Streaming Of Students Essay, Research Paper
Students in high schools have different IQ levels, some are smart, some are average and some are weak. In a mixed group of students, the teacher has to teach in a manner which everybody is capable of understanding. Unfortunately, some students are left in the dark. If the teacher starts teaching at the level of the weak students, the smart students suffer. Conversely, if he teaches at a sophisticated level, the weak students don t understand anything. And sandwiched in between are the average students who lose on either side. This defeats the whole purpose of education. Streaming of students in high schools of Toronto is beneficial to all kinds of students and thus it should be increased.
Firstly, streaming of students increases the level of competition between the bright students. In a class, which has a mixed group of students, the smart student always comes first in the class. He does not have enough motivation to improve himself. He has to have self-motivation which is sometimes hard to find. However, if he is in a class of smart students, he works hard because of the competition other students give him. Moreover, the competition between students is restricted not only to the students of the smart class but it also extends to other classes. The students from other classes work hard in order to gain an entry into the ability class. Thus, the smart students face more competition and therefore have to work to their full potential to maintain their position in the class.
Apart from providing competition to smart students, streaming of students is of great help to the weak students too. When the weak students are grouped together, they don t feel pressurized by the smart students. Usually, when a particular student does well in the class, the teacher expects the same from the other students. On the other hand, in a class of an equalized level of students, the teacher s expectations are not high. This results in lower stress levels among the weak students. This is evident from a study conducted in the high schools of Toronto. The stress levels of students who were not in a streamed class were found to be 17% higher than those of the streamed ones. Besides, the teachers know who the weak students are and can therefore focus on them. This is again helpful to the weak students because the teacher tries to explain in a manner that is the easiest for them. Furthermore, the weak students know that they don t excel at academics; therefore they can focus on other career opportunities for e.g. journalism, fine arts and sports. They can start planning their future from the beginning itself rather than starting up on a career and then realizing that they are not interested in it. Hence, the weak students who are streamed do not feel pressurized by the smart students and can explore various career opportunities.
Other than being useful to smart and weak students, streaming of students is useful to the average students too because it boosts their confidence. The average students don t excel in academics or extra-curricular activities. They can excel given the right motivation and guidance. They need motivation to try specific things. Given the right guidance, they demonstrate the same competence as the other students. Special leadership camps are conducted where they can develop communication skills. It boosts their confidence when they see themselves capable of doing the same activities as the other students. When the average student is in a class, which consists of a mix of students, he feels shy to ask the teacher any questions. On the contrary, when he is in a class with students of the same level as himself, he is more open. He asks questions and gets his doubts cleared. This again boosts his confidence and he grows up to become a well-rounded individual. Thus average students who are streamed develop confidence in themselves.
Streaming of students is helpful to all kinds of students be it the smart student, the average student or the weak student. The smart students face more competition, the average students develop confidence in themselves and the weak students don t feel pressurized and can explore various career opportunities. Hence, streaming of students in high schools of Toronto should be increased. It will produce better engineers, doctors, journalists, artists, athletes and above all informed and educated citizens of Canada.