How Schools Are Failing the Shy - Comments

I have suffered from the things you have mentioned, and yes I didn't participate in a hell of a lot of things in school because I wasn't comfortable with myself and perhaps I would've succeeded more in my studies if I had more confidence. In saying that, I am currently studying to be a teacher and this has opened my eyes to many different learning styles, it has made me become aware that every single person learns differently. Some people may love doing speeches because talking is easy to them, whereas having to write everything cohesively down seems impossible. Schools have to cater for the varying learning styles of their students, so while there are some aspects you might not agree with, they work for some of your peers. I think you just have to recognise your own learning style and work out how to enhance it. I do think teachers play a big role in learning and in some cases they could be more in tune with their individual students, but I guess it's just the luck of the draw as to whether you get a good teacher or not.

The only thing I strongly agree with in your article is the PE/bullying issues. I definetely think that PE needs to be compulsory and I'd be so bold as to say that there needs to be more PE in schools - as long as the needs of each student are met and teachers work together with their students to stomp out bullying, or at least recognise the effects of it and help those studetns affected to get through it.

This is more of a complaint than an article; very biased (as others have pointed out) towards the shy students. Uniforms get you used to work clothing, and presentations get you used to public speaking in the work place and indeed outside of academic life. I'm sick to death of hearing about high school students, to be honest.

It seems to be a new trend to have social anxiety or a plethora of other illnesses and to expect to be pandered to and coddled. The real world does not care if you're shy or nervous. Everyone does get nervous before public speaking - even I do and I've been doing it for years and had training. It's nothing to talk about. It's normal and expected.

I think schools are doing exactly the right thing by making students get over their shyness/anxieties - coddling demons makes them worse and those students will not be functioning humans, let alone members of society, without pushing their limits and stepping out of their comfort zone. The idea of pandering to those who don't feel like doing their school work is infuriating. You'll always get people who try to bully you - that's a question of character as to whether they succeed - and you'll always need to do this that make you uncomfortable.

A note on your writing - you probably felt this piece was too short, which is why you ended with a question. You're right. If you're stuck on how to end, go for a summary. Talking about this other than your own opinion (are you perhaps one of these shy students?) will greatly improve your argument and coming up with a weak, vague solution to the 'problem' would make you more well-rounded as opposed to just complaining and offering no solution whatsoever.

Adding in another perspective or scientific observations to your article would improve it vastly, because as it stands, this is something I might overhear if I were a high school student at lunch. It's also very personal, although you don't refer to yourself, because you only present one opinion, and as we all know, journalism - good journalism - is as unbiased as possible.

People in the real world don't care if you're shy. High school students are already coddled; many of them are not prepared for the harsh realities of life anymore. They are taught that the world will bend and mold to their will or their personal issues. You need to learn how to function in society, even if public speaking and gym class are difficult.

While this article does have some points, I feel like it is is more of a candidate for a journal entry than an article piece. This is solely opinion from what I am reading, and there are no stats or figures to back it up. To help it bolster some more effect, the piece should include more references and citations to sociological studies perhaps or even quotations from those "shy" and "popular." As well, it might be cool to add and expand on the psychological effects you allude to in the second paragraph.

I think it would also help if you elaborated on your own opinions and maybe even others' opinions on how to alleviate the problem. I like the basis of the article, and it asks some good questions, but it leaves those questions unanswered. It lacks that finish that the article needs and deserves.

More on the subject matter, I don't think schools are failing the shy, and that is coming from an insanely shy person. Even though I was shy, and I didn't like talking to people, I succeeded in school. I graduated with Honors and a 3.9 on a 4.0 scale. Perhaps I grew up with a strict family, but I always knew that even though I was shy, I needed to go through with public speaking, asking for help (that was a doozy), and giving speeches. Because even though school "stops", there will always be situations where you have to speak in front of people, and there will always be people who "bully" you in the real world, too. Those situations never stop, and in a way, school is preparing you in that aspect as well. You got to deal with stuff you hate doing. However, if you are using shyness and really meaning social anxiety, that's a whole other animal.