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SD GEAR UP Students Learn Personal Responsibility, Crave Consequences for Bad Behavior

The evaluation of SD GEAR UP’s effectiveness didn’t turn up all snake eyes. According to responses from a focus group made of Indian students participating in GEAR UP’s big academic summer camp at the School of Mines last June, students participating in GEAR UP summer and school-year activities report learning personal responsibility:

The focus group students discussed how GEAR UP had fostered a higher level of personal responsibility and made them aware of their own role in their educational future.

…Students in the focus groups commented that the summer program helped them gain independence and personal responsibility by encouraging students to think beyond high school. Students in the 9th and 10th grade focus group commented heavily on the no-cell-phone policy of the summer program. Students felt this policy taught personal responsibility and respect for others [p. 38].

…Rising sophomores in the focus group commented that the new staff and new rules in the summer program fostered more responsibility in managing their day-to-day activities. Students felt the summer program instilled a sense of personal and community responsibility [p. 39: David Hulac, Kelly Duncan, et al., “South Dakota SD GEAR UP Program Evaluation,” USD Government Research Bureau, August 2015].

That sense of responsibility coincided with a desire for stiffer discipline in the summer program:

Concerning discipline, some students would like more direct consequences for poor behavior. Other students understand using peer pressure to encourage good behavior by levying punishment on the entire group instead of an individual student [Hulac et al., Aug 2015, p. 39].

Personal responsibility, direct consequences for poor behavior, checking individual misbehavior with the prospect of consequences for the whole group gee, maybe we need some GEAR UP training for South Dakota Republicans.

6 Comments

  1. Curt 2015-11-11 12:00

    Sometimes coincidence and irony intersect.

  2. Jim 2015-11-11 12:26

    Maybe we should get some gear-up grads to run gear-up? That probably sounds like sillly talk to the white educators and Regents who control the money.

  3. Straight outta ridge 2015-11-11 13:22

    There are many Gear-Up grads who have gone on to become Gates Millennium Scholars

  4. caheidelberger Post author | 2015-11-11 14:00

    GEAR UP grads to run GEAR UP? How about GEAR UP grads to run the state?

  5. Spike 2015-11-11 22:00

    Right on Cory,

    Upward Bound and Gear up and any programs that instill confidence and discipline help native youth be stronger.

    JR Laplante was a good person to have in Pierre. .He genuinely reached out, created relationships, was a role model and did his best. He also mingled with us. Which means a lot among natives.

    I’m still pissed off at Moore, carrying a bible around milking and abusing his native heritage for all he can steal. I apologize for him. N Melmer I’ve said before could give a crap about the natives..hypocrite defending Watertowns insulting homecoming ritual then robbing native kids.

    How but this idea…let’s use peer pressure to encourage good behavior by levying punishment on the entire group instead of an individual…

    where the hell do I check yes? I keep checking by the D but it’s not working.

  6. caheidelberger Post author | 2015-11-12 14:43

    It takes time for the check mark to stick, Spike. Keep checking it, and get more friends to do the same!

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