 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Period | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
(311 Dalcamo) | |||||
(SC Kruger) | (Gym Sullivan) | (SC Kruger) | (Gym Sullivan) | (SC Kruger) | |
(303 Kruger) | |||||
(NC Pagani) | |||||
(Library Johnston) | |||||
(SC Crespo) | |||||
(Library Smith) | |||||
(408 Heymann) | |||||
(304 Mercer) | |||||
My schedule rocks!
I originally had to write a persuasive speech for my Honors English class. If you couldn't already tell from the blog post title, it's a pseudo-rant on some of the complaints I have with high school. Eventually I might rewrite it for semantics and overall quality. Generalization? Probably. Stereotyping? Definitely. Proceed with caution.
Welcome to America, supposedly “the home of the free, and the land of the brave.” As you might expect, there are people who want to succeed, and if you’re hearing this speech today I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you’re one of them. This in itself should come as no surprise. Of course, what everyone must consider is how they want to make their dreams come true. Accomplishing anything will often require a basic set of skills, such as how to read a picture book, or how to add “2” and “2” together. (Hint: it’s not 22.) Enter the American educational system. Unless you live in Canada, then my deepest sympathies go out to you and your family.
School – hate it or love it, it’s something that we all must go through. Obviously, some of us are more successful than others in this endeavor, but I digress. Anyway, school appears to be something important enough to justify spending thirteen years in it – fourteen if you attend preschool, or even more if you’re “special”. Why do we spend so much time in school? To learn, of course! If my psychic abilities are properly calibrated today (it’s been a few days since I’ve visited my mental professional), your next question might be what one learns during so many of these years. Well my friend, you’ll be pleased to learn that the answer is a rather simple one – reading, writing, and arithmetic. We learn essential life skills, such as how to count, interact with others, determine which way an electron spins in an orbital, and even how to draw and name compounds such as cis-3,3-dimethyl-4-propyl-1,5-octadiene. With such a complete and well-rounded education to provide for our future, what could possibly go wrong!
The more appropriate question, unfortunately, might be, “What couldn’t go wrong?” As time goes on, it becomes obvious that more kids care less about their education. But why? Glad you asked my friend. It might be redundant to say that “our society is one going downhill”, but I think I’ll say it anyway – our society is going downhill. Turn on the news and you’d be surprised not to see a short about the latest murder, robbery, car accident, whatever. But how does this relate to our children (well, not our children, but children in general) in school? Well, with temptations such as alcohol, drugs, and sex, who would want to care about their education? There isn’t one singular way to answer this question, but a good catch-all response might be “those with common sense.” Ah, good old common sense – something lacking in today’s society. Students try to get through by putting in a minimal amount of effort, skipping class or even school entirely , getting high, low, drunk, or pregnant. Such high expectations and standards in life these wonderful young people have.
It is necessary to acknowledge that there is no sure way to solve all of these problems. However, I believe it is also necessary to make some sort of effort . There are a number of ways that the school system can be bettered, but it is up to someone to push for those changes, and the administration – whether it be of an individual district, state, or government – to actually make those changes.
First, to quote Paul Graham, “I didn't really grasp it at the time, but the whole world we lived in was as fake as a Twinkie.” If you stop to think about this, it does seem logical. It seems almost too hard to actually fail something, but if you do, you sometimes get a second chance to try to “make it right again.” Is it this way in the real world ? Of course not. If high school is meant to prepare us for college and, well, life after high school, it should be more realistic. I realize that disciniplinary action for some actions might seem harsh, but some seem to face a big shock at their expectations of the world, and the reality of it all.
Second, (post-)secondary schools should be more selective in their admissions process. There are those who take school seriously, and care about their education, and correspondingly there are some who do not. We should round up all the stoners, idiots, immature people, freshmen, and those who (as Seth Lapic tells me Mr. Harris put it) “pursue extra-curricular activities” and just leave them in a different, more specialized school. I understand that there are some who do, for example, use drugs responsibly, or do have “safe sex”, but in teens that seems to be a minority. If there are students capable of making such responsible decisions, with common sense, maturity, rationality, and common sense, they shouldn’t have to be around kids who just don’t care about anything.
Third, schools need to offer a more diverse curriculum. The offering of electives is rather limited, often to the usual generic high school subject “categories.” Even in the core subjects, though, some districts aren’t up to par. Speaking from experience, I can say that New Brighton’s math department is one such lacking example. If you have to spend four years there – or, again, more if you’re special – why not make it worth your while with courses you’re actually interested in?
At first thought, such ideas might seem radical or like some spin-off of eugenics – the ideology of bettering the human race through selective reproduction. While I wouldn’t exactly object to enacting some form of eugenics, and we aren’t quite talking about reproduction, I don’t intend some of the aforementioned changes to be “segregationist.” (Too much.) I believe this would benefit others – well, those not on the dim end of the spectrum – in several ways. First, with fewer distractions between people of conflicting interests, students would be free to focus on their studies. Second, free of these distractions, they would be able to go farther in their high school and post-secondary careers, and ultimately make a better life for themselves. Third, if someone isn’t serious about their education and their future, they shouldn’t be in the same school as those who are. The changes might be extreme, but in the long run it would be impossible to ignore such a benefit.
So yeah, just waiting on some things to download and I figured I'd check in and let whoever happens to read this that I haven't fallen off the face of the earth. Yet.
So what am I up to?
Nothing much really, just trying to enjoy what little summer I do have. I'm taking three classes - two online which start in two weeks, and one evening class three days a week. I also need to start work on my Senior Project, which should turn out to be interesting, if anything. Though the hours for that aren't due until sometime December, I don't need to procrastinate on it like I've done some other things.
At the moment? Just listening to music, and soon to go back to cleaning my room. Or should I start my summer assignment for AP English? (Yes, I have a death wish.)
Nah...