I’m a sophomore and am conducting research on various the methodology of various education systems and their correlation to post-graduate success rates. So… I want to know your opinion.
How do you feel high school has prepared you for life after school? (eg: skills such as public speaking, effective questions, how to prepare a job application, etc)
I go to a private school, so keep this in mind.
My school has prepared me particularly well.
1.) I wear a blazer, tie, shirt, belt, slacks, dress socks, and dress shoes every single day as part of my required dress code. I have to keep a pretty professional appearance at all times (clean-shaven, relatively decent looking hair, etc.), so I feel that in this regard I’m really well prepared.
2.) Every single year, I give 3 required speeches on various topics for my English classes. I’ve given speeches that range from trying to sell products to debating with another person on mandatory minimum sentences. It’s been really great preparation standing in front of a room of 40 other high school boys and a teacher for public speaking.
3.) My school requires that every student learn how to write a resume their junior year, and in our sophomore year some of the required skills are learning how to write a business letter, a friendly letter (kind of useless in my personal opinion), fill out a check, and we have to learn basic skills for business
My school also has an incredibly strict set of rules such as no phones allowed in school at any time (before and after), not allowed to wear certain patterns of clothing or types of shirts/pants, very strict policies on behavior, no leaving the facilities at any time, etc. In that regard, I feel very prepared for whatever I have to do at a job. I had an internship at a hospital’s administrative office over the summer doing basic administrative work and felt incredibly prepared for whatever I had to do.
There are a lot of other more negative aspects of my school that have prepared me for post-high school life. The teachers at my school can be jerks to put it lightly, so really there’s nothing that fazes me. At my school we’re basically required to get thick skins, otherwise there’s really no way that we’d be able to make it through the four years and graduate. Some of the rules are borderline insane, such as not being allowed to go to the bathroom at any time during the day except lunch or not being allowed to go anywhere during lunch except the cafeteria. Even the worst behaved kids at my school aren’t particularly bad compared to what I’ve seen at other schools since the rules and expectations are incredibly high.
I don’t feel that my coursework as a whole has been particularly helpful. I’ve had to do quite a bit of writing and had to study lots of grammar during my freshman and sophomore years, so in that capacity I feel prepared. That is particularly helpful when it comes to proofreading or helping write letters/emails for administrators. I learned a small amount of business math during my junior year in my Calculus I class, but most of that was pretty impractical. I don’t think most coursework in general is particularly helpful though, unless you’re doing something with a completely practical application.
Hope this helps and I’m willing to expand on any topics or answer any questions you may have.
Wow-- thank you so much for that response! The survey I am conducting (I couldn’t post it here since we aren’t able to post external links on CC) don’t really give much room for people to respond in any depth so this is great. Your feedback is much appreciated.
In terms of coursework, what type of schedule did/do you have? I know that my school only offers IB classes and no AP so my schedule isn’t too flexible… considering my school is a small public school with limited teaching staff we don’t have too many course options.
On an off note, one of the things I noticed through the survey responses is that 99% percent of the people who responded could not follow directions (I asked a question in which I clearly stated in bold letters to CHOOSE 2 and practically everyone chose at least 3). At your school, did students follow directions? I would assume so given that the culture of your school was much more strict than mine, but I figured I’d ask.
Also, what motivated you to succeed? Was it the goal of getting into college, pleasing parents, a desire to learn, etc…
My school offers zero electives, you cannot choose your schedule, and there are no AP classes. If you are accepted to the school in eighth grade, you get the option to take three placement tests for math, science, and foreign language. Placing out of math puts you into geometry for your freshman year and accelerates you each year going forward, placing out of science puts you into oceanography for your freshman year while retaining the same courses for the other years, and placing out of language puts you into the second level of your language and accelerates you.
