Picture yourself seventeen-years-old, ready to take on the world after you graduate high school. But, there is a slight dilemma, you have over four F’s on your transcript. This means that you will not graduate, won’t walk at graduation, and will have to repeat those classes to graduate. This is the reality for nine of the students of the graduating class of 2016 at Horseshoe Bend High School. This problem affects the students, the teachers, the school, and the community as a whole.
Education is defined as the process of receiving or giving systematic instruction at a school or university. This definition is critical when examining the high amount of students in the Horseshoe Bend High School graduating class of 2016. What happens when the education that is being given to students isn’t working? When over one-third of the graduating class of 2016 is not graduating it raises some eyebrows. Are the teachers failing at their job? Are the students that are failing just lazy? Or is the education system just totally rigged?
Ultimately, the problem of students not graduating is a big issue, but that not what should be the main focus. The solution is what needs to be found. Solutions for this problem include, after school tutoring help for students, the guidance counselor staying one hour each day after school to help students with their graduation requirements, and study hall classes for students who are struggling to keep their grades up. Idaho’s education rating is ranked number 46 out of the 50 states (Idaho Education News). This means that Idaho is not known for education.
Less than 70% of High School students in Idaho graduate (Idaho Education News). This statistic has a direct correlation with the senior class of 2017 at Horseshoe Bend High School. There are 25 students in the current senior class at Horseshoe Bend High School. 9 of the 25 students are most likely not going to graduate. This is over one-third of the class. According to the guidance counselor at Horseshoe Bend, this is the most students he has seen in his twenty years of counseling at Horseshoe Bend that aren’t going to graduate. This is a fixable problem.
There are simple solutions to fixing this problem that can help the current senior class and the classes below them. Solutions for this problem include; after school tutoring help for students, the guidance counselor staying one hour each day after school to help students with their graduation requirements, and study hall classes for students who are struggling to keep their grades up. In order to truly understand the seriousness of this problem, I had to put myself in the perspective of the nine students who aren’t going to graduate.
The senior class is like all of the other classes in the High School. They started out as freshmen, unknowing and unknowledgeable. Freshmen in High School are still too immature to understand that High School is for real. You can’t just skate by. I interviewed the nine seniors who aren’t going to graduate and the majority of them told me that the reason they aren’t graduating is because they did poorly their freshmen year. This information took me into their eyes. The tone of the seniors was regretful. Most of them failed their classes their freshmen year.
Imagine you’re past determining the rest of your life? Messing up even one semester changed the senior’s lives forever. Now they aren’t graduating, aren’t going to go to college and aren’t going to be able to have a high paying career. The first solution to this problem is to have after school tutoring sessions. All students would be granted the opportunity to receive help from their peers. The after school tutoring sessions would include studying help, homework help and review help. The after school tutoring sessions would last for three hours every day of the school week.
This amount of time would give struggling students enough time to finish homework and to study for upcoming tests. The after school tutoring sessions would also focus on helping the freshmen with time management, study skills and emotional help. Freshmen year is hard for everyone and I know that freshmen me would have greatly appreciated help from the upper classmen. While peer help is always great for students, counseling help is also great. Sometimes what every high school student needs are an adult who will listen to them. This is where the after school counseling comes in.
The high school counselor, Jason Hennig, agreed that after school counseling would be beneficial to students of all grades. The counselling sessions would include mainly graduation requirement help. The nine students who aren’t going to graduate mainly aren’t graduating because of failed classes and not knowing what classes they are supposed to take Mr. Hennig would stay after school every day to help students with their graduating requirements. Keeping the students on track to graduate. Mr. Hennig would give each student a list of the classes they have to take to graduate.
He would also give the parents of the student a list as well. The time that Mr. Hennig would spend after school would give students all the time they want to talk to him. The final solution for the problem is the school providing special classes that are designed to help students graduate. It is sometimes difficult for students to come in after school for help due to babysitting siblings after school or work. These classes would allow for students who have these issues time to study and work on their homework. The classes would be taught by students for a T. A. class.
Students who thrive in school would help the students who are struggling. This allows for bonding opportunities between students and community service opportunities as well. Students who are struggling would learn what it takes to thrive in school and, hopefully, would be inclined to do what it takes to thrive. They would learn from their teachers. The nine students who aren’t going to graduate have an “I don’t care about anything or anyone” attitude. So if these students don’t care, then why should teachers, counselors and other students take the extra time to help them?
These students obviously don’t care about whether they graduate so why should anyone else? High School seniors often have this attitude. They don’t care about their family. They don’t care about getting good grades. This is all a part of immaturity. The more mature students care about their grades, family and community. Based on the interviews with the nine students, I could tell that they didn’t care about anything but themselves. This was frustrating to witness. The students are so selfish they can’t see how graduating or not graduating is important. This is a confusing concept.
You are so selfish that you can’t see how not graduating impacts you? Confusing, I know. While these students were selfish they were also remorseful. As the interview went on, the students realized how not graduating truly impacted their future. In my opinion, sometimes teenagers need someone to care about their future in order for them to care about their future. Even after a twenty-minute interview, I could see a change in all of the nine student’s views. The students asked me not to use their names because they were embarrassed they weren’t graduating.
I believe that all nine of the students will eventually graduating. It hurts my heart that they won’t be able to walk done the isles with all of their friends. When you grow up in a small town like Horseshoe Bend, you go to school with the kids in your class for years. It takes a personal toll on not only the seniors who aren’t graduating, but the people around them. Reflecting on this issue, I want to stress the importance of working hard, and most importantly helping others who are struggling. Helping others is the ultimate solution to almost all of the world’s problems.