Different Environments At High School

To many freshman the first day of high school is the opening chapter of a new novel, a fresh start to a sometimes embarrassing middle school experience we would all just love to erase from our memories. August 13th, 2012 was the beginning of my four year long narrative at Cypress Bay High School. Despite my desperate desire to grow up, become an adult, and move far away from my parents for college all that did not seem possible because I had never previously attended a public school. I was struck with fear that I would not be able to adjust to the fast pace dynamics of a large high school.

At Hazelwood High School, they do things differently than at my school. At Hazelwood, most of the people worry about themselves and nobody else. Most of the school doesn’t get good grades and the school does not do anything about it. One day in English class Andy walked out when they were reading Macbeth because it was too emotional for Andy to handle. His friends were concerned and told the school counselor. They said, “But… but… it seems like… like… he needs help or somethin’.” Then the counselor said, “Well, I probably shouldn’t tell you boys this, but he is getting some outside counseling… So you boys can relax and be assured that he is getting whatever help he needs”(100). At Harrisburg High School, if someone had an issue like that, the counselors and teachers would be concerned, even if the person was getting outside help. Another thing about education that is different than mine is the school. In Ronda’s English homework, she wrote, “Our school building must have been built about a million years ago, because it was brown and tall and raggedy-looking, but it fit right in with the rest of the day”(16). At my high school, we are very fortunate to have a very new building to learn inside of. At Hazelwood High, they were not fortunate enough to have a new high school be built. Culture and education are very important pieces of people’s

Growing up, I attended a very small K-8 elementary school that due to its size became a very close-knit community. While a smaller school may provide a ton of advantages academically, the low class sizes also meant that cliques were very prevalent without there being many

When it comes to school size, there is no right size that works for every student. Some students thrive in a smaller environment where they get lots of attention, while others prefer the variety of activities and peer groups available in a larger school. Certainly, small and large schools each have their pros and cons. There are many reasons why this statement is true. One of the reasons why is if there are smaller schools they are gonna have smaller class sizes so there is more one on one with the students and teacher. Smaller schools are more lenient with test days and focus more on every student understanding the content.

A new school was opening next year in Gwinnett County called Discovery High. I woke from my slumber of infinite paradises and I realized that inevitably, students would leave and join other schools, no matter what happened. I couldn’t blame a new school’s opening.

Nitta, Holley and Wrobel in their study summarized the “arguments against consolidation [as being], smaller schools provide students with better support; smaller schools provide more accessible extra-curricular activities; [consolidation] causes teacher stress; hurts vacated communities; hurts students by requiring them to ride buses for long periods of time; leads to reduced parent participation.” The reactions of the relocated students and teachers are different than those at the receiving school. Students are faced with the anxiety of going to a new building, meeting new peers and teachers, and enduring a lengthy bus ride. In small schools, a student will receive more interaction with the teacher than is possible in a class of increased size. Extra-curricular activities such as basketball, band and choir may have more participants, since the location of the school is usually centered in the community. When students are separated to various districts, close friends, who have been together since childhood, find themselves parting ways. Usually in the larger the school, there arises more conflict among individuals and peer groups. There

As a parent you want to make sure your kid/s get the best education possible. So when looking through all of your options, the question typically comes up, “Are they going to get a better education and better opportunities in a large or small High School?”. Well recent studies have shown that bigger is not necessarily better. Small high schools are a better option than large high school for numerous of reasons.

A negative about small school education is that the students are affected on the social side. At a small school there are only a few students that are the same age as others in the school. Students are extremely limited to friendship groups.

While placed in a big classroom can be good or bad depending on how you look at it. According to the text, Does Class Size Matter? Teachers, parents of students, and the principal of New York’s Forest Hills High School, believes that big classrooms

As I prepare to graduate from Emil A. Cavallini Middle School, I feel tremendous pride for being waitlisted at an institution where academic achievement and social as well as moral values are prioritized. Exeter’s high standard of excellence would encourage me to compete against myself, while the collaboration necessary in the Harkness system would prepare me for the world. When I first walked onto the campus, the culture was in no short supply. By simply talking to my tour guide Jack, I felt a sense of belonging like no other. He was very helpful, welcoming, and relatable; we laughed at the same things and he astonished me with every experience he spoke of. Even though Jack attended one of the most respected schools in the country, he was very humble. From his words, I knew that Exeter was a place where I could not only learn, but grow as a person as the near-culmination of my

As a parent, one would want the best available education for their child or children. This care is provided more by small or local schools rather than large schools. One reason small schools are more effective than large schools is the more readily available assistance. With a smaller student body, teachers and staff have more opportunities and time to work directly with individuals or groups. The increased opportunities to work individually with a staff member also proves that there can be deeper connections between staff and students, as well as in between the student body and between staff members. Better relations with the people you go to school or teach with is bound to give better results. In addition, a smaller school often means a

Within my community there are many low income schools where the kids don’t get the attention they need. My mom works at Laurel Elementary School where many kids have bad home situations or can barely speak English. Many of them are struggling in school because they have so many other things going on in their life. My mom has spent time one on one with some of her students tutoring them after school or over the summer and it really helps them. By spending more time with the students one on one outside of school they will improve their grades and have more of a willingness to learn.

To begin with, school has always been like an annoying chore for me, just as it was for my father. For one thing, I can’t stand waking up early, I find the arbitrary rules ridiculous, and I don’t recognize a point in homework when the class already spends hours in school doing already doing the work. In fact, even when I was a child school was just as awful. Certainly the chances are that if it wasn’t for my mother, I wouldn’t bother trying to earn a spot in a college and maybe even bothering to finish high school. Frequently my mother is one of the constant reminders that keeps me going. My mother has tried to be like an alarm clock for me, always making sure I wake up. Whereas there’s my father who’s life after he dropped out of school showed

It is pretty apparent that in America, and elsewhere, most parents and general adults want what is best for their children in terms of education. This mindset can be seen reflected in the legislative aspects of our education system; there are many incentives pushing through the school boards and legislatures of our nation in order to attempt to further refine the education system. This is important as it allows us to refine traditional American education in order to improve upon it, and one of these attempt refinements and improvements has to deal with the subject of class size. For many people, large classroom sizes are a spawning ground for many issues with the education system: high distraction in the classroom, teacher inefficiency, among a plethora of others. Although it may seem regressive to favor small classes over bigger, more potentially diverse classes, small class sizes are more beneficial for education in that it is less distracting for the students and raises the possibility of staying focused, it potentially raises teacher-student relationships, and it allows for better results and better statistics coming from these smaller classes.

Many parents feel their children are not being challenged enough in public schools. Some of these children are doing well but clearly could do more, could be stretched intellectually. From their parents' point of view, they spend far too much time watching television, wandering around the mall, or playing games on their computers. Many parents are consequently drawn to private schools because of the academic rigor that comes with smaller classes, more personal attention, and teachers who nurture and promote each child's talents. There is no question that private schools offer smaller classes than most public schools in the country. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, in 1998-99 the median student-teacher ratio in NAIS schools was 9 to 1 while that in public schools was 17 to 1. Smaller classes make it difficult for a student to hide or slide. In a room with only 14 other students, it is difficult to remain uninvolved or consistently unprepared. Teachers can get to know 15 students much better and faster than 30. Smaller classes promote more faculty member-student interaction, and most kids