Topic > Importance of Charity: Extra Credit for Charity

Index IntroductionUndermining the Essence of CharityThe Impact of Charity on Academics ConclusionWorks CitedIntroductionIn a New York Times Weekly Review by Randy Cohen, he talks about the right and wrong of teachers who they offer extra credit for charity work, which shows that teachers are raising unethical value of charity as a selfish act. Students' urge to want those extra credit points allows them to miss the essence of what charitable projects truly are: the importance of charity. This situation also affects the way students learn, leading them to prioritize personal gain over genuine altruism. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Undermining the Essence of Charity When you do charitable work or help people in need, it must be truly genuine. You need to understand why you are doing it and who you are doing it for. When you get swayed by extra credit or bonus points, it takes away that feeling of being real with yourself. Manipulating students with extra points is not a way to motivate them to help the community, but creates ways in which they could only help themselves. Encouraging students to participate in social engagement is great, but there must be a “distinction between classroom activities and outside activities” (Cohen 1), because if that boundary is not visible, students will easily take it for granted. Despite not having that line of immersion, teachers are deliberately setting their students up for failure. However a student is given extra credit for doing things that are outside of school grounds, this discourages them from doing their best on homework. The main purpose of extra credit is to allow students to do extra work related to academic subjects. This requires that students cannot earn extra points by participating in a charity event or events that “have nothing to do with the student's mastery of a given topic” (Risk 2). Students "grading is intended to evaluate a student's academic achievement, not to stimulate social activism, however worthy" (Cohen 1). Adding unnecessary extra credit points will throw off the original assignment score which will give the wrong interpretation of the student's overall academic standing, which "is a bad policy, not because it sends the wrong message about charity, but it sends the wrong message about math or math.” chemistry or AP English” (Chohen1). Impact of Charity on Academics As a result of being awarded unnecessary additional credit points, students and parents misinterpret their own academic strengths. This shows that there must be a limit to the amount of extra credit a student gets. Avoidable bonus points that are awarded frequently could result in an inequality in the gradebook. When students are given the opportunity to earn extra credit without any academic learning, they tend to accept it even though it might mean that a student would pass without gaining any knowledge or even meeting all the criteria of the specific assignment or chapter. We tend to see students take the easy way out, which will get them nowhere. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Conclusion Most of the time giving extra credit for charitable work brings out unethical value which shows that students are being influenced by points.