Senior Year Flaws

768 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The effects of student drop out of college

High school teaches students impactful lessons, both academically and socially. High school prepares young adults for life; they choose from many post-secondary school pursuits ranging from higher education to a direct entrance into the labor force. A “one size fits all” high school format disregards the many paths individuals can take in life. Walter Kirn makes a strong argument to axe senior year in Class Dismissed, but many Americans want to stick to tradition and what works. Strong arguments exist for both cutting out senior year and maintaining it. Students should choose whether they take advantage of or cut out senior year.
Administrators and teachers think that four years of high school should remain the norm because of the simplicity …show more content…

Cutting twelfth grade for everyone would make new seniors a year younger and a year less mature. Critics to a four year high school education claim that the seniors shows immaturity, but give this year’s juniors the responsibilities and freedoms that the seniors have and the realization would come about that cutting twelfth grade leads to negative consequences. Advocates for a uniform three year high school greatly understate the benefits of senior year. The numerous opportunities senior year provides range from the opportunity to become a leader on a team and community, to learning how to have a professional approach in relationships and work. Students have the opportunity to take college level classes free of charge. This benefits the students and their families because it allows them to save on college tuition by coming in with many of their general education requirements completed. Cutting senior year would create a shift in the practice of graduating college early. By graduating high school in three years, students would surely have to spend four or more years in college instead of spending four in high school and three in college. Save for a select few, high school needs to remain a four year education in order to greater prepare students for life after

Show More
Related

  • Analysis Of Let Teenagers Try Adulthood By Leon Botstein

    647 Words  | 2 Pages

    Leon Botstein, the author of “Let Teenagers Try Adulthood,” serves as the president of Bard College, as well as a professor of arts and humanities. Botstein wrote this article after the tragic shootings at Columbine high school in 1999. This event triggered something inside Botstein causing him to think negatively about the American high school system. In the article “Let Teenagers Try Adulthood,” Botstein explains, in his own words, of the corrupt happenings of present day American high school (368-369). Although Botstein may have high credentials, he provides no evidence to support his negative claims and opinions about teenagers and American high schools.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of Abolish High School

    518 Words  | 2 Pages

    The purpose of Rebecca Solnit’s “Abolish High School” is to criticize the present high school system along with the emotional and academic strain it puts on developing minds. Solnit’s intended audience is any educated person with the opportunity to voice their opinions on the current approach to schooling.

    Read More

  • Mark Edmundson On The Uses Of A Liberal Education Summary

    933 Words  | 2 Pages

    The idea of having to go to school every day for at least twelve years conjures a lot of different emotions – some may be excited about the idea of learning new things and exploring their minds, while others may be exasperated just by imagining the curriculum they must complete during this time span. The term “senioritis” is derived from the feeling of irritability during a student’s last year of high school; this can cause a nosedive in GPA, lack of effort in assignments, and leaves the student with little to no determination to finish the school year. With this said, as years pass through a student’s academic journey, their passion, if there ever was any to begin with, is likely to dwindle down by the time

    Read More

  • Summary of Jonathan Kozol's, On Being a Teacher, and Botstein's Interview, Why High School Must Go

    1428 Words  | 3 Pages

    The trivialization of high school in the present educational organization for teens has been posited in the public; however, it is one vital issue that is being debated.

    Read More

  • College Pressures By William Zinsser

    1735 Words  | 4 Pages

    From the beginning of high school, students strap on their seatbelts and prepare for one of the most vigorous races of their lives – becoming successful. With the rare occurrence of a break, kids are expected to keep on driving as fast and as powerfully as they can in order to get into a “great” college, which would be followed by graduate school and then an actual job that would make a lot of money. In American society, common values include working hard, determination, and being so productive that free time is not even a question. However, this philosophy is taking a major toll on American college and high school students. For at least 40 years, America’s future has been steadily growing unmotivated, tired, and hopeless due to the overemphasis on performing well in school. This phenomenon is appropriately expounded in William Zinsser’s “College Pressures”, which takes a look at the top four sources of tension that cause these feelings of dejection and agitation. After reading this article, I came up with a few solutions to this national problem. It is time to switch the harsh, over-encouraging green light of education to a comfortable yellow one. In order to make this ideal transition, directors of education across the country need to primarily reduce the amount of out-of-class assignments, lighten the grading system, and incorporate days in the school year that allow students to express their thoughts about school and provide useful feedback.

    Read More

  • American Education Sysytem

    682 Words  | 2 Pages

    In today’s society, we would describe high school as a four-year passageway into adulthood [college]. Ever since our current education system was implemented, high school would begin at the 9th grade level, and end at the 12th grade level. With the average age for 9th graders to be at 14 transitioning to 15 and for 12th graders to average in at 17 transitioning to 18; this have been the norm, for the American society for ages. In Leon Botstein’s “Let Teenagers Try Adulthood,” he writes an opinionated piece on how the current American education system is obsolete; plaguing the current youth by preventing their way into adulthood and isolating them from their experiences of it. From my experiences as a Junior in high school, I do have to disagree with Botstein’s statement that the current American high school is obsolete. Age and maturity would not, and should not be the main cause of the American high school system to go obsolete. Adulthood is not based by age, it is by the students’ own mentality; for some students, being a “late bloomer” would not be in their favor if the proposed solution by Botstein would have taken place. Using the Littleton [Columbine High School] shootings as a way to support his argument, is inconsequential. In no means I’m saying the current American high school system is the definition of perfection. The system is flawed, unsound, and imperfect, but for other reasons

    Read More

  • Is College Worth It?

