Analysis Of An Open Letter To Ninth Graders By Patrick Sullivan

Being Successful In Education
Every year new students begin their first year of college and transition into the most important academic step of their lives. Within the first week, teachers can create their opinion of whether or not a student seems ready for college. In the article, An Open Letter to Ninth Graders, Patrick Sullivan states that there is an “exception gap between the skills students are typically bringing into college and what teachers like [him] think students should be bringing with them to college.” Throughout the writing, Sullivan mentions that without “college readiness skills” you are not going to be prepared for college. In my opinion, how academically involved a student wants to be in his/her education is what determines
1). Sullivan discusses the topic of preparing for college and aims his discussion towards high school freshman and college students. The students he has found prepared enough for college had no difficulty reading materials of multiple ranges and subjects since they “loved to read” (pp. 1). Furthermore, students that are prepared know that exemplary writing takes exemplary effort, and they come willing to comprehend, study, converse, and evaluate their written works. Additionally, listening and thinking influences the different ideas that we can develop; this can affect our self-development and mental capabilities, which can increase opportunities for further engagement.
Sullivan further states that vital qualities, such as grit, play a grander role in college readiness; due to the fact that perseverance, self-discipline, and passion are essential to create strong intellectual potentials. As well, any young adult is eventually given unlimited freedom; no control for this freedom given in college develops no maturity and no positive direction for the student. Without maturity, a moral attitude towards college and education will usually not develop in the manner that a prepared and successful student’s attitude
College readiness is not determined by a set of skills; rather it is determined by how academically involved a student wants to be in his/her education. He states that, “students who are ready for college like to read. If you don’t like to read, you are going to find college very difficult” (pp. 1). In my experience, by coming to college and wanting to be more involved in my education, I realized that college is actually simple and that my increased involvement also has been leading me to be college ready and successful. In college I wanted to be more academically involved and by doing so I realized how I became more organized, gained a habit of completing many assignments before due dates, and could notice how my grades were very much improved. In addition, the author states, “If you don’t love to read you will probably be confused and frustrated while at college” (pp. 2). In my first week of college my reading assignments consisted of hundreds of pages that had to be read in the same week. Even when reading without the love to do so, the assignments never created any irritation. Never in my life have I enjoyed reading, or have understood how someone enjoys reading. Nonetheless, I have completed every assignment because of how it would be a significant factor in my