Is fear essential to doing well in school? Or does fear keep you from doing your best? James comments, "The reason I do homework is not because I find it stimulating or entertaining but do it because I am afraid of the consequences." Monica agrees, stating, "I believe that if you fear something you will work twice as much harder to achieve it. Matt asserts that fear motivates people to do well in school and asks, "Without that fear what would motivate anyone to do anything good in their life?"
Yet others suggest that fear keeps people from achieving their best because they are constantly focused on the negative consequences of failure. Caleb writes, "The person who is oppressed with fear is always in a state of distress. Therefore, they usually have a hard time overcoming this distress and do not accomplish the task with excellence."
Are there things that might motivate people to do well in school other than the fear of an unhappy future? Does relying on fear to motivate us lead us to expect that nothing we do in life will be "stimulating or entertaining"? Or is it fear alone that inspires us to greatness?
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Fear initially is key but after a point fear is no longer needed. Until an individual develops good study habits fear is the driving force behind his or her work, after a point it becomes routine. At this point the individual is hooked, they don't know anything else. This may or may not lead to the individuals to become interested in the material they are studying. They won't be tempted to slack until an outside distraction is introduced. That's were fear comes back to re-focus the individual. in short, fear is a safety net lined with undesirable consequences that compel the student to re organize their priorities
I feel that without fear I would not do well in school. Without fear I would become such a big slacker that I might not even care anymore. In this case I believe that fear can make the desicion for you. If you go to school and dont try then you will most likely not do as well as you could. The fear that I, and many others are facing is if you dont do well in school you wont be able to go to college. If you dont do well in college then you could put yourself in a bad situation later in life with money problems.
Another thing that I could think of as motivating people through school is your parents. Most parents punish their children by grounding them for getting a bad grade. If students want to hang out with their friends they will avoid getting a bad grade at any cost. I honestly think that many students try hard enough to either pass or only do it to escape their fears. I dont exactly find school exciting but its not as bad as some people make it sound. I feel that later in life you can make fear go away by achieving well in your work when you get older, doing something that you enjoy.
I agree with Alec that fear initially is key, but I do not agree that after a point it is no longer needed. He states that after developing good study habits from the fear of getting bad grades an individual doing their work becomes routine and the fear is no longer needed. This is where I do not agree. This is because if fear is all of a sudden eliminated from ones life then they will no longer have a reason to get their work done. If they do not have any fear about their future if their grades decrease then their grades will drop because they will stop caring about their work.
Fear is a great motivator in every aspect of a person’s life, not only with their grades. A high school student could fear not being able to play their favorite sport causing them to work hard and make the team. An adult out of college could fear living on streets causing them to work hard to get a good job and a place to live. This is how fear is not only a good motivator with school -work but with anything someone may do in their lifetime.
I believe that there are other motivational things other than fear. When Alec said that once an individual has discovered something else, they tend to use that habit to their advantage. I agree because once someone has developed a good way to accomplishing a task, they have overcome the fear of not being able. Another good thing is what Samantha said about our parents. They are very motivational people in our lives because all they want is for us to succeed. That's why they punish us for not doing well. Lastly, I think that not knowing what's going to happen in the future inspires us to move forward because it's of human interest to try and think ahead. That brings me to saying that fear does not motivate us to expect nothing "stimulating or entertaining" because you never know what to expect. I think that there are many way that inspire us to do the right thing, and it's important for us to find them.
Jarad
Fear of an unhappy future is not the only thing that motivates students to work hard in school. Along with fear, students do well in school because they want to feel proud of themselves for succeeding. They might not feel happy with themselves if they blow off homework or fail a class. They want to feel like they are being responsible and I believe everybody wants to be smart. Doing well in school gives students encouragement and maybe even excitement for the future. If they can do well in school, they know they can take on challenging things as adults. It assures them that they can do great things when they grow up. It is true that students work hard for fear of not getting into college, but they also work hard because they take pride in results that reflect their efforts. They want to prove to themselves that they can do well in life. I agree with Sam that parents can cause students to work hard by making them fear the consequences they will enforce, but I also think students want to do well.
Although fear is a great motivator, it is not the only thing that can motivate people to do well in school. I agree with Celia that students take pride in their work and they want to put forth their best efforts all the time. Although people are motivated by the fear of an unhappy future, this is not the only thing that will force them to do well in school. Students will try to do well in school because they want their parents to be proud of them and they want to be proud of themselves. Parents motivate students to try their hardest in school so they can be the best they can be. Students know that if they do well in school, they will be able to do well in other things. People try to do their best so they can gain confidence and experience for things later in life. If people only do things out of fear, then they will never know what they really enjoy and like to do, they will only know what they really don't want to happen. Fear can inspire people to do good things, but fear alone can not inspire people to achieve greatness.
