Have you heard of the Early College program at Waipahu High School? What about the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society? Did you know that Waipahu High School’s Early College program is associated with the Phi Theta Kappa organization? Today, not many Early College students are aware of the Phi Theta Kappa organization being offered at Waipahu High School. Phi Theta Kappa is a college honor society that is also offered to early college students at Waipahu High School. Students are participating in Early College courses, however, are not choosing to be involved in the Phi Theta Kappa organization. Because of this issue, it is important to raise awareness of the availability of honor programs, so students would be motivated by their high achieving peers …show more content…
To start off, according to Dr. Silliman, the early college coordinator and PTK advisor, only 23% of most of Waipahu High School’s graduates finish their two year college degree in four years or their four year degree in five years. The reality of it is that most students are not motivated to achieve academic excellence and are poorly challenged. In a study performed by Duckworth, Peterson, Matthews, and Kelly, “Grit: Perseverance and Passion for Long-Term Goals,” studies show that “grit accounted for significant incremental variance in success outcomes over and beyond that explained by IQ” (1098). In “Grit: Perseverance and Passion for Long-Term Goals”, it was also found that “gritty children work harder and longer than less gritty peers and, as a consequence, perform better” (Duckworth, Peterson, Matthews, and Kelly,1098). Delayed gratification and growth mindset are two …show more content…
Students who are motivated to take early college classes and join PTK present their ability to delay gratification, build grit and growth mindset. Students are confident to joining PTK, which is inspired by their higher academic achieved peers. From a survey conducted by Jillian Panganiban, Brennan Buccat, Jaylynne Subia and Sharmaine Allas, studies show that “students who are determined to reach success and an increase of confidence after taking an early college class, display qualities of grit, delayed gratification, and growth mindset.” Now that students have experienced taking a college course, they are more likely to be comfortable with the early college program and the other affiliate programs offered. Furthermore, with this confidence, students are motivated to continue taking college courses, when reaching the twelve-credit requirement will give them the eligibility to be inducted into the PTK program. Knowing this, students are also motivated to achieve higher success displaying their ability to delay gratification, grit, and growth mindset. From the assessments we have administered to the students, we then started to analyze the results to see where the majority