This has put me into advanced math courses which are filled with students in my grade, but my Spanish courses have been filled by mostly students who are a year ahead of me. However, Spanish V at my school is pretty difficult – pretty similar to what’s expected in an AP level course. Calculus at my school doesn’t follow the curriculum of an AP course exactly, but it’s easy enough to take the AB exam with a little bit of prep, however we cover most of the material in Calc BC as well. My English and history classes are quite demanding as well. English is a pretty thorough examination of most classical literature. Freshman English is basically just a survey of short stories and various famous works from different time periods as well as a lot of grammar and writing. Sophomore English is American literature, mostly novels and poetry. English III is British literature (mostly poetry; some novels), and English IV is mostly short stories and a few novels from modern writing. Our history courses aren’t anything like the AP classes. There is a huge emphasis on geography (freshman world history required us to have the maps of Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, Japan, China, India, and South East Asia memorized), but there is very little DBQ-based essay writing for my school’s history courses.
My school teaches basically “Regents” science courses (the Regents exams are basically New York’s standardized tests), but our Bio course is pretty difficult. It’s similar in difficulty to AP Biology, but with a heavier focus on molecular biology. My school uses a community college textbook for bio, but it’s pretty difficult to do well on the AP exam (I self-studied and only got a 3). My courses barely align with the material in SAT2s and AP exams, so it’s quite difficult to prepare for those types of tests.
Students at my school, for the most part, follow directions. However, following directions is heavily incentivized at my school. There is a demerit and slip system at my school where if you attain a certain amount of demerits, you can get expelled. People in any system will try to push the rules, but my school makes it pretty clear that if you get caught breaking the rules you’ll be punished pretty severely for it. Depending on how serious the task is, people at my school will more or less follow the directions. If it’s something minor they’re less likely to, but the teachers can get most students to comply in just about any situation.
What motivated me to succeed… I love learning and chose my school because I thought that it would give me the most opportunity to meet similarly minded people. I was motivated for a couple of reasons though. First, my parents were paying for my education so I felt that I had to make it worth their investment. Second, I really do enjoy learning and I’ve always wanted to know as much as I can. Three, I had an emotional investment in this school. I was miserable for a lot of high school and I felt that if I couldn’t even say that I was successful for the four years I was unhappy, it would’ve felt like a waste of my time and effort.
Best of luck with the survey!
Another private school kid here, although my experience seems to be quite different in many ways.
My school gives students a remarkable amount of freedom. We don’t have a uniform (or even an official dress code) and we’re allowed to go anywhere we want for lunch. Occasionally, some teachers will even let us skip class if we explain why we want/need to.
Nonetheless, I feel VERY well prepared for university. In fact, many students at my school have actually come back and said that their marks went UP during first year. Some possible reasons:
-My school’s courses are all honours or AP. In addition, many courses are automatically fast-tracked (e.g. all of our math/science courses are taken a year earlier). We also have 5 periods in a day, meaning we take more courses than many other schools (although interestingly, as we get older, the number of courses we take in a year also decreases). Thus, from a young age, we get used to working hard. It definitely shows in our AP results - our AP Biology teacher has never had a student get less than a 4.
-The teachers are passionate and committed - and expect you to be to. Most of my teachers have a genuine love for what they do, and it makes us want to try harder as students too. They are willing to do a lot to help you. For example, many of them will stay past 9pm every day for a month straight to supervise extracurriculars and are very willing to debate and discuss with students outside of class. However, they also have high expectations. In my first year of Spanish, my final assignment was to do a 30-minute thesis presentation on a Spanish-speaking country…in Spanish, with no notes allowed.
-The guidance department is great. We have (mandatory) classes where we learn things such as how to write a cover letter, apply to jobs etc. In addition, the guidance department is very open to students dropping in for advice. From mock-interviews to university applications, they are very willing (and able) to help.
-All of the students are ambitious and passionate about what they do. Being surrounded by over-achievers makes you want to over-achieve too. It’s great being able to turn to someone beside you at lunch and have a stimulating conversation about a computer science problem without being judged (NOTE: I’m not saying this is all we talk about…we talk about normal, teenage stuff too!)