I agree with Alec that fear is initially the driving force behind your work, but after a point it is no longer needed. Until you get into a regular routine with work, the only motivation to do work is fear of an unhappy future. Those who do not fear an unhappy furute are probably more likely to have an unhappy future. I agree with Sam that fear is not the only motivator, but a lot of motivation comes from parents. Sometimes, the punishment of getting a bad grade is more than enough motivation for a student to do well. I disagree with Celia when she states that we do well in school because we want to feel proud of ourselves for succeeding. For a lot of students, grades mean nothing to them and they would feel just as happy about getting an A as an F. Fear is the best motivator, but it is not the only motivator. There are other way to get motivated rather than being scared.
-CONOR POLIANITES
There are many other things other than fear that can motivate somebody. A person might have a career in mind while their in high school and try hard in order to make that dream come true. Most people need fear to achieve success because if there was no fear in failing at something most people would not work very hard. I agree with Alec that fear is key but Nick is right in saying that people always need fear to get work done. If their was no fear in anyone’s life then people would not have any reason to work because they don’t have to worry about bills and whether or not there will be food on the table. Fear alone is what drives this society. Everyone feels they have to do their best at their job because everyone is expendable and there is always somebody else out there that can take your job. There are other things beside fear that can motivate people like what Celia said about peoples pride on the line but many people are to lazy to care about their pride and would rather do nothing if there was no fear of the consequences. Fear is one of the easiest ways to motivate somebody because they will constantly be worrying about it and the task or duty will be constantly on their mind.
- Ryan Kelley
Fear is a factor that determines a person’s inspiration to greatness. Fear can have two major affects on a person’s strive for greatness. Fear can hide a person’s potential to do something great, or it can motivate a person to follow through with their goals in life. Fear can prevent someone from achieving their goal because they don’t see beyond their fears, which happen to be taking over their mindset at the given moment. However, some students view fear as a key element to keep them motivated. Fear is a good emotion to have because it keeps a person in bounds, preventing one to make a mistake. Students who feel they have the potential to achieve good grades, use fear as a motivator, they keep striving because they are fearful of that one bad grade that could damage their performance. Students, who feel they don’t have the potential to achieve good grades, don’t strive for greatness. Instead they let their fears overpower them. They go to school, but mentally they’ve given up. In conclusion, I agree with Ryan, fear is a factor in the success of our society.
I believe that fear is one of the main reasons for doing well in school but not necessarily the only one. If you are afraid of the outcome of something then you will try to prevent that outcome. For example with school, you don't want to become a failure at life and become a bum so you have to try hard in school in order to succeed and live a happy life. I also believe that fear can also limit us because the fear of doing so well in school can corrupt you and turn you into a grade-addict and everything outside of school will be pointless and meaningless to you. I believe fear does help me though because if there wasn't the concern of succeeding in life i wouldn't care about school whatsoever. It would just be stupid and unimportant.I also agree with Luke when he talks about how people take pride in what they do. I believe that this is a prime reason for succeeding in life. I take pride in many things that I do. However, I still feel that most students are affected by fear as opposed to their pride because if school wasn't so important in life, no one would care about it and just slack off.
MARISSA RODAKIS
I agree with sam that without fear i would not try in school . I dont want to get punished or grounded because of bad grades. If there was no punishments or bad things if you did not do well in school no one would try. If i didn't get punished for bad grades i would probably not care as much or try as much. Fear does modivate students to work so they do not have to face punishment like being grounded or yelled at by their parents. Students are afraid of the consequences. i dont think there are other things to motivate people to do well in school other then fear of punishment and or a bad future. I believe that fear alone inspires us to greatness. People try hard so that they do well in life but in the process they do fear that they could be unsucessful and end up poor and not happy.
I think fear is a reason a lot of people are motivated to doing well in school, because the outcome of not trying and doing well is so great that many people not want to reach that point in life. I agree with Sean when he says that fear helps one to do work in school, but I also agree with the point the makes that the fear of failing school can be negative as well, such as people at times focus so much on academics that they miss out on the social aspect of school and the after school activities. Fear is a main reason I try to do well in school purely because I want to succeed in life, and with out doing well in school success is hard to reach. Without the fear of failure I do not think I would try nearly as hard as I do. Sometimes however fear does keep me from doing my absolute best like during test; since I had such extreme testing anxiety I sometimes let that get the best of me and then I get a poor grade on the test. So the fear about school is both helpful and also has some disadvantages. I do not think that it is only fear that aspires us to greatness, I think that some people are just motivated on their own because when you see a successful person it makes u motivated to have that kind of life. I also agree with the point about how pride is also what keeps us doing well in school, and I also think that is part of why people try to succeed. No one likes to be the one who fails that test, so some people take pride in their work so that they can be the best. I do think that fear is a major part of why people try so hard in school.
In my opinion, I think that fear is the biggest motivator in school. I motivate myself with fear in school to do better because indeed, I am afraid of what would become of me if I did not work. I also agree with Nicks statement about fear of losing sports. I also motivate myself to do better in school because if I don't, I would get kicked off my sports teams. Fear also is the biggest motivator in school also because the parents of the student may be strict about their child to do well in school. They may punish their child because they didn't get a good quarter grade, or they had some indecency in their last test. This causes kids to be motivated more because they are afraid of the possible outcome of what happens when they do badly. Fear is defiantly an essential to do well in school, but it doesn't help achieve the best. Fear in schoolwork makes students achieve the least possible and suppresses the best work to a minimal. Some people can be motivated by interest in school, and may make a living out of it, but the majority of people motivate by fear, in my opinion.
