01 Oct Complete the handout on peer review. Be thoughtful in your responses. Is the thesis clear? Is it supported by claims that are developed with details and analysis? What is confusi

COM1101 Peer Review Worksheet

Worksheet for the Peer Review of the Research Paper

Address the following thoughtfully and thoroughly in your review:

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4.4 Research Paper: Writing a Final Draft

Unrealistic expectations, harsh treatment, and impulsive decision-making exhibited by a controlling parent can break a child’s future. This is particularly painful in relation to providing a good education, or lack thereof. Like many cases in the world, my personal history involves several instances of unrealistic academic expectations and ungentle interactions by a parent. From being homeschooled without adequate tutoring to squandering time fantasizing about a brighter future, I lost my prime years of schooling to delusional thinking. Poor decision-making and dictatorial parenting from a demanding mother or father can cause a great deal of damage to a child’s academic journey and restrict the flow of creative thought. Some of these damages include low self-esteem, inability to think independently, emotional desensitization, and a general dislike of learning.

I was raised by a strict, controlling father who had unrealistic expectations of grand educational ambitions but without clear, foresighted, and prudent planning. Growing up, the schools in our neighborhood housed hoodlums who would cause havoc and disturb the peace in the environment. Witnessing this led my father wondering about what to do with my schooling. After some pondering and consulting, it was obvious to him that were only two options: enroll me in a home study program or have me attend the local public schools. My dad’s intention behind enrolling me in a homeschooling program was for me and my siblings to maintain our morality and advance academically. Homeschooling provided many benefits to students such as the flexibility to create your own study schedule, freedom from societal chaos, and an opportunity to speed up the rate of graduation by increasing course count. However, to create a clear-cut plan for achieving a structured education turned out to be difficult and therefore non-existent.

Throughout my adolescence, my father subjected me to academic expectations which were not practically workable. My homeschooling journey started when I was ten years old and ended at the age of fifteen. Five consecutive years without proper instruction, deadlines or training had resulted in massive wastage of time and not knowing what to do with the coursework or how to start the process of learning. There was also the dilemma of not having teachers to provide comprehensive teaching yet there was an intense demand to finish various courses as soon as possible. This yielded a sense of great despondency and ultimately led me to procrastinate heavily and leave unfinished schoolwork. The decision to “homeschool” a child by making them set their own goals do their own work showed to be foolishly unfeasible and made me want to quit studying altogether.

One of the major areas of concern between me and my father lied in the manner in which he communicated with me and how my complaints were addressed. It’s been said that “it’s not what you say but how you say it”. Growing up, my father displayed dictatorial communication tactics and crafted a façade of intimidation: a harsh tone, constant hollering, and occasional corporal punishment. If an assignment was missing, we got a spanking. If we fail to comprehend material quickly in a given subject, we got yelled at. If we missed a deadline, we received a sermon consisting of expletives. A mentality like this caused me to become reclusive, fearful, and withdrawn and eventually led me to fabricate the results of my academic performance, progress, and grades so that I could avoid his wrath and not get reprimanded rather than to confess and hope he’d resolve the issue without turbulence. Being exposed to constant yelling created tons of fear in me and made me want to keep my issues undisclosed.

Not having proper education can contribute to self-esteem issues and a mind unreceptive to novel ideas and critical thought fueled by individual judgment. Because home study was the only option, it meant that the education was to be done by a parent, guardian, or paid tutor. Since father was working, mother was doing housework and there was no money for tutoring, I had to struggle my way to learn. In this case, the only option was to procrastinate and let schoolwork slide since no help was available. The absence of fellow students and qualified teachers in the environment took a toll on my self-esteem as I had no one to validate my ideas or to critique my thinking skills. I had no one to ask questions to or substantiate my thoughts. This lack of social interaction led to a closed, conceited mindset which crystalized overtime and proved to be hindersome to my intellectual and emotional growth.

The decisions a person makes based on the choices available to him defines his fate. Growing up, my fate was under my father’s control. Without his consent, nothing would operate in the family. During the early years of adolescence, there was no choice but to obey the commands of the head of the household. Whether the orders were correct or incorrect, true or false, good or bad, right or wrong, nice or mean didn’t matter. As long as the rules were laid out with verbal intensity, it became and unbreakable law. Such stern conditioning was also a major contributor in the formation of a codependent, indoctrinated mindset.

Conflicts are a normal, unavoidable activity of human existence, especially in the case of family members. In my case, my father’s impulsive decision-making and dictatorial method of parenting created an environment of hopelessness and despair. A key area of conflict between us was how his unrealistic expectations for my academic career, improper planning for finishing coursework, rough conversational tonality, along with his ‘my way of the highway’ attitude prevented my chances of academic success. The overall result of homeschooling had stunted my ability to think things thru on my own, pass my schooling on time and made me want to resent him for creating a pathway towards failure. Though the intentions behind our dad homeschooling us was benevolent, unfortunately, the ramifications proved to be detrimental to our academic journey thus leading to emotional frustration, low self-esteem, and a mind which couldn’t easily open up.