Comments on: What’s the point of high school anyway? http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2009/12/05/whats-the-point-of-high-school-anyway/ Elona Hartjes shares the insights, resources and practical classroom strategies that have earned her A Teacher of Distinction Award. Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:44:03 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Moss http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2009/12/05/whats-the-point-of-high-school-anyway/comment-page-1/#comment-65442 Moss Sat, 05 Jun 2010 01:39:27 +0000 http://www.teachersatrisk.com/?p=1019#comment-65442 What I believe when a child acts out in a classroom is that they lack attention, which is true. What I come to find out is that most kids who don't seek attention have fathers (good ones) who pay attention to their children. The ones who have bad fathers or no fathers have been found to act out during school and at home. Now for the whole high school issue, I would have to agree that most high schools should really focus on the childs intellect rather than test score. Down here in Florida, if the child get's a better test score, more money goes to the school, if the child get's a bad test score, the less money goes into the school, which is dumb because all I have been doing is taking test in high school and learning the same thing over and over again all four years. Now when I took AP courses, it was a totally different ball game. I enjoyed coming to school because the education system focused on my intellect rather than some state test. Now I have been on both sides, the normal kids who take normal classes who don't want to go to college, should really stop after 10th grade cause in my opinion, they waste government money by foolishness and all they do is act out and talk back to the teacher(s), who are just trying to do their job. All that saved money should be saved and and focused on much more inportant things like a childs upper education to get them ready for college. I think that should help the over population issues in high school...right?? What I believe when a child acts out in a classroom is that they lack attention, which is true. What I come to find out is that most kids who don’t seek attention have fathers (good ones) who pay attention to their children. The ones who have bad fathers or no fathers have been found to act out during school and at home.

Now for the whole high school issue, I would have to agree that most high schools should really focus on the childs intellect rather than test score. Down here in Florida, if the child get’s a better test score, more money goes to the school, if the child get’s a bad test score, the less money goes into the school, which is dumb because all I have been doing is taking test in high school and learning the same thing over and over again all four years. Now when I took AP courses, it was a totally different ball game. I enjoyed coming to school because the education system focused on my intellect rather than some state test. Now I have been on both sides, the normal kids who take normal classes who don’t want to go to college, should really stop after 10th grade cause in my opinion, they waste government money by foolishness and all they do is act out and talk back to the teacher(s), who are just trying to do their job. All that saved money should be saved and and focused on much more inportant things like a childs upper education to get them ready for college. I think that should help the over population issues in high school…right??

]]> By: kent thompson http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2009/12/05/whats-the-point-of-high-school-anyway/comment-page-1/#comment-65358 kent thompson Tue, 20 Apr 2010 03:35:35 +0000 http://www.teachersatrisk.com/?p=1019#comment-65358 Thinking logically, social competence and completing something worthwhile are just a few of the accomplishments shared by high school grads. Expanding one's horizons, ability to communicate, and ascribing to community standards might also be regarded as part of the worth of a diploma. I had filled all of the squares by my senior year for the academic side of things. I ended up having a great senior year learning how to make the most of friendships and talents. Our 17 and 18 year old adolescents need to continue their development in a safe environment. If they are lucky they will enjoy the nurturing into their early twenties when their frontal lobes will have reached maturity. Thinking logically, social competence and completing something worthwhile are just a few of the accomplishments shared by high school grads. Expanding one’s horizons, ability to communicate, and ascribing to community standards might also be regarded as part of the worth of a diploma. I had filled all of the squares by my senior year for the academic side of things. I ended up having a great senior year learning how to make the most of friendships and talents. Our 17 and 18 year old adolescents need to continue their development in a safe environment. If they are lucky they will enjoy the nurturing into their early twenties when their frontal lobes will have reached maturity.

]]> By: marie http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2009/12/05/whats-the-point-of-high-school-anyway/comment-page-1/#comment-65325 marie Fri, 16 Apr 2010 12:55:49 +0000 http://www.teachersatrisk.com/?p=1019#comment-65325 After 12 years of my son being in school, I have to ask what does he know how to do now? shouldn't he have some kind of a skill after all those years? Why does he now have to go to college? So he can take more nonsense classes for nothing? I really feel like we were cheated, and its not the schools fault. We need to live in communities where we work together, where are children learn life skills from when they are able to stand. I really feel that school just makes you dependent on the system. You have to go to school to get a good job, right? Why do we believe that???? Something has to change.... After 12 years of my son being in school, I have to ask what does he know how to do now? shouldn’t he have some kind of a skill after all those years? Why does he now have to go to college? So he can take more nonsense classes for nothing? I really feel like we were cheated, and its not the schools fault. We need to live in communities where we work together, where are children learn life skills from when they are able to stand. I really feel that school just makes you dependent on the system. You have to go to school to get a good job, right? Why do we believe that???? Something has to change….

