“I look around me at school and I see a lot of my high school classmates doing elementary work. Last year, a friend of mine (a senior) was learning division and other basic math. Meanwhile, in my “regular” English class, we were studying things like the difference between “they’re” and “there” as well as “which” and “witch. We’d study 10 vocabulary words a week. I did my homework in the car on the way to school.
When I walk around at school I see changes. Paint now covers up the graffiti that was on the walls. And everyone is talking about the new computers that are coming to our campus, thanks to Prop. BB.
Will computers help us learn?
But I just can’t get excited about computers. Are they really going to help our education? I don’t think so. What we need are good teachers—educated people who will interact with the students and make sure we absorb the information we need to succeed. You’d be surprised by how many teachers misspell words as easy as education (Ironic, isn’t it?). In one class, I stopped taking notes when I realized my teacher was reading straight from the book. Students in front of computer screens will get the same effect. The computers will in fact slow the class down.
In my history class, we took a survey of our computer knowledge. Out of 35 students, only about 10 rated themselves as intermediate users and even less had the Internet. Rather than learning about King Charles’ trial, students will ask “What happens if I push this button?” We should learn about computers in computer class, not history class. I’m not against computers in any way. But we should learn how one works in the right class.
I then remember the fees that students pay for damaged or stolen books. How much will we pay for damaged computers?
I would rather see us improve the quality of teaching. The other thing that needs to improve is class scheduling. Last year, I was sick for four days during the week when we had to apply for honors classes. I came in on Friday and had to fill out, sign and write an essay for each honors class I wanted to attend. I got into English, but not honors history, even though my GPA was 4.0. Meanwhile, a student with Cs on his report card got into honors history.
My French 2 class has a native speaker. He’s completely fluent and often corrects the teacher. But his counselor wouldn’t let him take a harder class because he didn’t take French 1.
We need to know about college credits
And counselors need to do a better job of informing us—from day one—of the credits we need to graduate and get into a good college. I know too many classmates that are spending more than four years in high school because they didn’t receive enough credits to graduate.
While I’m thankful to Prop. BB for the funds that are being used for air conditioners, light fixtures etc., I believe our schools should focus on the things that really count. We need more teachers. (And I don’t mean just any person who has failed to grasp the concept of retiring.) We need teachers that are dedicated to our future success. Because I do remind you: it is we who will control the future of this country or other parts of the world. Sure, computers are magnificent technological advances, but they won’t necessarily give us the learning we need.”