Graduation Speech : High School

I have been going to school since I was four years old and, that means that I have been attending school twenty to twenty two years, including kindergarten, middle school, high school and now college. As every student, I had my ups and downs in school; I had some failures and some successes. One of the failures that affected me the most and that I will always remember was the time that I was in high school during my junior year. I failed almost all my classes and, I only passed two classes and with a C. In the other hand I had some really good success. The most recent one and the one that I am still happy about is getting my Family Development Credential. We learn from our mistakes and also from our successes, these two times in my life

So far, all throughout high school, I have done my best in school. I strive to get the best grades I can. There are many opportunities out there, college related, that many people out of high school don’t have. I make sure I take advantage of these opportunities because all the hard work will be very rewarding in the end. During my sophomore year of high school, I had the chance to get into a four-year program that would have me take college classes while still in high school. Also, I would be able to job shadow different careers, practice interviewing skills, and get an internship. By the end of this program I would have an associate’s degree and have developed very useful skills necessary for a career. This whole program would be free.

Working long and laborious, only getting one day a week off, I didn’t give college a second thought. Yet, I still grew tired and bored of the work. Which lead to calling in sick to work, and working less just to hang out with the wrong crowd of people. Then reality kicked in, again. Realizing that I was a naïve brat who did not think that anyone else truly mattered, and getting into serious trouble with my parents (and ultimately with myself), I knew I needed to surround myself with positive support and influence. After months of going to see councilors and talking to friends I had an epiphany: I was wrong. Finally, I understood my parents, they were right all along and had only wanted what was best for me. At last I was able to look through a mature lens: my parents did everything that they could to teach me but I didn’t want to listen. I was just self-serving, everyone and everything matters and the world does not revolve around just one

I believe college is something everyone should at least think about going to or attending. Neither of my parents attend college, but I got my inspiration from my grandfather who did attend college. I went to visit my grandparents one night, and we started talking about life and how everything was then we got off on the topic about college. He asked me what plans I had when I graduated high school. I replied with the usual answer of “I don’t know”. He gave me a stern look and told me that I better figure it out before it is too late. That night I laid in bed and thought about what he said to me. I kept asking myself questions like “Can I afford to go to school?”, “Are my grades good enough since I missed so much school and homework?”, or “How will my parents react when I tell them my choice?”.

During our lives, most of us have hated getting up early. Whether we as humans enjoy mornings or not, we’re always looking forward to that unforgettable day. That special is high school graduation for me. Graduation is a ceremony that recognizes students that have excelled through school. Graduation was one of the best days of my life, perhaps even better than the day that I started college. There is no other day like graduation where there comes this feeling of success, achievement, and excitement.

Many people have different high school experiences or stories about when they finally felt like a highschooler or felt like they belonged. Some people might not even have had that experience yet and are still trying to belong at Wahlert Catholic High School. Personally, I have had many experiences when I finally felt like a high schooler. Such as my first year playing on the Wahlert Freshman Baseball team, talking to upperclassmen, my first year playing on the Wahlert Freshman Basketball team, or all of the times cheering in the Wahlert Volleyball, Football, and Basketball Eagle’s Nest. But, one experience truly stands out in particular, the school-wide pep rally for homecoming week.

Early teenagers look forward to one thing during their final year in middle school, high school. Some high school graduates may consider those four years the best years of their life because of the minimal stress and care free living. The purpose that high school serves in the twenty first century is to prepare students for college. A few minor reasons for high school are preparation for the workforce, community building, and socialization. With approximately only twenty five percent of freshmen classes graduating, the high school education is in danger. A high school diploma in the twenty first century is a necessity. According to Koenig, “high school dropouts make $200,000 less than a high school graduate in a life span” (76). As poverty increases, the high school drop out rate is increasing as well. Many high school dropouts do not fully understand the importance of a high school diploma. The outcome of not receiving a high school diploma should be made visual through a students time spent in school. The high school education is in jeopardy because of family background, students themselves, and academics.

