High-school Teachers Filled Our Times, Not Our Minds

I know that the 16th president was Abraham Lincoln, the Pythagorean Theorem, the state capitals, the periodic table of elements, and I still remember that one poem I had to write, memorize, and recite to my English class.

However, if you ask me how to do anything like how to do my taxes, how to build good credit, or how to write a resume and cover letter, my reaction would be something like, "Ummm..."

Once I started working and going to college, all of these things were thrown at me, and my first thought was, "Why couldn't they have taught me these things?"

Instead of teachers actually teaching us valuable life skills, they are teaching us- no, making us memorize- useless information that most of us will probably never use.

Furthermore, I want to add the importance of sex education. There was no formal "sex ed" class at my school; however, it was a section we slightly talked about in Biology. It went something like this:

"Don't have sex. Here are pictures of different types of STD's. Abstinence is the best form of safe sex, so don't do it. You all are too young to have babies and STD's."

Um, what? When I was in the school's bathroom with one of my friends while she was taking a pregnancy test, I was wondering to myself, "Why hadn't they taught us, more formally, about actual safe sex?" Yeah, she shouldn't have put herself in that situation. She was one of those "stupid kids" who all of the adults complain about. But, who could blame her when she was never taught what was right?

And now, being in college, I'm thinking about how high school could have been much better. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind learning about the presidents, the states, math equations, etc; on the other hand, I truly believe that teaching the harsh truths of life should be infused with our studies and encouraged rather than the other way around.

I think the reasons behind this has a lot to do with some (quite shocking) statistics I found about the education system in Arizona. According to this article, a very low amount of tax revenue is given to education in Arizona being that the state just spent 2.5% of state GDP on education in 2012, which was nearly the lowest proportion of any state.

On average, 3.4% of state GDP is spent on education. We spent 2.5%. This is extremely shocking, but it makes sense.

If we don't spend enough money on education, how do we expect to get a quality education?

This is something serious to think about.

Talk to you soon,
Alexis

A Message to My Substitute Teacher

"College is not for everyone". This statement, exclaimed by my substitute teacher in high school, baffled me for the fact that I had never heard anyone candidly say those words. I had always heard comments such as, "college leads to success" and "college is worth it."

As high school students, we were encouraged highly to go to college, and it was weird for someone to say that they didn't want to get a higher education. However, this substitute teacher stated the opposite of everything that we had been taught in high school.

The teacher proceeded to tell us that his former student didn't do well in high school, and made the decision to not go to college. Despite his decision, he worked very hard and ended up with a nice job, and none of it required a degree.

Although what he said may have been true, I questioned what he had to say. Sure, maybe college isn't for everyone. Not everyone has the drive and aspiration to get a higher education. But what about the other side of the argument? What are the benefits of going to college and earning a degree? Why should it be considered in the first place?

Let's talk about everyone's favorite topic: money. Yes, college costs tuition, and leads many people to debt. But guess what? According to this article I found, after paying off student debt, the average college graduate earns over $800,000 more than the average high school graduate by retirement age.

I don't know about you, but that convinces me already.

Honestly, it's a bit scary to think that one day I'm going to be in debt, but also exciting to know that I'm going to be doing something that I love for the rest of my life. It will all pay off in the end. After all, like Benjamin Franklin once said, "He that can have patience can have what he will."

So, this is for you Mr. Substitute Teacher: college may not be for everyone, but those who do go will experience amazing opportunities and benefits that non-college goers will never get to encounter.

Talk to you soon,
Alexis