Running Head: THE IMPACT OF SCHOOL OUTSIDE ACADEMICS.

Los Angeles Leadership Academy

234 E. Ave. 33 Los Angeles CA, 90031

My LALA My Life: Senior Thesis

The Impact of School Outside Academics

Leonardo Mero

Mrs.Cecilia Sanchez

Los Angeles Leadership Academy High School

THE IMPACT OF SCHOOL OUTSIDE ACADEMICS. 2

The Impact of School Outside Academics.

Leonardo Mero

Los Angeles Leadership Academy

THE IMPACT OF SCHOOL OUTSIDE ACADEMICS. 3

Abstract

Can schools impact students lives beyond academics? This question has formulated various

interpretations and is a factor, to the welcoming attitude towards education in America. With

collective, specific, and detailed points, along analytical perspectives the research paper managed

to take a progressive route towards solving this question. This study explored the impact of

teachers and parents in a young students development outside of school, the consequences of

being il prepared for the challenges in students academic career, and the burdens that students

bring with them to school from their personal lives, and in some occasions their street lives. This

research was accomplished with the assistance of previous information by; ( P.C. Broderick P.

Blewitt Pearson Allyn Bacon Prentice Hall) Updated on Jul 20, 2010, (The Educational

Experiences of Street-Life-Oriented Black Boys), book published by two students of the

University of Delaware: Payne & Brown, and (The School Environment and Adolescent

Well-Being: Beyond Academics), by Pilar Marin, M.P.P. and Brett Brown, Ph.D. In conclusion

the final research indicates there are many factors that contribute to a student's academic success

or downfall in a school setting. These factors will be addressed in the following research, and I

hope that my work influences other indicated researches to expand their understanding in this

subject.

Keywords: Impact, Adolescent, Curricula, Motivation, Academic, Catalyst

THE IMPACT OF SCHOOL OUTSIDE ACADEMICS. 4

The Impact of School Outside Academics.

How important is school to a young adult? School plays a major role in a adolescent's

life, the majority of their day is being spent in school. The environment, their peers, the trends,

teachers and staff, rules, food, schedules, and standards all contribute to the development of a

young adult's life outside of school. These influences can take many different routes According

to Broderick, P.C. (2010).

The impact of Teachers and Parents in a young student's development outside of School.

Evidence from a study of 23 middle schools demonstrated that the combination of

demanding teachers and rigorous curricula was strongly related to increased student achievement

in mathematics, whereas warm teacherstudent relations and communal classroom organization

were not (Phillips, 1997). Further examination in this study reflects that students arent

motivated to stay in school and are inclined by their motivations to take decisions that are

threatening to their future. Bad customs like talking back, not turning in work, being late to class,

and failing can lead to whirl of bad tendencies that affect young students academic journey.

Reason being because careers essentially look for good characteristics in employees, which is

assumed to have been exercised throughout high school. Sometimes a student's life in home is

really discouraging and school can become their only gateway out of the difficulties and

struggles of life. According to a similar study researchers and theorists have noted a decline in

academic orientation and motivation starting in the early adolescent years that for some

individuals continues throughout high school or culminates in dropping out (Harter, 1981).

Motivation rates towards school has dramatically declined in the past years (Howard, 2016). The
THE IMPACT OF SCHOOL OUTSIDE ACADEMICS. 5

study shows the decline is about motivation towards school, and not towards learning. Meaning

students are still interested in learning, but something is occurring in school or outside of school

that makes students feel less willing to attend their classes. Involvement declines sharply at the

middle and high school levels, Steinberg has indicated that approximately one third of the

students in his study said their parents were uninformed about their school performance, and

another one sixth said that their parents did not care. (Steinberg, 1996; Stevenson & Stigler,

1992). Broderick and Mastrilli found that parents and teachers viewed various dimensions of

involvement for example, monitoring homework and use of time, helping at school, attending

meetings and conferences, plus serving as a partner with the school in decision making, as

appropriately decreasing once the child has made the transition out of the elementary grades.

This strategy is helpful because it provides a great way of showing their kids that life slightly

starts to become composed of their own decision, and gives them a push in terms of taking

responsibilities and essentially creating a successful academic environment. This goes to show

that the mentoring strategy that parents and teachers create for their children is responsible for

their outcome as individuals.

Being prepared for the challenges of school is a major catalyst to a student's life.

However not all the blame is credited to the teachers, another part of the reasons why

students feel a lack of interest towards school is due to their peers, school rules, and the amount

of work they need to endure. For example, just as adolescents become exquisitely sensitive to

their place in the peer scene, school-based evaluative policies such as tracked academic classes

may make differences in ability more noticeable to the adolescents peers and teachers, leading
THE IMPACT OF SCHOOL OUTSIDE ACADEMICS. 6

to decreased status for some (Eccles, Midgley, & Adler, 1984). Phillips J.M. and Gully S.M.