]]> By: Education in the 21st Century: Part four in a series: What's the point of high school? | elephant journal http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2009/12/05/whats-the-point-of-high-school-anyway/comment-page-1/#comment-65152 Education in the 21st Century: Part four in a series: What's the point of high school? | elephant journal Wed, 20 Jan 2010 17:47:36 +0000 http://www.teachersatrisk.com/?p=1019#comment-65152 [...] read this interesting blog post by Elona Hartjes exploring the purpose of high school, and I feel there are [...] [...] read this interesting blog post by Elona Hartjes exploring the purpose of high school, and I feel there are [...]

]]> By: Kansas Special Education Teacher http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2009/12/05/whats-the-point-of-high-school-anyway/comment-page-1/#comment-65040 Kansas Special Education Teacher Sun, 27 Dec 2009 21:39:05 +0000 http://www.teachersatrisk.com/?p=1019#comment-65040 The problem I have about this issue from my school is that we really do set the expectation too low. I work at a high school that has a fairly high African American population, and our expectations for them seems to be two-fold a) passing the state reading/math tests and b) just graduating. While I personally don't think a school's main priority is to prepare students for college, we could do a better job, especially in poor, minority schools of promoting college. The expectation is already there for white, middle/upper class students. While I am no supporter of charter schools, or fall into the school of thought that "reformers" like Bloomberg and Michele Rhee fall into, I understand the appeal of their message. It really is about expectations. They should be realistic, but we shouldn't be afraid to raise them. .-= Kansas Special Education Teacher´s last blog ..<a href="http://kansasspedteacher.blogspot.com/2009/12/what-is-my-primary-mission-as-high.html" rel="nofollow">What is my primary mission as a high school teacher?</a> =-. The problem I have about this issue from my school is that we really do set the expectation too low. I work at a high school that has a fairly high African American population, and our expectations for them seems to be two-fold a) passing the state reading/math tests and b) just graduating. While I personally don’t think a school’s main priority is to prepare students for college, we could do a better job, especially in poor, minority schools of promoting college. The expectation is already there for white, middle/upper class students. While I am no supporter of charter schools, or fall into the school of thought that “reformers” like Bloomberg and Michele Rhee fall into, I understand the appeal of their message. It really is about expectations. They should be realistic, but we shouldn’t be afraid to raise them.
.-= Kansas Special Education Teacher´s last blog ..What is my primary mission as a high school teacher? =-.

]]> By: Teach_J http://www.teachersatrisk.com/2009/12/05/whats-the-point-of-high-school-anyway/comment-page-1/#comment-65010 Teach_J Sun, 06 Dec 2009 04:11:40 +0000 http://www.teachersatrisk.com/?p=1019#comment-65010 I honestly don't know if there is any purpose to public schooling after age 16. I think we should stop at the 10th grade. After that, students should elect to attend (or not) two years of publicly paid prep school. This would prepare them for the career of their choice. They would not take ANY classes that did not meet that goal. Too many 11th and 12th grade students are clueless as to why they have to take many of the required classes. They don't see value in Algebra II, when they want to be a chef or a cosmetologist, or they don't see the value of British Literature when they are planning to be an auto mechanic. Are their math classes that would help a chef, sure there are, but not Algebra II. Are their technical reading and writing classes that would help an auto mechanic - yes. But a general high school can't provide these. In most mid-sized towns up to large urban cities, schools could be changed to accommodate a curriculum that really prepared kids for work. I know this would be difficult in small towns, where the high schools are already tiny. But I think we are wasting two years of high school with meaningless requirements. .-= Teach_J´s last blog ..<a href="http://teachj.wordpress.com/2009/12/05/cool-links-69-the-one-where-we-made-no-jokes/" rel="nofollow">Cool Links #69: The One Where We Made No Jokes</a> =-. I honestly don’t know if there is any purpose to public schooling after age 16. I think we should stop at the 10th grade. After that, students should elect to attend (or not) two years of publicly paid prep school. This would prepare them for the career of their choice. They would not take ANY classes that did not meet that goal. Too many 11th and 12th grade students are clueless as to why they have to take many of the required classes. They don’t see value in Algebra II, when they want to be a chef or a cosmetologist, or they don’t see the value of British Literature when they are planning to be an auto mechanic. Are their math classes that would help a chef, sure there are, but not Algebra II. Are their technical reading and writing classes that would help an auto mechanic – yes. But a general high school can’t provide these. In most mid-sized towns up to large urban cities, schools could be changed to accommodate a curriculum that really prepared kids for work. I know this would be difficult in small towns, where the high schools are already tiny. But I think we are wasting two years of high school with meaningless requirements.
.-= Teach_J´s last blog ..Cool Links #69: The One Where We Made No Jokes =-.

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