Commenters on the AJC Get Schooled blog debated a new survey that found recent high school graduates feel unprepared for college and career and wish they’d been better informed about what they needed and encouraged to meet higher expectations. Here is a sampling of reader comments:
Teacher Man: Lots of kids who matriculate to colleges are unprepared to succeed because the colleges accepted them without regard to their preparation. As a public k-12 teacher, I have to shake my head when I see colleges routinely accepting kids they know full well will never survive four years, just so they can separate their folks from their college savings before they empty their pockets on two or three semesters of partying and send them packing because they can't make the grade.
Strak: Only a relatively few high school students will really buckle down and take the advanced courses needed for a good college experience. Additionally, only the same few will learn and incorporate the necessary study habits needed.
Antagonist: Everything is thrown at the students. They get things in bits and pieces just like television. Nothing is tied together. When I am teaching British Literature, I always preface the work with historical and social background. It is amazing when a very small percentage of students suddenly throw up their hands as if they've discovered something totally new in mankind.
Bo: Kids in school these days are busy texting and hiding their cell phones in class. If students were more occupied on what was happening on the board instead of texting and listening to their iPods hidden in their shirts — and their parents were not condoning their actions — the students would get prepared.
OhPlease: As long as administrators are under pressure to produce improved graduation rates, teachers will be under pressure to "find a way" to make students "successful." This is the legacy of No Child Left Behind. I have been strongly encouraged to give retest after retest, find creative ways to allow students to assess their learning, and generally make sure that all my students pass my class regardless of whether they know the material or not. It is sad, but teachers who don't play this game are not rehired.
AtlantaMom: I'm going to place the blame right at the feet of the middle-class (and above) parent. They should know what their children need and be sure they get it. Maybe that involves some enrichment in the summers. There's plenty of that around and can be had fairly inexpensively. Perhaps dual enrollment during the the school year. Who cares if the child doesn't want to interrupt his/her all-important social life? So what if the child wants to be involved in athletics? Academics comes first.
Don't tread: These high school grads feel unprepared for the next step in life, but hey, the graduation rate is the highest it's been in recent memory! I wonder how that happened? (Social promotion, dumbing down the curriculum, changing a few wrong test scores, maybe?)
SPTeacher: As I high school educator, I wish students would listen when we tell them how different things will be after high school. I teach special education, and most of my students go into the world of work thinking employers are going to be grateful to get them.