-There are a lot of resources. We have access to a diverse range of extracurriculars (which are all almost completely student-run). In competitions such as DECA, we often do very well, thanks to the many veterans who are available to teach newcomers. We also have access to a very good library system and labs that are quite well-equipped for a high school.
All of these factors have contributed to a school where you have the resources to pursue your own interests. Rather than make us complacent and lazy, the freedom we have teaches us to figure out what we want in life and how to motivate ourselves. Thus, even in university, we are able to maintain our rhythm and not become overwhelmed by the lack of structure/amount of time we have to dedicate to studying outside of class.
I hope this helped a bit!
I go to an college prep, “all - dudes” school.
I do believe that my school is preparing me to be a great son, future husband, and a man of character.
-We are required to wear uniform everyday. In addition, we are mandated to be cleanly shaven and have a good public appearance. I believe that it will prepare us when we have professional jobs someday!
-Our teachers and administration are dedicated to the success of our students. Sometimes I go to my classes early with my friends during break or lunch time, and I always see my teachers tutoring or helping out a student. At times, I don’t see my teachers eating or relaxing. It is small things that make a big impact to the students. In addition, they are great sources of inspiration and wisdom for me. They are willing to give you advice or counseling whenever you need it.
-My school is rigorously preparing us for top-tier universities. Every week, we have so many tests, essays, projects, and homework. Although some not agree with my statement, my school is trying to push and prepare the students. Also, school has many APs and specific discipline courses (Engineering, Medicine, Law, etc.). It becomes easier to find your passion, because it will be that powerful driving force for the rest of our lives/academic careers. In addition, we always have presentations and speeches. It becomes really natural for us, and we gain confidence from it.
-It is really diverse. People from different countries, religions, and races attend my school, and I learn a lot from them. It expands my view and understanding of the world. In addition, I have a wide variety of friends (athletes, scholars, gamers, key clubbers, etc.) rather than a single clique.
-All-male high school? Although we are filled with a single gender, we have many events with our sister high school. I do believe that there are benefits in an all-male environment. First of all, you have less distractions, and you are more dedicated to your work. Believe me, it does have a big effect. Personally, being in an all-male school helped me grow out of my bubble. For example, I admit that I was a shy, timid kid before I went to high school. Now, I am really outgoing. I advise and lead my fellow peers in various ECs, and I am an active participant whether it is on the field, in the classroom, or at home. Another thing that is separates my school from the rest is that sense of brotherhood among us. We hold a sense of patriotism and pride in our school at all times. Credo! 
-Finally, my school engages the students to contribute to society and have compassion for the poor. For example, we would always have trips to homeless shelters, soup kitchens, and elementary schools. It sparked an undying fire for students like me to assist others. I never realized that doing simple things can be an enormous help for others.
Lol, I am also doing a similar research project like yours. I hope that helps. Best of your luck!
Public school student here!
There are many different “specialties” that students can choose, but can only switch once from freshman to sophomore year. We have:
-Studio Art
-Animation (Graphic design is being taken out)
-Culinary Arts
-Hospitality
-Medical Studies (ranging from CNAs to physical therapists to surgeons)
-Dental Studies
-Law
-Law enforcement (police training and a new firefighting program that’s replacing graphic design)
We have a kitchen, engineering rooms, computer labs, a mock court, a dentist lab (with real dental chairs, tools, and mannequins), medical rooms (with mannequins lying in hospital beds, and tools doctors use), etc. The teachers give students real experience on what it’s like to work in the field of their choice, as well as educating them as they would in college or trade school, which is supposed to give them a leg up in admissions. They certify students in things like ServSafe and CPR as early as freshman year. Some specialties are associated with clubs or organizations for competition, and they always do very, very well. Many people in the school have internships with local businesses their senior year.