I agree with Sean that fear of an unhappy future does motivate one to do well. I also agree with Sean that there are other motivators that inspire us to greatness. One motivator besides fear is love. It could be the love of various subjects such as art, music, science, medicine, etc. Some people love what they are doing because the subjects interest and inspire them to achieve more. For example, the famous neurologist at John Hopkins University named Ben Carson loved science, medicine, and children. The love for this helped him overcome the hardships of life such as racism, harsh living conditions, and life without a father. Another motivator could be the curiosity factor. Some people are curious enough to learn and discover new things. For example, the Wright Brothers were curious enough to learn about the mechanics of flying. This curiosity lifted them up to the top and they became one of the most famous American inventors. Another person whose curiosity helped him invent new things was Thomas Edison. His discoveries changed the world. It brought about light and electricity to the world.
Even though motivators such as love and curiosity inspire people to greatness, fear also plays a role in motivating people. For example, if one does not do well in school, their life will most likely turn out to be horrible because they will lack the necessary academic tools to succeed in this very complex and competitive world.
There are other things that motivate people to do homework and try on schoolwork. If the student finds the topic intriguing then most people would willingly do the homework within reason. There is too much homework where even the most enthusiastic students will not willingly do it without fear of the consequences. For a student to motivate themselves to do homework requires a certain passion on the part of the student. The student needs to be interested enough in the subject to follow up on the topic at home in the form of homework. The student needs to enjoy the topic enough to learn the material on their own time if they were not taking the class. This is not an impossible goal to reach many people look into cars and sports so indepthly that it appears that they have taken class on the material. When this level of dedication is not reached however fear is necessary to encourage the students along. That fear is not negative as long as the student has at least one activity that they purse at their own interest and are able to realize that true innovation is not inspired by fear. I disagree with Alec, if a student does not develop a liking for the subject then he or she will never be sufficiently motivated to do the homework and schoolwork on their own.
I agree also with James. A person can be motivated y much more then fear especially when it comes to school. I would say the vast majority of students are motivated and influenced by the pressure they feel from their parents and and then the fear of not being successful in life. However there are people who push themselves not from fear but to achieve. They strive to be excellent and want to do the best they can. Of ten times this person will be much better off then the person motivated by fear. Their heart and mind are both behind this goal. However like i stated earlier the vast majority of students do not have this " get up and go" mentality about school as they do about other aspects in life. Some people strive to be the best guitarist they can be, others the top athlete. It really comes down to what their priorities are and for most people school isn't their priority, its their parents. If we take report cards for example how often has a student been upset with a grade? How often are they upset only because their parents are upset? For the most part these two things go hand and hand.
Connor Steckel
I feel that with fear I would do poorly in school. If I am having fear, I can get easily stressed about school work and also tests. I disagree with Marissa about if you have to punishments, you would not try in school. Just because you won't get in trouble, it doesn't mean you don't have to try. On the other hand, having a good motivation to do work can really benefit you. One major motivation can be your parents. When you are feeling down or stressed, your parents would be there to support you and also comfort you. In my opinion, you cannot use fear to benefit you in school and all of your work.
In my oppinion I don't think that fear is the only motivater in school. People try to do well in school so that they can accomplish their goal of gettting the job that they want and having a successful life. Fear can be a big motivater in making people work as hard as they do to do well in school but the main reason is to do as much work as you need to get a good grade and be the person who you wish to be. The fear that I face is that if I don't do well than I won't be allowed to play a sport so that is also another motivater for people to work as hard as they do because they need to get a certain number of credits so that they can get the qualifications that they require in order to play a sport. Unlike Jarad I believe that they don't punish us for not doing well they are only showing us that they know that we can do better and they are trying to get us to notice that we can do better. When someone gets a bad grade and the teacher asks them if this is their best work, the chances are that this isn't their best work because the teacher has seen them do better than this, so the grade is reflecting what they think you are capable of doing and also what the project or essay actually earned. So if someone gets a bad grade and you think that they are out to get you they actually aren't, they are just making you think about if you don't do your best work than they are going to mark you as such. It is the type of punishment that you can benefit from.
I think that fear is the biggest motivator in school. People are scared of getting bad grades because they want to go to a good college. If that fear wasnt there, there would be no point in anyone trying to do good in school. I agree with nick when he talks about how if people didnt have fear their grades would drop. I also agree with Nick when he talks about fear in sports. Peole always try to work a little harder than the next person so they can start that sport. There is that fear that they wont play because they didnt try hard enough. Fear is a great motivator in all aspects of life. I disagree with celia when she talks about how students feel proud of their work. Maybe sometimes they do, but they worked that hard to do a good job on the homework because they feared getting a bad grade.
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