What’s the hurry?

Today we met with Hana’s guidance counselor. While guidance counselors seem a lot cooler than when I was in school, high school itself seems much more complicated.  Hana is a freshman and has already taken the pre-ACT test. The school does this and everything earlier to give the students more options during the later years of her time in high school. This year, she had all of her classes chosen for her. Her grades have had their ups and downs, like a yo-yo, with Hana as surprised as anyone at where they will stop. She has worked hard and done well.

Next year she has to continue on the STEM focus of her high school, with science labs, math, and engineering playing prominently in her schedule, but she also has a couple of electives. She has chosen Spanish, History, and Digital Media, all having some connection to taking classes from teachers she likes. Even in this setting, she already has the choice to take either AP or regular American History, selecting the later because she’s a girl who just wants to work hard enough. 

Given the fact that her grades are good, and her test scores reasonable, next year she will start studying for and take the ACT college entrance tests. If she continues to do well, she can apply to be a university student in the spring of her sophomore year. As she enters her junior year, she can start taking a college course. By the time she graduates she could be taking 2-3 college courses per semester. Also included in her options are vocational courses, concurrent enrollment courses, or just normal college classes offered by her school. 

I find the myriad of choices alarming. I don’t think school used to be quite so serious. There used to be plenty of time to play and participate in extra-curricular activities. The kids still do this; they just do it while working through their college courses.  It seems that everyone is constantly moving towards the next levels of education rather than savoring where we are. When did we as a society become so interested in making high school into college?

Today many high school students enter college as sophomores or beyond. These are students that have taken AP tests, concurrent enrollments, and college courses because they are offered. While it is good on the pocketbook, is it good for the students?  Are all these courses really the same for high school students are they in college? Some would argue that college classes happen too soon for college students as well, and should be saved for people in their 40s and beyond. 

Taking classes for completion doesn’t stop in college. So many students rush through college that they miss the point of self-discovery. They are so focused on completion that they arrive with a major chosen and one foot out the door already before they even open the door to their first class. This narrow focus makes college into just another hurdle, a job before the job you get for the rest of your life. At a time when minds should be open to new thoughts and ideas, they are closed. Their eyes focused only on the prize.

I guess one might ask if this is really a problem, and if so, how do we fix it. I think the thing to do as parents, is be an informed guide. If my daughter wants to take certain classes and push herself, let her know that this will require work. If she’s fine with being a high school student in high school and letting college wait, that’s ok by me.