expected social roles..

[sang]

So as we learn from the Greek myth, that in ancient Greek, the most common expected social roles of men revolved around masculinity; be tough, strong, and to join the army. I'm sure there were other role expectations but according to what we've learned so far, that seems to be the primary role expectation of men.

So now, in the 21st century, as high school students, what are our role expectations?

The most common answer for this question is that we are expected to study. Of course there is the outcome of studying such as getting into a prestigious, renowned college and having a bright future, but the primary role for us is to study. Now with that said, I think other expectations of us as students differ depending on our culture and parents. For some of us Korean students, due to the culture that values education and simply because they are more exposed to the society as native Koreans, it seems as though we should ONLY focus on our study and that extra curricular activities should not be pursued. We've seen many including myself drop out from an extra curricular activity for the sake of focusing on our studies.

But a universal ole expectations of students of all ethnicity is that we are expected to listen and to be obedient to our parents because we lack the experience that they have. And that because our brains are still in the process of developing, we ought to look after our parents for advice and guidance.

[sujeonggg]

I agree with you. Our role as students is just studying. In these days, we became pursuing more, better, and higher educational opportunities to get into good colleges, and that's almost an exclusive responsibilitiy that we should take. And like your point, some education systems even want us to reach beyond just studying; unlike Korean society, Americans focus on many other things besides literally "study". But, as I have experienced both educational systems, I believe that our, high school students', role is to just focus on "study". In my case, it was hard to split my focus up into different activities when I need to concentrate on one thing.

[alexkoo]

It is true that our role as student is to study. I think it is fair for us to have simple for such as studying. It is good because it is so simple. If you do no want to study, you simply do not have to do it and choose your own way. It is said in Korean society that they do not value any kind of extracircular activities at all but values academics. If you want to do well in both academic and extra circular activities, you just have to work hard or you have to give up one.

[minjaeyang]

I also agree that high school students are expected to study. Society expects students to be great at everything. However, I think this pressures students too much. This creates an atmosphere that only the best can be remembered and survive. Also, for average students, the amount of workload is too great if they want to meet society's expectations. In general, I think this atmosphere and expectation has to change.

[jessicak016]

I also think that we, as high school students, are expected to study and get good grades in school. As you said, it depends on the culture and the country we grew up in. Since I grew up in Germany and went to German public school, the expectations from the students in Germany are different from those expected from Korean students. Even though German parents want their children to study, they do not expect them to get perfect grades in exams and are satisfied when they know that the children have tried hard. Therefore, I think that students today study less than in the past.
However, this might be different in other countries.

[julielu]

I agree the students are expected to study in the society. The students don't need to earn money and maintain a family. All we need to do is studying and playing. As the time passed, the educational level became higher. In the generation of my grandparents, many people only graduated from the middle schools and they found jobs. Now the students are expected to graduate at least from the colleges. I think this social role is not bad. We can focus on learning.

[juliekim]

I think it's natural for people (usually our parents) to expect us to study. Sometimes the degree as to how much they expect may be different, but in the end, we are expected to study because we're students. I think as young adults, many people expect a lot from us too. I sometimes think it's unfair because adults expect us to act like adults but treat us as if we're little kids. They always say that we're grown up and all that when they want us to act mature, but when you actually see how they treat us, I don't think they really believe that we're capable of acting like adults. It might be just my prejudice but that's my general impression.

[elijahlee]

The expectations of us as 21st century students is well, to study. That's because our 'profession' at the moment is studying. But, we are also expected to listen to the adult instruction without question. I am agreement with Julie on this. We are 'young adults' and the 'young' part of this is that we don't get trusted seriously because we are too 'immature' to be full on adults.

[jessicashim2013]

I agree that as high school students, we are expected to study. I guess they make us study not only to make us more intelligent, but also to teach us how to put effort on whatever work we are doing. That way, when we become fully adults, we can overcome any obstacles we face.
We are expected to obey our parents, teachers, and other elderlies. This idea appears stronger in asian countries. Even though they can sometimes be wrong, if we start to argue, they say it's rude.

[ginayang]

I think as high school students, we are expected to listen to our parents. Our parents usually tell us to study, go to a good college, not do illegal things, and complete chores. They are the driving force behind our beliefs and actions. However, the commands or advice they give aren't always right because nobody is perfect. But they are needed in order for us to develop into mature, intelligent, and successful adults.

[delmanykkfs]

we are students..that is why we go to school everyday from early in the morning. Our parents are people who tell us what to do because we are immature and often do not know what we have to do.... I think i just want to do what i want like art or graffiti on the street. I hope i can improve my grades in each class to pursue my role as a student if role of student is to study... Happy New Year!

[sageda]

Pretty much what you said. Apart from studying, we're expected to be mature about certain things but at the same time be children when people want us to be. We're also expected to have the next 5 or 10 years of our lives figured out.

[hannahs]

Like other people said, as high school students I think that our role is to study. Also, we are counted on to set an example for younger students. Adults think that young students look up to high schoolers and get influenced by them. I'm not hundred percent sure if this is true but it is a role for us to set an example for them. They also expect us to have a dream of what we want to be later in life.

[cathysjun]

As everyone else already mentioned, we are expected to study. We are expected to know what we want to do when we go to college. We are expected to prepare to make money. As Hannah said, I agree that we are expected to set examples for younter students.

[RegXD]

well to me my role is to get a good grade from the subject i take n "behave in school" which i really do. i guess that it just study as an expected social roles .... what can u do in school beside studying, activities, community, representatives, and so on.