<p>Hey guys! I have an ACT coming up this Saturday and so far my raw score is great but I honestly have no idea how my essays are. If you could grade my essay and possibly give some constructive feedback (grammar, content, etc.), that would be great! :) </p>
<p>Prompt: In your opinion, is it too distracting for high school students to divide their attention among several activities when they are doing homework?</p>
<p>Essay:</p>
<p>Wake up at 6:30 am, go to school for seven hours, attend Student Council meeting for thirty minutes, go to piano lessons for two hours, tutor kindergarten students for an hour and come home for dinner. Whew! When does that high school student even earn the time to do homework? And if the student does have the time to do homework between all those activities, is he spending as much time focusing on his studies as he needs to? Of course not. However, it is a student's job to manage his own time, develop his own interests, and possibly earn money to pay for college, especially when more and more college admit their undergrads holistically- weighing extracurriculars on the same scale as academics.
Well according to some people, academics are much more important than extracurriculars; and therefore, students should not be too distracted with handling several activities at once and should focus on academics, starting with homework. However, this theory is certainly flawed. Of course, there is always the possibility of students lacking in grades, but if their interests serve them right, students will learn how to manage times as well as prioritize. Additionally, many schools required that students involved in extracurriculars, such as sports, must have minimum grades in their classes to continue their memberships. That is, extracurricular activities may actually motivate students to better manage finishing homework and to not lack in academics.
Moreover, extracurricular activities aid students in developing interests that they may not be able to acquire on school campus or may not be able to fit in their entirely-core-class-schedules. By having other interests and developing hobbies, students develop better, well-rounded personalities, something that is like candy to colleges these days. These developed interests also allowed students to transition to college, easing them into the new college experience by allowing them to join clubs and sports with other like-minded individuals.
Extracurricular activities may even include students having jobs or joining certain scholarship-friendly activities to help pay for college. While doing homework to achieve better grades is important to getting into a renowned university, so is paying for it! Imagine that student who only focused on academics got into a great school with maybe some academic scholarship, but not enough to be able to financially attend it. Obviously, it is sometimes necessary for the student to have some financial backup. Nevertheless, while grades are important to being admitted into a college, doing homework is as important as being involved in activities that can truly influence a student's character holistically. And in a world where most students are succumbing to judging themselves based on GPA's, maybe the educational system would be better off motivating students to develop their own interests past the "excitement" of homework. </p>
<p>Thanks to everyone who grades my essay. You all are a great help! :)</p>