Imagine a student transferring to a new school. His family has been relocated to a new state for a better job opportunity. With no say in the matter, he has left behind everyone he has known for the past 5 years of his life, all his friends, classmates, and teachers. For many students, starting at a new school is a difficult change in their life. These changes can adversely affect their academic performance and lead to worse problems down the road if left undealt with. But for the student that learns to deal with these hardships, they will grow as a person and be successful in their academic future. Starting at a new school can be a lonely experience for many. Loneliness can impact negatively on one's academic success. Firstly, when a student …show more content…
The many trials that he faced helped him to grow as a person and to gain the respect of his peers and teachers. One of the major issues that Arnold faced was how to deal with racism from his fellow students. Arnold responded in the only way he knew possible, by punching it in the face, or at least by punching Roger, the boy who teased him, in the face. This caused him to gain the fear and respect of Roger who was one of the toughest boys in the school and all the other boys that were in Rogers gang. Another problem that Arnold encountered was having no friends at his new school. Arnold became good friends with a female student named Penelope after he gave her words of encouragement to dealing with her eating disorder. Arnold also became great friends with class genius, Gordy, after he defended Arnold's fact about petrified wood to the Geology teacher. At the reservation, Arnold was treated with resentment and disdain by his fellow tribe members. He was a traitor to his own tribe in their eyes. When Arnold decided to go to Reardan, a predominately all white school, most of his tribe members turned their backs on Arnold, thinking he had abandoned the tribe first. He did not let this discourage him, though. Arnold channeled all his frustration and anger into becoming an outstanding basketball player and was finally able to defeat his old school and his best friend
“Nothing about Arnold Friend is genuine, except his violent intentions and his skill at psychological and physical intimidation. By the story’s end, Connie understands that she is not the confident flirt she thought, but a powerless pawn in the hands of a dangerous individual.” (Cormier)
Arnold's approach to bodybuilding was more mental than physical. For him, it was, and still is, all or nothing. While competing, he did not go through the motions; he worked out to be
Arnold Friend is an ironic name for this character because he isn’t Connie’s friend, she doesn’t even know him. And if you say the name out loud, it sounds like “are no friend” He proves that he can’t be a friend in the first place, he left his so-called friend in the car and talked to him like he meant nothing to him.
The physical traits of Arnold Friend that the narrator describes are additional clues that Arnold is not who he claims to be. The three physical traits are: his eyelashes look painted, it looks like he is wearing a wig, and he put something in his shoes to make himself taller: “she saw how thick the lashes were, thick and black as if painted with a black tarlike material” (Oates, 1966), “He placed his sunglasses on top of his head, carefully, as if he were indeed wearing a wig, and
109), because he's an "absolute stranger" to Reardan, and also, Penelope's dad is racist. Still, they become close friends and start dating. He also makes friends with Roger (surprisingly), since Roger is a friend of Penelope. When Junior made the basketball team, they become closer. Roger even gave Junior a ride home after a basketball game. Arnold also becomes a friend of a geek, Gordy. They were both "outcasts", and they understood how it felt to not fit in. After making all these friends, he feels that he is starting to fit in with the white people.
Barba Daley, a child psychologist, said “the way kids dress when they go to school is just beyond me. They come into my office barely clothed!” Connie was always looking in the mirror at herself and wanting to make sure her appearance was perfect. Arnold Friend, on the other hand, has “shaggy black hair” and he “wore sunglasses.” The author describes him as having a long nose and pale skin.
As if Arnold is trying to fit in with the teenagers. Connie grows weary of the boy and believes he is in his 30’s. This is another signal that Arnold is hiding the evil behind his fake persona. His hair looks to be a wig, and when he placed his sunglasses onto his head he was very careful not to disturb his costume. Arnold is literally a devil in disguise.
It can be hypothesized that out of students placed into a school away from home are more likely to experience mental, physical, and social issues when compared to those of in-state students. This is likely attributed to a wide array of factors including regional/cultural differences, social pressures put on incoming students, and the impact of being a first year student with new responsibilities. The research conducted should show that students who are out-of-state experience some significant strain on mental, social, and physical health. Such results would most likely come in the form of stress, anxiety, loneliness, depression, suicidal thought, isolation from others, self-harm, development of eating disorders and
Advisers certainly have the tools to help students become more successful in the classroom. However, it is important to acknowledge that students will leave campus because they feel as though they cannot find social support, or they do not feel as though they fit in (Wilson et al., 1999; Potts & Schultz, 2008; Valentine et al., 2011; Larose, Chaloux, Monaghan, & Tarabulsy, 2010; Ward, Thomas, & Disch, 2014). Institutions need to encourage at-risk students to find peer groups that provide them social support. While there are a variety of student organizations available for students to become involved in, at-risk students, especially those who are first-generation, are often unaware of their opportunities.
Schools may not always be a good fit for some students and we need to focus on what is wrong with the student or what is wrong with the policies and practices. Lastly we need not group all students together. Students who are suffering with physical or emotional problems that relate to not attending school do not always work well with other students with similar characteristics. Also, motivation is different for all students and we need to figure what is motivating for some students as well as others.
students’ sense of belonging and equitable treatment at school, or to potential adjustment problems it may
Arnold believes that since he is Indian and not white, he will not be successful until he realizes that he was going to fight to preserve the chance of an Native American become triumphant in a world full of whites. Junior first talks about how his mother and father could have become successful if only they were white. “Seriously, I know my mother and father had their dreams when they were kids. They dreamed about being something other than poor, but they never got the chance to be anything because nobody paid attention to their dreams. Given the chance, my mother would have gone to college.”
“This is a man of bottomless ambition” said George Butler, a very decorated film biographer. Arnold Schwarzenegger is one of the hardest working American icons I have ever read about. Arnold overcame adversity in many ways to become one of the most know people in America and all over the world. He started with nothing except his mother as his only positive motivation in his early years. Arnold wasn’t going to stop until he was the best at everything he wanted to be. Acting was his big ticket to fame. What really help him though in his other aspects of life was his bodybuilding. “For me life is continuously being hungry. The meaning of life is not simply to exist, to survive, but move ahead, to go up, to achieve, to conquer” these are words Arnold said himself and lived by. He was going to be the best he could be if it killed him trying.
The problems of relocating to a new country during the already-difficult adolescent years can be greatly exacerbated by not being adequately prepared in one’s former academic setting to succeed in the new school.
Arnold's approach to bodybuilding was more mental than physical. For him, it was (and still is) all or nothing. While competing, he didn't go through the motions; he worked out to be larger than life.