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Will Fitzhugh
Peer Pressure
July 7, 2009
We make frequent use of the influence of their high school peers on many
of our students. We have peer counseling programs and even peer
discipline systems, in some cases. We show students the artistic
abilities of their peers in exhibitions, concerts, plays, recitals, and
the like.
Most obviously, we put before our high school students the athletic
skills and performances of their peers in a very wide range of meets,
matches, and games, some of which, of course, are better attended than
others.
While some high schools still have just one valedictorian, fellow
students have little or no idea what sort of academic work the student
who is first in her class has done. Academic scholarships may be
announced, but it is quite impossible for peers to see the academic work
for which the scholarship has been awarded. Here again, the contrast
with athletics is clear.
We show high school students the artistic, athletic, and other examples
of the outstanding efforts and accomplishments of their peers without
seeming to worry that such examples will send their peers into
unmanageable depressions or cause them to give up their own efforts to
do their best.
When it comes to academic achievements, on the other hand, we do seem to
worry that they will have a harmful effect if they are shown to other
students. I am not quite sure how that attitude got its hold on us, but
I do have some comments from authors whose papers I have published, on
their reaction to seeing the exemplary academic work of their peers:
“When a former history teacher first lent me a copy of The Concord
Review, I was inspired by the careful scholarship crafted by other young
people. Although I have always loved history passionately, I was used to
writing history papers that were essentially glorified book reports...As
I began to research the Ladies’ Land League, I looked to The Concord
Review for guidance on how to approach my task...In short, I would like
to thank you not only for publishing my essay, but for motivating me to
develop a deeper understanding of history. I hope that The Concord
Review will continue to fascinate, challenge and inspire young
historians for years to come.” – North Central High School (IN)
Class of 2005
“The opportunity that The Concord Review presented drove me to
rewrite and revise my paper to emulate its high standards. Your journal
truly provides an extraordinary opportunity and positive motivation for
high school students to undertake extensive research and academic
writing, experiences that ease the transition from high school to
college.” – Thomas Worthington High School (OH) Class of 2008
“Thank you for selecting my essay regarding Augustus Caesar and his
rule of the Roman Republic for publication in the Spring 2009 issue of
The Concord Review. I am both delighted and honored to know that this
essay will be of some use to readers around the world. The process of
researching and writing this paper for my IB Diploma was truly enjoyable
and it is my hope that it will inspire other students to undertake their
own research projects on historical topics.” – Old Scona Academic
High School, Edmonton, Alberta, (Canada) Class of 2008
“In the end, working on that history paper, inspired by the high
standard set by The Concord Review, reinvigorated my interest not only
in history, but also in writing, reading and the rest of the humanities.
I am now more confident in my writing ability, and I do not shy from
difficult academic challenges. My academic and intellectual life was
truly altered by my experience with that paper, and the Review played no
small role! Without the Review, I would not have put so much work into
the paper. I would not have had the heart to revise so thoroughly.”
– Isidore Newman School (LA) Class of 2003
“At CRLHS, a much-beloved history teacher suggested to me that I
consider writing for The Concord Review, a publication that I had
previously heard of, but knew little about. He proposed, and I agreed,
that it would be an opportunity for me to pursue more independent work,
something that I longed for, and hone my writing and research skills in
a project of considerably broader scope than anything I had undertaken
up to that point.” – Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School (MA)
Class of 2003
Now,
whenever a counterintuitive result—like this enthusiasm for a
challenge—is found, there is always an attempt to limit the damage to
our preconceptions. “This is only a tiny fringe group (of
trouble-makers, nerds, etc.)” or “most of our high school students would
not respond with interest to the exemplary academic work of their
peers.” The problem with those arguments is that we really don’t know
enough. We haven’t actually tried to see what would happen if we
presented our high school students with good academic work done by their
more diligent peers. Perhaps we should consider giving that experiment a
serious try. I have, as it happens, some good high school academic work
to use as examples in such a trial... |
