High School is a 'Waste of Time'

1. Do you think grade 10 is an appropriate grade for students to finish secondary school and move on into post-secondary school, vocational training, and the working world? Choose one of the three options (post-secondary school, vocational training, working world) and explain your answer.

I do not think that grade 10 is the right age to move on into the working world. Most 16 year-olds are not mature enough to handle full-time working jobs. They aren't ready both in their education and their financial means. The last two years of high school are needed to complete a persons education and cutting this short could cause holes in a persons knowledge. Also, if 16 year-olds are getting full-time jobs along side adults, they are going to be paid the same amount. Most 16 year-olds are still living at home and don't have the need for all that extra money. I don't believe that grade 10 students should cut off their education and join the working force early as it could negatively affect them in many ways.

2. Do you agree with Mr. Botsteins statement, "I'm not advocating interrupting education, but a mature 16-year old needs to have role models who are 20, 25, even 18 in the same class." Would it make a difference for 16 year-olds to have "role models" in the same classes? Explain your answer.

I disagree with Mr. Botsteins statement, I think that getting all the grade 11 and 12 students into University or college wouldn't change anything. For the first few years they would be in classes with older students but they would be learning the same things and because of that they wouldn't respect them as much. After a couple years all the universities and colleges would be full of younger students, after the original students had graduated. This system would barely influence the world of education that much.

3. Do you agree or disagree with what Alan King says about kids not doing well due to lack of motivation, and that they have done poorly for a while? Explain your answer.

I agree with what he is saying but I don't think that this will change for the better by making high school only until grade 10. If anything, it will make it worse. By increasing the level of education for grade 11 and 12 students, the material will just get harder. Hard material is, I believe, the reason why most people don't do well, in other words they don't understand it. By making it harder, the marks are likely to go down, not up.

4. What kinds of jobs will be wait for 16 year-olds entering the workforce according to Alan King? What kinds of jobs do you think should be available to 16 year-olds?

Alan King says that the jobs that 16 year-olds entering the work force would be able to get are, Fast-food, Low-paid and short-term jobs. I think that is the 16 year old is mature and shows that they have the skills required to fulfill the jobs criteria they should be able to get what ever job they want. Jobs should care what age you are, they should look at your abilities to perform at that certain job.

5. Give your overall impression of the issue being discussed. Is this a relevant topic to be discussed by students for this course?

My overall impression of the issue being discussed is that it is pretty pointless. Just because one educator thinks that the last two years of high school are a waste of time doesn't mean that anyone else will. Also, this is very unlikely to change. The curriculum and the amount of time needed to teach everything they think we need to know has been carefully set out and taking two years away from that time would greatly disrupt the amount of learning students would be doing. I think this is a sort of relevant topic to be discussed in Planning 10 because it does involve planning of our schooling and makes us think about different ideas and create opinions. I don't believe that this is completely relevant to the Planning 10 course though.