Every high school in my district sort of operates in this way (for example, one school has a program for environmental sciences and has a self sustaining farm and another school is designed for students to get certified in jobs like mechanics and cosmetology for jobs that don’t require a college degree), but my school is specifically designed around these specialties, and thus, have more room and money for professional and real equipment.
To graduate, one semester of speech is required, which is interviewing, presentation, and resume skills, but it isn’t very elaborate and mediocre at best, though I would still make it required. We have things like finance courses available, but that’s usually if you only have a free elective and have already filled your required elective courses.
We have free dress (with restrictions, like no low cut shirts or flip flops), and have to “dress for success” on Wednesdays, though most teachers don’t usually enforce it. No visible tattoos, piercings, blah blah blah. I think it helps in the real world, though.
Now, in terms of academics…
To accommodate the specialty classes, we operate on an A/B day schedule with 90 minute periods WHICH I LOVE! <3 Periods 1-4 on A day, 5-8 on B day. Once you’re an upperclassman, you have a double blocked, 3-hour period for your specialty. I love it because teachers have more time to teach the material, although we usually get more homework because they need to fill two lessons in one period. And by we, I mean the AP kids, because regular and honors kids have such a light homework load.
My school has so many AP courses. Everyone is encouraged to take an AP class and most do before they graduate. There is a lot of opportunity to succeed academically. Teachers are required to stay a certain amount of time for tutoring, and you’re given a one week window to remediate summatives (that count for 70% of your score) for up to an 85. The passing threshold is a 70%.
All AP tests are given to students for free. The district covers all costs. You are also given an SAT test and an ACT test free your junior year.
With that being said, students here seem to throw all of those great opportunities in the garbage. They’re lazy and it pains me to see teachers trying so hard for students that blow off assignments and celebrate when they’re failing ONLY one class, and scraping by in the others. The students want to achieve the bare minimum and nothing else. This system, however, is amazing for the students who do try and THOSE ones who excel.
Many specialties are associated with organizations that compete and succeed. To go, the students prepares by doing a project or studying (working with others, meeting deadlines) and must be passing all of their classes. People usually take class off to travel to another city for competition, where they stay at hotels and eat in restaurants, and it’s a blast! That prepares people for travel and encourages interpersonal communication, as well as impressing people with their skills (presentation and otherwise). While ECs are encouraged and we have some, there isn’t an abundance of them as I would like it to be.
Lots of people go to college, whether it’s our community college next door or state schools. My specialty teacher promotes his college a lot, and I believe that is motivating for students. Like I said, the system is great for those who use it to their advantage. At some point, someone went to Duke. In 2009, I think the valedictorian went to Yale, but the overwhelming majority who go to college stay in state. A tiny fraction go out of state. But nevertheless, my school prepares people well in their specialty as long as the student themself put in some effort.
That’s all I could think of right now!
Aww man I thought this was a HS reflection thread.
Pretty bad. Didn’t get enough sleep. It’s almost as if I’m constantly ready to faceplant on the keyboard at any moment and rcmk,t tr f cxrrfhd x
Seems like most people you have go to some sort of prep school or private school.
I am finishing school at a very public high school in the Midwest. About 75% of the graduating students (not all students, graduating students) go on to some sort of college. The rest either go straight to work or go into the military. Out of a graduating class of about 800 or 900, we generally have one or two people go to “top tier” (Ivy/MIT/Stanford/etc) schools and maybe one more go to a school slightly under that (e.g. Duke).
High school in and of itself hasn’t prepared me for really anything. We have a decent amount of AP classes offered and somewhat flexible scheduling, so you can sort of do whatever you want to, but the quality of the education itself is at times abysmal. We are considered to be one of the better schools in our area, and probably in the top 50 or so in the state (public), so this isn’t like I’m going to a bad school. It’s pretty much average (maybe slightly above).
