A Study On High School

Growing up I lived in the small town of Duncan, Oklahoma; although, not nearly as small as the town I currently reside in. Throughout my adolescence, I attended Mark Twain Elementary School and as I was ending the third grade, my parents decided that we should move to Fox, Oklahoma to be closer to my grandparents. Moving would bring big changes my way such as a smaller school, living in the middle of nowhere, and new ways of entertainment. Living in the country has its pros and cons, but I can tell you the only thing I could think of the night we moved out there was the cons. Eventually, I had grown accustomed to the silence, lack of traffic, and having nothing to do. Looking back I feel that if we had not moved to the country then I would

The idea that the American education system requires its students to attend school for a full 13 years is absurd. The average student does not need 13 years of high school to be prepared for graduation and college, and those who do require that much attention most likely would not succeed in college anyways. In the typical high school, students and teachers waste more time focusing on sports and social issues rather than actual schooling. When one truly realizes how many days are wasted at sporting events or on silly pep rallies and activities, then it becomes clear why it’s a waste to attend school for such a large amount of time.

In this essay I will argue that high school I will argue that high school students not let people around them influence them to enroll into college right after their high school career because it often leads to wasted money, long term financial issues, including stress and many other factors that come with long term effects.

The essay ‘Life After High School” by Annie Murphy Paul is about the effect of a persons high school experience on what they do later in life. Paul had been asked to be the commencement speaker at her old high schools graduation which made her wonder if our high school experience determines who people become as adults. To see both sides of the argument Paul interviewed some experts and read studies on the topic. Some of the research has shown that there some truth to the idea that high school has the ability to shape who we will become in the future. This includes research taken from the Wisconsin Longitudinal study, which is one of the largest and longest-running research project on the effect of high school. For example that jocks are in

I decided to go down a different route and go to a school that no one from my grade school was attending. I ended up at Maria High School on 67th and California an all-girl Catholic high school which was predominately African American and Hispanic. It was an entirely different environment for me. The hallways were filled with girls some of the teachers were nuns. Girls were speaking Spanish and others were speaking Lithuanian. I had friends from all different backgrounds and cultures but I still did not know who I was or identified as.

Growing up in public school until freshman year, my first day of Sophomore year at a private Christian school was very different. I was used to a diverse class of over 400 people and now my class consisted of thirty, all white students with the exception of one asian male. Everyone also had the same religious beliefs. The switch was shocking, but did not seem like it would be too challenging. For the most part I fit in, except for one thing: almost everyone’s parents had a happy marriage where their dad’s made money and their mom’s stayed home.

The educators in the documentary, “Rethinking High School: Best Practice in Action,” claimed that authenticity, collaboration, and challenge are the three core principles that are needed in our school system to achieve better teaching and learning. I agree with the statement, especially when we are talking about urban schools.

From Kindergarten through 8th grade I attended a private school, my best friend went to the public school. When we would get together I would always be jealous of the things she got to do, that I wasn’t able to. Things as simple as not having to wear a uniform, or being able to paint her nails. I always felt that not being able to do those things in school was preventing me from expressing myself. Then came the time to go to highschool. My mother wanted me to attend a private high school, while my dad was more in favor of the public school. It was up to me which school I wanted to attend. I decided it was time for me to be express myself the way I wanted to, so for the first time in nine years I went to public school. I was able to wear makeup and nail polish, and wear clothes of my choice. After going to a small private school of approximately 65 students in my entire class, my first day of high school was overwhelming to say the least. Going from a class size of 65 to 300 made me realize how much diversity was in the community I live in. I grew up with your typical “American” family; Mom, Dad, and me. I never knew there were so many different types of families and cultures right here in my community. At times I did feel sheltered after going to a private elementary school, but it provided me with a good educational foundation. I was a good student throughout grade school, made the merit roll and usually got A’s and B’s, but excelled in high school. My elementary school provided me with good time management skills, study skills, and a few life skills that would help me succeed in high school and even throughout life.

