your attention is much much longer than others and believe it to be the whole seventy-five minutes. Of course we’re all different human beings, so it may be true. But, research shows that the attention span of a typical student between the ages twelve and twenty have the ability to concentrate for around fifteen to twenty minutes. The slightly pathetic thing about that is that children between the ages nine to twelve have a longer attention span. And the brain wanders off every nine-seconds. Ever feel like that during class? After listening to those first couple minutes, it probably felt like walking aimlessly in nothingness. Well, that is completely normal.

If the attention span of an average high school student is only about twenty minutes, is there really a reason to have classes be seventy-five minutes long? Students would only retain the first portion of the class well, anyway. The later part of class, we’ll piece together what we have from the previous

Everyone has missed at least a day of school because of sports, speech and debate, illnesses, or anything. When most people have probably felt that when they miss a class, he or she falls extremely behind and must do all that work for homework. Even though, it is only four classes missed, the work that needs to be done is like a balloon on the verge of popping. At least, I felt like that when I miss a day of school. Especially when you miss school because you’re sick, the pile seems even worse. If you miss school for any school-related event, then you can at least ask for the work in advance and perhaps work on it. However, when it is an unexcused absence like being sick, there is no mercy from some teachers. On the top of being in a poor condition, you have to work harder to understand and catch up in class. Since the class is longer, there is more work to do.

If we, students, do not have the ability to concentrate for the whole class time, probably do not retain all that information, and have a harder time trying to reach what we have missed, then what is the point of the seventy-five minute block schedule. School is supposed to provide a method for the students to develop by the most effective and efficient manner. Yet, if it does not prove to be a benefit but a burden, then it should be changed and modified to assist the students.

Final Draft
Sally Park September 23, 2009 English F Ms. Jacob Overwhelmed: Too Long Have you ever felt overwhelmed by this schedule we go by at KIS? For instance, confused? or crammed? Of course it may be a beneficial that you may get some extra time to do some homework for classes. But, most of the time, is it not that you procrastinate anyway? Time outside of class is also a problem, however, the biggest flaw to this schedule is probably the long class times. I mean, everyone has probably felt that class seems to go for such a long time and drag on and on. Maybe the teachers sometimes feel that way too. Therefore, the rotation schedule at KIS is not the most efficient way of learning.

First of all, how long do you think your attention span is? Two minutes? Thirty minutes? Perhaps you feel your attention is much much longer than others and believe it to be the whole seventy-five minutes. Of course we’re all different human beings, so it may be true. But, research shows that the attention span of a typical student between the ages twelve and twenty have the ability to concentrate for around fifteen to twenty minutes. The slightly pathetic thing about that is that children between the ages of nine to twelve have a longer attention span. And the brain wanders off every nine-seconds. Ever feel like that during class? After listening to those first couple minutes, it probably felt like walking aimlessly in nothingness. Well, that is completely normal.

If the attention span of an average high school student is only about twenty minutes, is there really a reason to have classes be seventy-five minutes long? Students would only retain the first portion of the class well, anyway. The later part of class, we’ll piece together what we have from the previous knowledge we have. We have all seen movies, read books about teenage school life. Most of the class, the characters do not fully concentrate on what is going on at the front of class. Of course, this is probably an exaggeration as the media tends to do. It is not likely that there is a student that thinks of what they will do after school that day or think about guys the whole class. But it is true that students will tend to think about other matters in his or her life during class when his or her concentration is lost.

Everyone has missed at least a day of school because of sports, speech and debate, illnesses, or anything. When a student misses a day of school, he or she falls extremely behind from the classwork and homework. Even though, it is only four classes missed, the work that needs to be done is like a balloon on the verge of popping. At least, I felt that way whenever I miss a day of school. Moreover, when you miss school because you’re sick, the pile seems even worse. If you miss school for any school-related event, then you can at least ask for the work in advance and perhaps work on it. However, when it is an unexcused absence such as being sick, there is often no mercy from some teachers. On the top of being in a poor condition, you have to work harder to understand and catch up in class. Since the class is longer, there is more work to do.

If we, students, do not have the ability to concentrate throughout the whole class time, retain all the information learned in class, and have a harder time trying to reach what we have missed, then what is the point of the seventy-five minute block schedule? School is supposed to provide a method for the students to develop by a somewhat effective and efficient manner. Yet, if it does not prove to be a benefit but a burden, then it should be changed and modified to assist the students.