I learned most things in my classes through studying on my own… the teachers occasionally helped in certain classes, but if I wanted to know something, it was up to me. As far as preparing me for postgraduate life… I can’t say for sure. High school doesn’t really prepare you for the real world, it prepares you for college. No speaking practice unless someone took debate, no effective questions (whatever that means), and we did have a mandatory class on how to prepare job applications and resumes and stuff but nobody took it seriously, it was a tool for inflating the average grades of students.
I guess I’m kind of confused as to what exactly you want us to reflect on… could you describe some more definite questions?
As a sophomore at my school, I can only tell you what I’ve learned so far.
I go to an extremely high-achieving public school in the Bay Area; although it’s open enrollment, many of the people are sheltered and we face less problems than other schools. Our main source of stress is academics. By the way, we’re 86% Asian, so there’s a pervasive “Asian” culture in our school. The Asians tend to band together, the Indians tend to band together, the white kids/basketball players tend to band together. There are outliers, though, and I’ve heard our school isn’t as cliquey as many–you still interact with people from a lot of different groups on a daily basis, and you’re friends with a lot of people who aren’t part of your normal circle.
Academically, I feel like my school has done an okay job of preparing me for the outside world. I’ve had stellar teachers and horrible ones, and it’s helped me work through a lot of challenges. I’ve had to work with people who aren’t very intelligent and people who are far more intelligent than me (there’s a kid who got every single question on the AP Physics C Mechanics (Physics C is only offered to seniors at my school) test right as a freshman–as in, he didn’t get anything wrong). My math teachers, generally, have been amazing, and so have my English teachers (although I can’t say much about my current English teacher, the one I had last year was a really good teacher, even if I did pull a B+ in his class). However, I’ve found some other classes a bit lacking.
I think what’s prepared me the most for the outside world, however, are my extracurriculars. My school offers over 90 clubs; although many don’t actually do anything, there are those that teach you valuable skills. For example, MUN has really helped me with my speaking and communication skills, while just generally making me a more aware person. Running a literary magazine at the middle school has helped me learn how to influence someone younger than me. Guard has given me a family away from home.
My school, in a way, has prepared me, although it’s probably sheltered me too much. However much I wish I went to a school where I’d be above-average, my school has helped me grow.
@ikooldiscovery It is! Feel free to reflect on whatever you want to!
@Stanccepted Thanks for the reply! In terms of some definite questions, I guess I’m interested in how school has prepared you overall, so…
I go to an average public school. We have a good amount of AP classes as well as electives. We have a required “computer apps” class that touches on resumes, cover letters and career searching, and we also have a required civics class. There is an elective personal finance class, econ class, consumer law class, career prep class, etc. but they’re not really advertised or encouraged. If I had to go into the workforce, I’d do well because of my own merit, not because my school prepared me well. I’ve taken my own time to research “real life” skills. I think our school does allow students to gain real world skills, but doesn’t encourage students enough to partake. I think the way it plays out, students that are motivated and concerned with their future prepare themselves for the real world on their own terms.
@Stanccepted I was going to say that last night, but I didn’t know if I should. Other than math and sometimes biology, I don’t remember much a month later. For example, history is just a cram-the-week-of-the-test subject. If I took an exam tomorrow over what all we’ve learned 8th grade history and so far in my freshman history class with no preparation I would get a C+ I bet lol.
I go to a very average public high school. I feel like regular public school is all about what you make of it. You can go to my school, scrape by, do nothing, and then not go to college, or you can use every opportunity to learn a lot of life skills, learn a ton of stuff from all of your classes, then go to Harvard, or another Ivy league school.
So, as far as public speaking, our school prepares us pretty well. I’m in debate, so I’m VERY well prepared for it. However, even if you don’t take debate, we have presentations in our AP Human Geography class fairly frequently. We learn skills like dressing professionally, too. For APHUGS, we have to dress up to give presentations on occasion. Also if you’re in any business or technology class, you have to dress up 2 times per month. For debate, we have to dress up for every tournament Honestly, I think it’s better to have to dress up on occasion like this rather than having a regular uniform. This allows you to express yourself, but also know how to dress up when appropriate. I personally see no benefits to uniform over the way my school does it.