High School is said to be the easiest time of a young adult’s life. Our teachers help us and remind us to turn in our work. We don’t even have to study much for our test. We don’t have to pay taxes either. But in college, you have to pay for everything, including taxes and room and board. In high school we just kind of coast through and take what our parents do for us for granted. I will discuss my first prom in sophomore year and building prom as a junior.

Everything changed when I turned ten when the Recession impacted the United States. My dad was laid off from his job, which left my mom with the responsibility to pay the bills with her high school education level job. It was during this interim where I learned how to survive on bare bones. I remember rarely seeing my mom since she was always working, how we couldn’t use the air conditioner in the dead heat of summer because we couldn’t afford to pay the gas bill, and how we had to make personal sacrifices such as moving from our house to a somewhat less humble abode. Fortunately, we were able to recover, and by the time I turned eleven, my dad was able to find a job at Davita Dialysis and we were able to move out of the hole we were living in. When I got to high school, I was exposed to more people of different ethnicities. While Whites and Mexicans still were the majority of the school, Galt High School had a far more diverse student body than Lake Canyon. I remember befriending Muslims, Filipinos, Indians, Japanese, Vietnamese, African-Americans, Native Americans, Chinese, Russians, and Germans in addition to the Mexicans and Whites I

My high school experiences have become imprinted into my memory and parts of me. I changed entirely from the first day I walked in as a freshmen to the last day I walked across the stage with my diploma. Not only do I look different but I act, think, and understand differently. I realize now that an individual’s character is largely constructed by other people’s opinions, unwritten rules, and a subliminal hierarchy. The reality of high school makes it difficult to escape the ideal image of a perfect student, friend, respectful significant other, and model child. With all these different forces pulling students back and forth, the primary goal is to be accepted; despite how much change one must undergo. From my high school experiences I know how to deal with labelling, peer pressure, alienation, and cliques. Thus my former high school social lessons and knowledge allow me to reshape my perception, values, and self-image to this day.

I was born in Clovis, New Mexico and I stayed there for about 2 years and then that was when I first moved. My family and I moved to Tucson, Arizona and I stayed there for about ten years. During that ten years I built really strong friendships and I expected to live there till I graduated. But man was I wrong.

A diploma worth having by Grant Wiggins (Wiggins, 2011) asked the question what is the purpose of high school? His proposal is untraditionally, bold in such a traditional, content demanding society. He explicitly states that the purpose of high school should be to prepare students for the trials and tribulations they will actually face in their adult lives and careers. Instead of a curriculum that is still based on archaic ideas centered on “content” as oppose to utilitarian “abilities”. I would have to agree that gone are the days of “covering” curriculum, and here enters a time where students are given an opportunity to follow their talents, hopes, and dreams. Where learning to write well and communicate effectively is a high school curriculum requirement. It’s a pretty ambitious vision. Is it too much to create conditions where students are expected and allowed to follow a path they are the most successful in and allows for the opportunity to remake and redo? Where they are given a chance to make meaning of what they are learning and how this will apply to them in their career of choice?

In a way High School affects everyone, but how much it affects them may be different depending on the person.

When I first entered high school, I was excited because I thought I was finally going to be able to take classes that fit my interests. I thought that I was going to be able to explore my strengths and weaknesses to determine what careers I should consider to go into. When I graduated high school in the summer of 2016, I felt that I came out of high school dumber than when I came in. I was unsure that I was going into the right field of work because my needs were not met by my high school. That is the problem with modern day high schools in America. If I hear someone say that high school was the best four years of their life, I can defiantly assume that they graduated at least thirty to forty years ago. I have heard my peers say that they felt like they were in prison rather than in high school because they feel their interests are not met by the school. Students in American high schools feel this way more often than parents and other adults would think. There are problems that parents and other adults don’t recognize with modern day high schools because they are not there to observe what exactly happens in a classroom. Modern day high schools are creating one-note students from killing their individuality. If student’s individuality was taken into consideration, it would benefit the whole school system by creating happier students and teachers.