Graduates are unprepared for the expedition ahead
Growing up, parents, teachers, and elders always emphasize the importance of an education to the younger generations. High school students are pushed and encouraged towards college for the next big step in their life. By the time kids step into high school it’s drilled into their heads that to make something of oneself they need to pursue a college education. In reality, are high school graduates even prepared for the challenges that they will soon face? High schools are not preparing their kids for the “college experience” that in turns leaves them lacking the know-how they will need for the workforce.
In the first place, high school courses are too lenient compared to a college or job. While in high school, it’s easy to breeze through the work without too much struggle or labor. Students are even given several opportunities if a deadline is missed or if extra credit is needed. The result of these actions can cause a difficult transition into the “real-world” where they will be held accountable and expected to finish a job or turn a piece of work in on time. Also, employers will require the job to be done with more than just minimum effort or halfway finished. On the other hand, though high schools are lenient on the effort students put in, they are more strict on time and freedom. Students go from being “babysat” and told what to do and when to do it. Yet when they go off to college, they are met with more freedom than they know how to handle. Because of this big change responsibilities are not always being handled. All because students never had to manage their time they relied on the high school teachers to do it for them, so they are now crippled into a series of procrastination.
Likewise, high school does not teach students the critical life skills in which needed to use for the rest of their lives. For example, graduates are expected to know how to manage money, negotiate, and how to communicate effectively. However, the problem is they were never taught these direct skills. Instead, they had been taught how to memorize information that would be needed for a one time test. Additionally, when these graduates reach the workforce and are expected to
Another point Kirn seems to overlook is the premise that many high schools, especially in Canada, offer introductory courses to university level material; such as courses in law, psychology, calculus, and even some higher level sciences. For many students taking these courses can give them insight as to what exactly they are in for in the coming years of their post-secondary life. For example a student could leave grade 11 physics thinking that they love the material and have enough of a grip on the math that they might be able to pursue a career down that path. However, upon taking calculus and a higher level physics course coupled they suddenly realize that they in fact hate math and
One of the most important decisions in any teenager’s life is what they decide to do after high school, the choice is usually between college and deciding to get a job and start making money. Although the cost of education in America continues to rise, the benefits of a higher education are substantial and can be seen in the success of anyone who has a college degree.
“In fall 2016, some 20.5 million students are expected to attend American colleges and universities, constituting an increase of about 5.2 million since fall 2000” (National Center for Education Statistics). That number seems to be rising each and ever year, and it almost seems as students feel like they have to go to college directly after high school. Maybe it is because they feel that they have to fit in, even if college is not for them. Although some students attend college for academics, sports, and other reasons, some students attend college for no apparent reason; with that in mind, students should take into consideration the time and money that is put into going to college.
College is not just a choice, it's the beginning of a lifelong journey, one that will shape and determine future choices, decisions and purposes. A high school graduate tends to have no background of job experience or any essential skills to work at a decent company. Throughout the years, America has always debated whether higher education helps people succeed or if needed, but with that come along many risk and benefits for state funding.
High school is meant to educate students and prepare them for college. Many high schools require students to earn certain credits in order to graduate including basic core classes, physical education and fine arts, however, many schools do not require to take a very important class, Money Management.
Today's American workforce is made up of a clear cut thirty six-percent of people with a Bachelor's Degree, thirty-four percent of people with a High School Diploma and thirty percent of people with at least some exposure to college courses (Douglas-Gabriel 1). The desire for qualified job applicants goes unnoticed these days. Today's workforce lacks driven applicants with a college education. As students and families struggle to make ends meet in the midst of the transition from high school to college, one might question, is college worth it? A wide variety of statistics about where students most commonly succeed shows both positives and negatives about attending college.
“I’ve seen too many high school graduates who have gone off to college in September but are back home with mom and dad in December. And I’ve seen those who have made it through the first year but transferred back home to a community college for the second.” Lawrence B Schlack is a retired superintendent who strongly protests the idea that college is the only path to success and encourages students to take their time to decide whether or not they are ready to move on into the real world. In this generation, teenagers are made to think that without college, it is impossible to live a successful and prosperous life. Schlack claims that there are many paths to a successful life, and that seniors who can’t declare they are college bound are made to feel like failures. Schlack firmly supports his claims with multiple facts, examples, and statistics.
There are the students who decide not to go to college and start a career instead. They enter true adult life right out of high school. Life for those students is not getting any better. From 1987 to 2007, average lifetime income for a high school graduate dropped by 20 percent while the average lifetime income for college graduates has raised by one percent (Davies). The value of a high school diploma is dropping. The knowledge gained in high school is not enough for a good paying job. For those looking to go on to a higher education are also unprepared. They are paying large amounts of money for college to learn what they should already know. This problem with young adults can be traced back to school before high school.
Schools are not up to the task of readying young people for the challenges of the next century. An apparently watered down curriculum ensures that all students, regardless of whether they have mastered necessary skills, can graduate. “Social promotion” without requirements to master grade-appropriate skills is now commonplace, so even elite colleges must run “remedial” courses for freshmen in basic math and literacy, and business executives complain that high school graduates are ill-prepared for even relatively unskilled jobs (2).
Life can deliver many obstacles one's way which can possibly make life very tough, and there is definitely no hand holding going to take place once a student graduates and enters their adulthood. Many high schools need to acknowledge that young adults will have to adjust to life on their own. Whether students go to college or not, they need to acquire the skills necessary to survive in the real world on their own. Because when a situation occurs and a person is in a life or death situation and they have no knowledge on how to deal with it, they will be wishing that they learned how to give CPR to someone instead of knowing how WWII began.
Today, many students are settling for jobs immediately out of high school instead of furthering their education in college. Students should consider how necessary college actually is for their lives in the future. It provides one with a significant amount of opportunities, a greater knowledge about their career plan, and a better sense of responsibility.
The American standard in the US educational system has always been to attend a four-year university after high school. Students attend college after high school to further their education in their career of interest, and to obtain a degree to become successful adults in the real world. Schools in this age however, do not teach students about life after high school and college. They fail to introduce life lessons needed in the real world, like writing a resume, buying a house, or paying taxes. The current American educational system does not prepare students to be successful adults; it teaches students things they may never apply to real-world situations.
taking tests, and writing essays, which all leads to grades; is the society’s view of learning. An
Many college faculty members consider students unprepared for college. There are many reasons as to why students are not sufficiently prepared for work that they will be facing in college. Two of those reasons are, in College it is the students’ responsibility to remember when assignments are due without being told constantly and when in high school students are taught much differently than when they are in college.
High school is usually more lenient than college. My high school being lenient didn't prepare me for college. I'm used to being able to walk into class late without being turned away. If I had an assignment I would be able to turn it in late depending on the teacher. I was also allowed to turn late work in if I missed that day, even if the absence was unexcused. I remember my world history teacher Mr.Heq-m-Tah. His class was hard for me. He basically had our lesson on PowerPoints, and we had to take notes. Just taking notes is difficult because I feel as if I’m not learning anything. I wasn't a studier so most of the time I didn't study or lessons. Towards the end of the semester he gave us an 80 page packet about everything we learned. He also gave us vocabulary words from every chapter for recovery. I had to cram all that work in by the assigned due date. I did all of the recovery work and