Making the Transition Between High School and the Real World
No matter how good an invention or product is, if no one sees it or can use it properly, it is of questionable value. No matter how good an educational system is, if the students can not make the move to being independent citizens, the value of the educational system is questionable. How can we help students make the transition into the world after high school?
There are three main groups of students to consider. There are those who intend to continue their education in college. Most high schools have academic programs intended to prepare these students. Another group of students plans to continue their education in a vocational school. Many schools have a special track for those students which allows them to begin their vocational education in high school. The final group just wants to go to work. There are some work-study programs to help them.
I believe that college bound students might be better served by taking one or two college courses, at a local institution, while still in high school. The failure rate among new freshmen is legendary. I was one of them. I got two Ds one semester with an average of 1.9. My final undergraduate average was better than 3.2. You can imagine how hard I worked to overcome that 1.9 average semester. I did not realize how different college was. No longer was I hounded every week for my progress. I didn't have tests every week so that I could bring up my average if I had messed up on one. I didn't have homework that counted for an easy grade to bring up my average. I didn't have participation grades to bring up my average. I didn't get to know the teacher well enough to be known as a "good student." It was a difficult transition.
If a few college courses were taken by these students they could see, first hand, how different college is. They could be helped to develop the strategies needed to succeed in college. Parent volunteers with successful college experience could help students acquire new learning and studying strategies. These special courses and the help provided by the school system/volunteers could be done after regular school hours or during the summer. A special summer program would probably be preferable because there is already so much going on during the regular school year. I believe this type of experience would help students be more successful in college. I hope to do this for my own children.
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