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Tristen Kim

Professor Beard

English 114B

September 27, 2023

Reflecting on My Highschool Adventure

After attending all four years of high school at a small Christian private school, I realized

the many strengths and weaknesses my school portrayed. I attended at Heritage Christian School

and at times I reminisced about their iconic slogan, “Proud to be a Warrior.” With the question

being, were the students, teachers and staff really “Proud to be a Warrior?” Others may agree or

disagree with having a “fun high school experience.” High school for many peers could have

been four straight years of hardship. However, my overall high school experience was honestly a

blast. I created many lifetime memories and met people that I now consider family. But of

course, nothing can be perfect. Relating my experiences with logistical sources such as The

Huntington News, The New York Times, and The Atlantic Media Company, I can assist my

objective which is to examine my opinion about the high school education system and tie it with

my personal experiences. Sharing how well deserved teachers aren’t receiving enough while

putting so much effort into their jobs, the damaging cause and effects with some students’ mental

wellness, and how students are not learning about the necessary knowledge of the “real world.”

As to many, we as students believe that high school is supposed to prepare us for our

future and what career holds against us. As much as I would like to agree with that statement, I

would have to completely disagree. In all four years of high school, I’ve only had one class and

teacher that actually instructed real life situations and issues. I strongly believe that today’s high

school education system doesn’t display the importance of the real world. To a certain extent,
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this may cause failure for some students in the near future. Unable to educate those who are

unaware of how the real world works and guidance to a precise career path. New York Times

article, “What Students Are Saying About How to Improve American Education,” a quote by

Eliana D from Hoggard High School stated, “I barely understand credit and they expect me to be

perfectly fine living alone a year from now. We need to learn about real life, things that can

actually benefit us... Exams just seem so pointless in the long run. Why do we have to dedicate

our high school lives studying equations we’ll never use?” I agree with this comment about

today’s American education. Why should we dedicate so much time and effort for something we

may not use in our predicted future? Instead I believe there should be more variety of courses

students may want to learn. Schools should direct students on the basic skills you need in life.

In 11th grade, it was my first year of taking chemistry. In this period of time, we all

experienced the COVID-19 shutdown so we were learning from home. Every single student who

had taken that chemistry class ended the semester with either a C or below. This was caused by

the lack of support from the teacher and the incredibly difficult and large amounts of homework.

My teacher was then fired by the end of the first semester and by the time the second semester

started, we were given the opportunity to go back to school in person. For the rest of the

semester, my peers and I had to take an online course with no teacher. With the lack of

motivation and no physical teacher actually teaching caused many students {including myself}

to fail the entire course. In The Atlantic’s article “The Purpose of Education,” Magdalena

indulged in what role teachers should project to students. “I think the teacher’s role is to engage

the student and find what makes the student interested in the subject. It’s about finding passion…

allowing you to really search out what you want to do and find your passion.” Addition to this

quote the following 12th grade year, taking chemistry once again we finally received a new
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teacher. Our new teacher was young so she had a very understanding, attentive way of teaching.

She engaged with the students and ensured that the entire class understood the lesson. Teachers

with a driving passion to teach will result in happier and engaging students.

Senior year my US history and econ teacher instructed real world situations that allowed

me to think critically to benefit my future life. Having the comprehension of finance works in

favor for success in the future of students at an earlier age. First coming into those classes in the

beginning of the year, I would say that I gained a lot more information about the what goes on in

today’s world. In 2021 The Hunntington News wrote on how the education system has failed our

students in the present day and how there must be an effective change. Jack Trapp writes,

“Rather than understanding how credit lines work, they can recite the periodic table –

impressive, maybe, but useless for anyone who’s not a chemist,” highlighting the idea of how

teachers now test their students on tests of memorization rather than critical thinking skills.

Students must understand the economical way of life and seeing life through the scope as a game

finance.

After an overview of my highschool journey, I created many bonds with great people,

cherished many events with my friends, and overall had a great time in high school. However, I

also came to a realization that many teachers are not getting the recognition they deserve, schools

are not providing the right knowledge about the reality of today’s world, and mental health issues

students face throughout America. Going through high school and even to this day I am unaware

of my career path. Setting students up for the future will result in less failure, focusing more on

career paths and less of the traditional learning courses. Some students such as myself may never

need to apply certain topics such as science or math to their future life, so there is no reason for

learning something irrelevant. Offering more options to students can result in success and
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passion for students. As humans we all wish and dream to succeed, why not start a stepping

stone for students such as myself.

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Works Cited

1. Trapp, Jack. “Op-Ed: Why the American Education System Is Failing US.” The

Huntington News, 26 Jan. 2021,

huntnewsnu.com/64775/editorial/op-ed-why-the-american-education-system-is-failing-us

/.

2. Slapik, Magdalena. “The Purpose of Education.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company,

2 Oct. 2017,

www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2017/10/the-purpose-of-education-according-to-s

tudents/541602/.

3. Network, The Learning. “What Students Are Saying about How to Improve American

Education.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 19 Dec. 2019,

www.nytimes.com/2019/12/19/learning/what-students-are-saying-about-how-to-improve-

american-education.html?smid=em-share.