Compared to COTC, my high school experience meant nothing to me academically. By the time I started at MVHS (Mount Vernon High School), I had a track record of not caring about my classes and not doing homework. Not many of the teachers or staff seemed to care, so I questioned why I was forced to be there and eventually started skipping class more. I didn't know what I wanted to do for a career, and there were not many who cared until my senior year when I went to the KCCC (Knox County Career Center). If I hadn't gone there, I don't know how things would have turned out.
After spending most of my life in the public education system, I'm not very impressed. You gain some social skills, but overall I consider it a massive waste of time. In all honesty, it felt like an over-glorified day care facility. I know I have learned more in the past few years at COTC than I have learned in all of my time in the public education system. This saddens me, and I am scared to think about what these schools will be like 10 years from now. If things don't change drastically, the entire system has the potential to collapse.
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4 comments:
I can see how you think the system has failed you. When I was in high school I was in the Advanced Math and Science classes. I did not really care for the classes. I played sports and had tested into them so I kind of had to and I hated it. Never could I see myself applying my knowledge in chemistry or physics everyday for the rest of my life; lead me to the nearest window. Going into my senior year I was in a car accident and ended up not being able to play sports anymore because of a bad shoulder injury. In turn I jumped at the opportunity to rid myself of the AP classes and took every art class I could and loved every minute. In order for education to succeed I think that the system needs to find a way to keep kids interested and guide them through to find what exactly their best way of learning is. Otherwise kids will always have the wrong impression about education resulting in a future that is not what it could have been.
I think it all boils down to the individual teacher. I had a couple teachers that actually took the time to spend some one on one time with students that had questions. My algebra teacher did this with me and now I love math. I've been debating on changing my major to teaching math.
On the other hand, I have a nephew who went to the same school as I did. He is classified as a slow learner and was enrolled in the LD (learning disabled) classes. He is married, has a son, and works a full time job. Talking to him, you can tell he is a little slow, but you could carry on a conversation with him. He graduated and received his diploma from high school.
The problem is, he shouldn't have. He reads and writes at a 3rd grade level and thats giving him the benefit of the doubt. This is why I agree that the public education system fails. How can they be allowed to send someone out into the world without teaching them the essential skills needed for everyday life?
My high school (Licking Valley High School) is suppose to be one of the best in Licking county, but it's just as bad as the rest of the high schools. Like John, I also did not care about school, but I did get my homework done. Mainly because I had a couple study halls where we were only allowed to do homework.
I was in the normal classes in high school. What was funny was on the last day of school, in english, over half the class still did not know what a verb was. All of the kids in my class graduated too. I really hated english classes. Most of the time we just learned about books none of us cared about. How is that helping us in anyway? We know how to read. English should be the most important subject, but what they teach is nothing but nonsense.
The education system in America is rated very low, because the teachers do not care. Some do, but a lot of them do not care. And most of what they teach is not important. When the teachers do not care, do you think the students will care? No. I'm glad the professors in college are different.
I do think that teachers are the cause of a lot of grief, but I also think that some of the blame does fall on the students as well. I may hate high school, but I do know some people that learned and grew a lot because of high school.
Plus, I wasn't exactly an easy person to deal with back then. I've grown a lot since then, but when I was there I was much less than cooperative. Since starting college, I feel as though motivation is not an issue anymore. Web Design is something I enjoy doing, and I know I would never regret doing it the rest of my life.
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