    1474 Words  | 3 Pages

    In today 's society, there are multitudes of pressure high school students face. One of the biggest pressures put on high school students is the decision of going to college. From the moment students enter into a secondary education, they are constantly asked questions about their future plans. Teachers and parents expect students to perform their best, while giving them no chance but to look towards college. In some cases, however, college might not be the answer. Other options exist as alternate avenues after high school, however, these are not as often expressed as the idea of a four year university. Although a college education and degree is most often more impactful than a high school diploma, there is too much pressure

    Read More

  • Analysis Of High School Confidential: Notes On Teen Movies

    839 Words  | 2 Pages

    Making the transition from middle school to high school is a huge stepping stone in a teenager’s life. High school represents both the ending of a childhood and the beginning of adulthood. It’s a rite of passage and often many teens have the wrong impression when beginning this passage. Most began high school with learning the last thing on their mind. They come in looking for a story like adventure and have a false sense of reality created through fabricated movie plots acted out by fictional characters. In all actuality high school is nothing like you see in movies, television shows, or what you read about in magazines.

    Read More

  • Ceasing Senior Year

    750 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Twelfth grade…amounts to a fidgety waiting period that practically begs for decent into debauchery and concludes in a big dumb party under a mirror ball that spins in place like the minds of those beneath it.” Essayist and novelist Walter Kirn, in his article “Class Dismissed”, uses statements such as this to attest his opinion that senior year should be removed in part—if not altogether—from the high school system. Kirn sees senior year as an unnecessary extension to the education of students when time is wasted or otherwise spent causing trouble. So completely does he believe this that he states the following: “… [seniors] rule, not because they’ve accomplished much… but because it’s tradition…” The work force or beginning higher education would be superior choices to the twelfth grade in his eyes. With the possible money saved in absence of grade twelve, there seems to be no issue with Kirn’s opinion. However, as a senior myself, I believe that Walter Kirn has not considered some important aspects of senior year that are more valuable than people realize.

    Read More

  • Senioritis Essay

    1079 Words  | 3 Pages

    “In a study entitled “The Lost Opportunity of Senior Year: Finding a Better Way," released in 2001, the commission found that for many students, that year "becomes party-time rather than a time to prepare for one of their most important life transitions. ... Many students reported 'ditching ' senior classes because the atmosphere encouraged them to consider senior year a farewell tour of adolescence and school." The commission also suggested that senioritis may, in fact, be most pervasive among the "best and the

    Read More

  • Ged Vs High School Diploma Essay

    538 Words  | 2 Pages

    Students should be required to get a diploma or a GED because of better job opportunities, go to college, and have a job that has higher wages. So, students that are still in high school it would be best if you stayed in school and get your high school

    Read More

  • High Schools Should Change Current Curriculum to Better Prepare Students for College

    940 Words  | 2 Pages

    Imagine walking down the hall of a crowded high school. Most of the students there do not envision how well school prepares them for college. Teenagers have few cares in the world! A vast majority takes the bare minimum amount of courses needed to fulfill school requirements. These graduation prerequisites usually do not come close to adequate, and rarely exceed sufficiency. Should high schools change current curriculum to better prepare students for college? The answer is simply, "yes." Consideration of why and how holds the key to solving America's problem.

    Read More

  • The Benefits of Electives in a School's Curriculum

    909 Words  | 2 Pages

    The purpose of a high school education is to prepare one for college and ultimately, the workforce. By the end of freshman year, in high school, the average student has learned a sufficient amount of material in enough subjects that he or she can be considered "well-rounded" in his or her studies. This is because the rate at which material is covered in schools, across the nation, has increased dramatically compared to the past. Students now learn more advanced curriculum at a younger age, and this continues to become more evident year after year. High school has now become more focused on teaching students a small amount of information on several essential subjects, rather than having them focus deeply on the subjects they seek to pursue in their career.

    Read More

  • Explain Why Some Schools Think That Teenagers Should Only Do Three Years In High School

    481 Words  | 1 Pages

    The more years in school the more education. Which is a true statement. The longer they go the smarter they will be. It would also help them get into a better college and get a really good job. If they got a really good job, teens could get quite a lot of money and it would help them with starting their life. School gets teens started off with their life, especially college and people need good grades to get into college, so if teenager went through high school for four years instead of three they would be getting more education to help them get into a really good college.

    Read More

  • A Comparison of High School and College

    572 Words  | 2 Pages

    School plays an important role in our lives. Many people will spend more than fifteen years at school in order to get the qualifications that are required to work in a specific field. Those years are broken down into several levels, some of them being more enjoyable than others. Two very important levels that people go through are high school and college. Even though some think that these levels are almost the same, there are significant differences between them. The cost of high school is not the same as the cost of college. Also, some differences apply from an academic point of view. Typically, the social environment also differs from high school to college, which can be related to the question of freedom versus responsibility.

    Read More

More about Senior Year Flaws

Open Document