If I was to go into the workforce now, I feel like I would be pretty prepared. Obviously, I don’t have the job-specific skills I would need, but I’ve learned all of the basic life skills from my school.
I’ve learned strict time management from band and AP/Honors classes. I’ve learned not to procrastinate, etc. Also, I’ve learned good people skills. Honestly, although I can’t stand a few people in my 1 lower level class, I think that I learned a lot of helpful skills from dealing with them (although it pains me to say that). Basically, it prepared me for those horrible coworkers in the future
My school TOTALLY encouraged us to learn in our own way, and that’s what I love about public high school. There’s so many options. I would be totally sad if I went to a school with very limited electives. For example, for sophomore and freshman year, you have to stick to a track for your science, english, and social studies class, but you have 3 electives that have A TON of options, and you can take whatever level of math you want (you have to take algebra 1 and geometry, but can chooses honors or regular). For junior and senior year, you get to completely choose your own schedule however you want! (as long as you’re meeting the graduation requirements) I love my elective choices! You can take an AP Social Science, or a music class, or journalism, or art, or an extra science class, or technology, or business, or drama, or a foreign language, or culinary, or debate, or anything else! The opportunities are endless, and you can do something that interests you, and maybe even something that you want to have a career in.
The other way that we have freedom to learn in our own way is that we always get open ended project. I love this! It allows us to use our creativity to learn! Personally, I learn way better doing something cool than just writing a simple paper. For example, my friend and I build a life sized person as a book report on the schoolwide read we had AND, we got 3rd place for the projects in 9th grade! I think II learned more through that than I would’ve through an essay.
The only way we don’t have freedom to learn in our own way is notes in a few of our classes, which frustrates me. For math, biology, and human geography, we have to have our notebooks a certain way, and it really annoys me. Especially in science, she either makes us use two column notes or power notes, and sometimes power notes. They all drive me crazy.
But overall, I really like my school and enjoy learning there. I love public school for it’s diversity. I went to a catholic private school for elementary school, and my sister went to one for her freshman year, and we both thought a few things: First, it is boringly not diverse. Everyone looks similar and has similar backgrounds. It’s really no fun. Like most people are from this country, practice the same religion, and have the same interests, oh, and the WORST, listen to most of the same music. I love my school’s diversity now! Everyone is sooo different and it’s refreshing. I say this carefully, but at my private school and my sister’s there was a lot more stuck up people. I’m NOT saying that all private school people are stuck up, but I’d say about 30% more are. And it’s annoying. This may just be my bad experience, but I had “friends” who I was always questioning if they were really my friends. So did my sister. And since we both had gone to private schools our whole lives at that point, we thought that’s what “friendship” was. Like the people were all SOO dramatic and always tried to make other people feel bad. I’m not saying EVERYONE was, but a lot more than in my current school. For me, I think public school was the best option, and I’m totally sending my kids to public school when I have them (in the FAR future lol)
Wow… I just realized I wrote A LOT.
My first high school was a public school, it was pretty good academically, but overcrowded. I had absolutely no friends in that school. (I moved to the town a year before). The kids were really snobby. I left this school in 9th grade.
My second high school was an alternative school. I went here from end of 9th grade-Dec Jr year. The kids there had so many issues, it was impossible to work. It was very small. The work was way too easy there, I barely learned anything. I definitely didn’t learn about public speaking, because it was OPTIONAL. If I stayed here, I wouldn’t be prepared for college at all.
My third (current) high school is public. It’s not really a good school. But, I’m learning a lot more than the previous school. I’m making more friends, & like my teachers. I think this school prepares us for college pretty well.