Summary-Response in Praise of the F Word

Adrienne Nicole Strunk Writing 115 Chris Risley Summary-Response In Praise of the F Word In her essay “In Praise of the F word” by Mary Sherry, she talks about how she teaches high school graduates that have been “cheated” by the education system; that they are “handed meaningless diplomas. ” Students were just passed along to the next grade whether they understood the material or not. And the students soon discover that themselves later on. Sherry describes how her attention-getter to her students was the mention of failure. She recalls a time when her “world-class c youngest son,” was talking a lot in class and had to have a meeting with his teacher Mrs. Sifter about the situation. Sherry simply asked Mrs. Sifter to move her son to a different area so he would focus more. Mrs. Sifter’s response was simply “I don’t move seniors, I flunk them. ” That’s when she realized her son had completed the rest of Mrs. Sifter’s course without talking but finished out the term with an A. The answer is simple, the idea of failure, “a healthy fear.

Later on in her essay she explains how people can overcome their problems but they need a reason too. Sherry reminds us all that mentioning the idea of flunking can be a “positive teaching tool,” and she wants to return the choice to give students the opportunity to succeed or fail. In the same way that Sherry wants to give the opportunity to students to fail or succeed; I have been motivated to succeed by the harsh reality of an F on my first psychology test this term in college. I was already on academic probation last term for not passing my classes and the last thing I needed now was to lose my financial aid completely.

The F was a reality check for me staring at me in the face. I have now learned to study harder than I did before. I read the long 100 pages of my chapter for psychology, highlight key people, key words, and key dates.  I then re-write what I believe is important in my own words. I go to my 9 am Psychology class three times a week for lectures, and I also participate in the online worksheets.  I scored better on my second psychology test, but psychology is hard for me in general to understand the concepts, so I continue to finish out this term by busting my bottom on working hard and studying even harder for psychology.  I have been given the opportunity to succeed or to fail, and I have chosen to succeed.