It's time for parents and students to stop viewing high school as an extension of childhood. As college becomes unaffordable to more and more young people, better use needs to be made of tax-supported educational opportunities.

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Time to Make Better Use of High School

As a high school teacher the last nine years, I couldn't agree with you more. There are so many students hindering the college prep that high school could be for those that choose that path, and so much time is wasted reteaching and reteaching to kids that don t value education. But as you said education is not dor everyone and we need to go back to offering programs and alternatives for those that aren t fit or interested in college. We re told to differentiate but there s no differentiation for what s acceptable for them after high school.

Angela,
Right. Classroom teachers have a completely different perspective from that of the people who have the power to effect the necessary reforms. I often wonder why education seems to be the only political, social, and economic issue that is approached by means of magical thinking. The idea seems to be that if teachers would just try hard enough, they would be able to do what the members of no other profession are ever expected to do. No one expects a lawyer to win every case. It's accepted that doctors cannot save every patient. But teachers are supposed to be able to take the nation's children from every type of domestic and genetic background and turn them all into high-functioning college graduates.

Thanks for commenting.