Educational Crossroads

High school education is a important stage in a students academic journey, where students receive knowledge and skills that can help them in their future. However, there are some pros and cons when it comes to high school education. 

Diploma 

Having a high school diploma is very important and helpful to how you succeed in life. According to career one stop, with a diploma you’re likely to earn 40 % more income than someone without one.  This shows that getting a high school diploma will help you in the future when it comes to money, which is a really important thing when it comes to everyone's future. According to Achieve Virtual, While some higher institutions accept HSE for admission, all colleges and universities generally prefer a high school diploma to be considered for admission. This portrays how if a student wants to go to college, getting a high school diploma will only benefit a student going to college. 

Learning

Although a high school diploma does come very handy and is very important, kids believe that there are certain things that we learn in high school that we do not need in real life. For example a Junior high school student named David Cameron at Hillcrest high school says “there are certain classes that will help us but classes like geometry will not help us in our future.”  Many students always ask the same question,  “ When will I ever apply this to real life?” Teachers may believe that everything that students learn is helpful. For example Mrs. Frazier states, “ I don't think that there's stuff we teach that doesn't have a point. I think everything can be useful”. Another teacher Mrs. Mitchell states, “Depending on the field you go in, the base curriculum helps you get by in life when it comes to real life”. 

Future

High school education is one major step to kids having a good future. History teacher Mrs. Mitchell at Hillcrest high school states, “I do think high school education will help us in our future. There's certain skills that are useful in the real world, such as interacting with people, teachers, and learning how to learn from teachers or students you don't like. You might have to work with someone you do not like. Also the content depends on what field you plan on going to”. Mrs. Frazier again states, “As long as students take advantage of what we have to offer, it can definitely get them ahead in life.” 

High Expectations

There are a lot of high expectations when it comes to school. Kids have to focus on tests, grades, socializing, and many more things. According to Oxford Learning it states, "Expectations to get good grades in high school can lead to a lot of stress and frustration about tests, assignments, ACT/SAT scores, and college applications." When it comes to tests, kids get stressed out very easily. They have to study and prepare, but there are always some kids who no matter how much they study they still do badly on tests. Some kids are just not good test takers. When they see the scores they get furious and even more stressed. They study so much and still do not do well. This will later lead to parents being mad at the kid and that just leads to more stress to kids. The same thing goes for SAT scores and college applications. 

Online Learning 

When schools got closed because of Covid, we had to use google classroom and online platforms for our school. Ever since then, students and some teachers think that now we depend too much on technology rather than hands-on learning. For a example a AP Research teacher and Dean of Hillcrest high school Mrs. Frazier states, “I think that we depend too much on technology and wish it was more teachers teaching the students and the students watching the teacher and more interactive without computers but it's fine for homework.” 

Changes

There are some changes that school education can use or some things that teachers do not like about our school education. History teacher Mrs. Mitchell states, “For teaching in New York, we have to prepare for Regents at the end of the year, so it doesn't allow enough time to dive deeper into things that students might find interesting." Not having much time for learning can possibly affect a student in the classroom and outside of the classroom. 

High school education has its share of positives and negatives. While it gives knowledge, employment opportunities, and a good future, it can also lead to stress over tests, grades. Kids think there is some stuff we don't need to learn that will help them in their future. It's important to acknowledge these positives and negatives and work towards an education system that will help you and have less negatives.