In the beginning of 8th grade we were asked to write a letter to ourselves explaining how our year was going so far. You were to write the letter, place it in an envelope and open it on the last day of school. Although it was a mandatory assignment, I enjoyed reading my opinions from the first couple days of school and I thought I would write one again. This week I completed my first week of high school, and I thought I would share my POV so that I could later look back on this and see how a “naive” freshman saw things.

their high school diploma. When P-TECH initially started, it included on grade 9 and added a grade every year until it became a complete high school. The focus of P-TECH is to provide students with college level work in high school so they can earn their Associate degree at City Tech in what are called the grade 13 and 14. In personal interview with Mr. Brian Donnelly, the Deputy Director of Early College Initiative at CUNY, he described that in students who are part of P-TECH experience grades 13 and 14, which entails that they are still a high school student because they have some high school requirements left and also have not completed the CUNY proficiencies. However, students are still taking college courses and therefore can complete up to an Associate’s degree in CUNY. Currently, the grade 14 has not been added to the P-TECH schools, but this will added within the next upcoming year.

In most jobs, when you apply there are requirements that you need to be able to be even considered a good candidate for the job and be hired. Did you graduate high school? Do you have a college degree? A 3.00 GPA or above? Previous experience for at least two years? Most guardians tell you to work hard in school to have a bright future. If you want to find a good job they suggest you to look what are the requirements to be able to even be consider. When you start high school in some schools they have already assigned you to who you will end up been. If you got high school credits when still in middle school then you are advanced you go in a certain group. The teachers always tell you what you need to be able to attend a University. The teacher do not advertise students to start at a community college but are constantly reminding you how important is to have a higher education. The high school institutions has allowed the negative stereotypes about the students that attend community colleges because they contribute to the negativity tours does students. This stereotypes lead to discrimination.

The average person has a very limited mortality, so why would someone spend most of their time in school and accrue debt that will take years to pay off? People in general go to college to better themselves and accomplish what one wants out of life. What’s better way for a person to live life and experience it to the fullest than to do the dream job they want, or have a reserve of wealth that they can spend according to how they see fit? According to one’s parents or their teachers getting an education can indeed be the key to a higher quality of life, but obtaining a higher education is a facade masked by the propaganda of the media and one’s mentors. Going to college will make things more complicated and create more problems than it solves.

Your educational path has been set out for you since before you even were entered into it. First, you were preparing for preschool, preschool prepared you for kindergarten, kindergarten prepared you for elementary school, elementary school prepared you for middle school, middle school prepared you for high school, and high school is supposed to prepare you for college. But, ask the majority of high school seniors right now and they’ll more than likely tell you they’re not feeling very ready for college. High school is known as college preparation, but it is actually nothing like it. High school has teachers who are more worried about standardized test scores than anything else, starts at 8:25 when studies show students shouldn’t even be awake then, sets your 7.5 hour block of classes without breaks, and only gives you a week of vacation at most. Whereas college does just about none of these things.

High school teachers try to explain what college is like, but it 's hard to imagine until you actually start college classes. I 've learned that college has some similarities to high school but overall, it is a completely different atmosphere. Entering college, you will see a major change in the way that you are treated. Unlike high school, you are treated as an adult. Your professors give you the responsibility that you never had before, such as doing your homework or not, allowing you to leave class without asking, and most importantly, giving you the choice to come to class or not. However, a lot of people take advantage of not having to go to class every time but being in class is very important, especially in EN 101. You don 't miss out on the notes that the professor gives, you get time with your classmates to evaluate each others writing, you have time to talk to your professor and ask questions, you get to see examples of papers which will give you ideas and kick start your drafting process, and most of all you aren 't wasting the hundreds of dollars that you paid for the class. I encourage you to do your very best to make it to each class, because I promise it will ease a lot of stress and you will do better academically.

As spring comes to an end and summer is soon to begin, many high school seniors will embark on their last true summer before going off to college. Many of these kids may be receiving a scholarship or a grant, or a bill to help pay for school, and have to pay the rest out of pocket to cover the remaining expenses. With the economy still not being as strong as it once was, and many people trimming down their budgets, economic resources may be scarce, many people resort to the only choice they have left and take out student loans. Which in essence is what is crippling our economy.

High school seniors are typically in 17 to 19 years old. Because these students are relatively young and sometimes inexperienced, society often views them as naïve. Ironically, this same society pressures them to make critical life decisions. For instance, the majority of these students must determine whether to attend college or not. The students who do end up choosing college as their next step in life must then carefully select a major associated with their desired future career. Only a few students lean toward majors that match their passions. However, why do the rest of the students end up choosing the “prosperous” majors even if they are not passionate about it? The root of this dilemma lies in how society shows favoritism for “prosperous” majors, such as science, math, technology, political science, and business majors. Since society perceives them as the ideal majors and pressure students into choosing these majors. Because parents have a position of authority, they also play a significant role in this process and may even manipulate their child into choosing what they think might be best for them.