Do you feel U.S. high schools support the academic, social needs, and interests of today's students well? Why or why not?

Sandi Campos

A person's high school years have always been said to be the best of their lives. Not only is it supposed to be a time of meeting and befriending new people who are different, but most importantly, it is the point in life in which you take the first step in setting the foundation for the future to come (the next step being college). Not only are they supposed to be the best, but they are supposed to be the most important as well. However, it must be realized that in order for someone's high school years to be successful, there needs to be a lot of support given to every single person or they will not succeed. I feel that the high schools in the United States do not give the social needs, interests, or academic needs of today's student's the support they need.

In terms of giving students support in their social needs, U.S. schools seem to make an effort, but it still is not enough. Yes, we are given time to socially interact among most our peers, both in class and out. This is definitely something positive, yet a good interaction with your fellow students is only half of it. What about the interactions that a student has to have with their teachers and other faculty? I have found that more often than not, the teachers in the school systems are not capable of understanding all the problems most students have to deal with. Our life is not only centered around school; we have many problems on top of getting an education. Things like an ugly divorce, living in poverty, daily violence, living in single-family homes, etc. These cause us to sometimes be difficult or unfocused, and most teachers do not know how to interact with us because of that; they simply misunderstand us. (I also believe that certain groups are in more need of a schools support than others, especially minorities such as Hispanics and African-Americans.)

When it comes to supporting our interests, U.S. schools are nowhere near having a decent impact. Most (if not all) of the courses we are required to take interest only a few people. The things that do interest students (like basketball, dance, drama, etc.) tend to be extracurricular activities that will only do so much for us educationally. In the end, students are faced with taking long classes that are of no interest to us, so our chances of staying focused and showing curiosity in what is obviously important are destroyed; it is all very discouraging to us.

Academically, U.S. schools are lacking in what is most important; all the things that were mentioned above and a few others. If we as students do not feel socially supported or interested in our classes, there is no way we will succeed academically. We just lose our dive to do well and we just will not make it. As with our social needs, there does seem to be an effort made to improve our academics with special programs, but overall it does not show.

The fact that only a few students finish high school and even less move on to college is the main evidence that our school systems needs to change. Not only in the mentioned areas, but in many others as well. It is a fact that compared to the other school systems around the world, the U.S. is looked upon with great admiration. However, there could definitely be many improvements made to make it 100% effective. Maybe in the years to come someone will figure out how to make every high school function as it was meant to; maybe then it will be the best time of everyone's lives.

Sandi Campos is 15 years old and lives in Charlottesville, Virginia.