(1997). We have yet to discover if every single students needs access to psychological help, or if

its part of the waves of life, and its somethings students need to cope with. As of now it is clear

that these problems are part of the impediments of High School students in America. However

there is another major contributor to the problematic system in this countrywhich is an

adolescent's life outside of school.

Life outside of school contributes to a student's academic performance.

Students are bringing problems from their homes and the streets into school. Just like

school impacts lives beyond academics students are also making their after school life a big

contributor in their academic mark. According to ,The Role of High School Experiences and

Influences in the Development of Psycho-Social Well-Being by Rachelle L. Brooks, Ph.D.,

Northwestern University, Michelle Van Noy, Ph.D, Columbia University), students academic

success is dictated by the circumstances that shape them in their life, this study proves that young

students are extremely influenced by their environment to perform adequately and effectively in

school. The ability of some individuals to overcome harmful life circumstances and thrive has

been investigated for decades (Spencer 1986; Bennett, et al. 1998). Studies of urban African

American (Cunningham et al. 2002; Winfield 1991; Zimmerman, Ramirez-Valles, & Maton

1999) and Latino (Chin & Kameoka 2002) youth have found that esteem and efficacy can

mitigate negative environmental and experiential occurrences that so often lead to poor

behavioral and academic outcomes. Similar research from the book titled The Educational

Experiences of Street-Life-Oriented Black Boys by the students Payne and Brown of the
THE IMPACT OF SCHOOL OUTSIDE ACADEMICS. 7

University of Delaware noted comparable information. A community sample of

street-life-oriented Black boys between the ages of 16 and 19 frame and use street life as a site

of resilience inside schoolsData were primarily collected inside the street communities of

Harlem, New York City and Paterson, New Jersey..findings reveal they hold negative attitudes

regarding previous and current educational experiences. Also, results demonstrate the young men

ultimately position their street orientation as an adaptive identity to have inside schools. It is

evident that a portion of adolescents in the United States reflect their struggles in their attitude

towards education. This mixture is responsible for the rising numbers of High School dropout

rates all over the country.Nothing is more clear than the dialogue found by inner city kids in a

well analyzed Participatory Action Research project admitting to this being part of the reason to

their academic failures.

Summarizing the Research

The research built created a direct bridge between the youth, teachers, parents, and Public

school systems in America. Due to the analytical work processed with contributions of

Participatory Research Projects, dialogue, readings, and surveys, the case is made that the

environment outside and inside of schools, affects a adolescents way of learning. So much that

schools play a major role in a student's life away from academics. Peer interactions mold

relationships that will be remarkable after High School, and the methods of dealing with issues

are essential to a student's work habits in the future. Research also found that the lives outside of

school are creating an either pleasing or unpleasing learning environment, along with a dueling

setting for teachers and students.

THE IMPACT OF SCHOOL OUTSIDE ACADEMICS. 8

Based on the data learned during the research, I believe students need to improve

relationships with their peers, teachers, and parents to expect a positive academic outcome. In

addition with a rigorous, constant, and effective learning curriculum teachers and students can

learn to become more effective in a school setting.These factors are proven to help add to the

currently low minority graduation rate in particular areas of the country. My plan is to defeat the

adversities that become impediments and holes in Americas education. My hope is that my

research plays an essential role in the solution against this educational epidemic.

References

The Role of High School Experiences and Influences in the Development of Psycho-Social
Well-Being1 Rachelle L. Brooks, Ph.D., Northwestern University2 Michelle Van Noy, Ph.D.
candidate, Columbia University, Teachers College Elaine Croft McKenzie, Ph.D. candidate,
Northwestern University, Retrieved from
Retrieved April 26, 2017, from
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1043986210368646

Blewitt, P.B. (2012, July 20). The Role of School in the Social World of Adolescence. Retrieved
April 26, 2017, from
https://www.education.com/reference/article/role-school-social-world-adolescence/

The Educational Experiences of Street-Life-Oriented Black Boys: How Black Boys Use Street
Life as a Site of Resilience in High School (Yasser Arafat Payne University of Delaware, Tara M
Brown, Brandeis University Waltham Ma) Retrieved from
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1043986210368646
THE IMPACT OF SCHOOL OUTSIDE ACADEMICS. 9

The Effects of Teacher-Student Relationships: Social and Academic Outcomes of Low-Income

Middle and High School Students.

Department of Applied Psychology. (n.d.). Retrieved April 26, 2017, from

http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/appsych/opus/issues/2013/fall/gallagher

The Positive Impact of Social and Emotional Learning for Kindergarten to Eighth-Grade
Students Retrieved from

http://www.casel.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/PDF-4-the-positive-impact-of-s
ocial-and-emotional-learning-for-kindergarten-to-eighth-grade-students-executive-summ
ary.pdf