Back in the day there never was any doubt about what a high school student was going to do after graduation. Using owned or borrowed funds, the new graduate would either go off to college or off to work the following September. Period. End of story. Somewhere along the line, that presumption morphed. It might be because of the economic conditions of the times, or possibly because the baby boomers’ kids (and subsequent generations) were given other options (far too many, by my way of thinking). Whatever the causes, today's high school graduates are not automatically heading for higher educational institutions. How can students prepare for what lies ahead of them after high school? Obviously, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. There are, however, certain basic things high schoolers can do as they look beyond graduation.
Those who know they are going on to college or university should start looking at colleges during their sophomore year. There are a vast number of universities nationwide, so students should narrow the search parameters using:
desired area
university reputation
tuition cost
boarding costs
current student testimonial (when possible)
Another thing college-bound students should do is pay attention to grades and overall GPA. Colleges and universities look carefully at potential students' GPAs. The higher the GPA, the better. This is not to imply there aren't any other factors involved. Institutions of higher learning also take into account students' extra-curricular activities, community service work, test scores, and course rigor.
Switching gears, what about the high school students who can't/won't go to college? Do they need to prepare at all for post-graduation? The answer is an emphatic “Yes!”
Unfortunately, most high school kids don't give a whole lot of thought to what they're going to do after graduation if they're not going on to college. They simply think, “I'll get a job, and an apartment, and a car, and a significant other...” and so on. All too often, they don't stop to think exactly how they're going to make that happen or what the plan is. They need to ask themselves, “What kind of job would I like to have? What's the average starting salary for where I live? Will that salary be enough to cover where and how I want to live?” Once those questions are asked and answered, then the next steps come about.
These students must then find out if any specific training is needed to go into that particular field. Almost all jobs require some kind of training or education. Then, students need to determine exactly where they will get this training by using such criteria as proximity to home, cost, and reputation. Finally, students must complete all paperwork for the chosen training and amass the money to attend.
Whichever path is chosen, the key word is preparation. Whether college bound or job bound, students must prepare themselves far in advance in order to make their choice come to positive fruition.
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You’ve heard the ads on the radio, you’ve seen the lame television commercials, and your household has (hopefully) received the 2010 census form. But have you sent it back in?
Maybe you’ve been too busy. Maybe you don’t know if you parents have filled out the form. Maybe you just don’t care.
You should.
You see, the census is important, but not for the reasons all the ads say. They say that billions of dollars of federal money are doled out based on the census. No, it’s important for other reasons, none of which have anything to do with money.
First, it is one of the few functions of government actually mandated by the Constitution of the United States, the supreme law of the land. Our government makes most of what it does up as it goes along. There are very few things the federal government must do, and one of those few things is to conduct a census every ten years: “[An] Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such Manner as they shall by Law direct” (Article I, Section 2).
Why then would the founding fathers of our great nation write it into the Constitution that we must count everyone in the country every ten years? Quite simply, the House of Representatives membership is based on population. More populous states have more representatives, and thus more clout, in the House. Also, the Electoral College, which elects the president, is based on population. Originally, each House member was supposed to represent 30,000 people. However, if that were true today, we would have over 10,000 representatives in the House! To stop that from happening, Congress passed a law in 1911 that put a cap on House membership at its current 435.
Once the Census Bureau finishes its count, it determines how many representatives each state gets based on population. After the 2000 Census, Arizona gained two congressional seats. It is expected that this time Arizona will probably gain one more seat.
But, then again, we may not. Arizonans have not returned their census forms in as high numbers as previously anticipated. Some people who are here illegally may feel that the government will deport them based on their census responses. Others feel the census is too intrusive and asks questions it has no business asking. And yet others simply do not care.
Census data is private. No other governmental entity can access the data: not the FBI, not Immigration, not even the president. Answering the census questions will not lead to anyone’s arrest or deportation.
There are very few questions on the census form. It really boils down to two things. One, how many people live in the household and what type of residence it is; and two, the residents’ names, sexes, dates of birth, and races. That’s it. Specific census information will not be released for seventy-two years, so chances are that you won’t care too much about it when that happens.
Finally, the census is important because it is history. It is a snapshot of our country at one moment in time. Where were your grandparents or great-grandparents living in 1940, and who was in their families? In two years, you’ll be able to find out, for that is when the 1940 census information will be released. If you know the names of your ancestors living in the United States in 1930, you can look them up in the 1930 census today. You can see where they were living, what their occupation was, and (oddly enough) whether they owned a radio set.
If you do not care, I cannot make you care. But I can tell you that others care, and that you should too. Ask your parents if they’ve filled the census form out. If not, offer to do it with them or even for them. Don’t wait for the census worker to come knocking on your door. It takes just a minute or two to fill out the form, so just do it and then don’t worry about it. Take a moment of pride in being an American and doing your civic duty. Maybe one day, seventy-two or so years from now, your grandchildren will look you up on the 2010 census. It would be a shame if they could not find you just because you couldn’t take two minutes to fill out a form, wouldn’t it?
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As an attendee of Arizona Distance Learning, I can say that distance learning students do miss out on a few extracurricular activities that regular schools participate in, like band and sports. Personally, the thing I dislike most about distance learning is not playing in team sports, especially volleyball. Fortunately, distance learning offers many electives, some through BYU, which can take the place of extracurricular activities. For example, I really missed playing sports, but to make up for that, I took a jogging course. It’s not exactly the same as playing a game of volleyball, but I made the best out of what I could. It’s all about attitude—don’t focus on what you don’t have the opportunity to do, but what you do have the opportunity to do.
You only miss out on what you deny yourself. If distance learning doesn’t have the extracurricular activity you want, then find a course that is similar. Maybe you wanted to join a book club, but distance learning doesn’t have one. Take a reading elective instead. Find out what community activities you can join. If distance learning doesn’t have a chess club, maybe your community does. So, even though attending distance learning means missing out on extracurricular activities, you can still make the best of what distance learning does have to offer. Life’s what you make it, so have a positive attitude and make it a success! Please log in and click "comment" below to post a comment. View our comment policy.
You might remember a few weeks ago when I blogged about learning outside of the classroom. Well I wanted to capitalize on that idea by sharing an experience I had in doing just that.
During spring break I had the opportunity to attend a technology conference. This conference included learning sessions, networking opportunities, and much more. Because I am a high school student and my career interest is technology, you can imagine the kind of experience an event like this has to offer. It is something that you really cannot get inside a classroom even if you have a guest speaker or special school assembly. The neat thing about conferences and events like these is that they are specialized according to field or interest. They teach about that specific discipline, give you the latest scoop, and present you with a chance to talk with others already working in that area. It is a terrific learning experience!
I would encourage students to search out these events based on the field of work they want to pursue after high school. This was just one event, but there are hundreds of different kinds of occasions throughout the year where students can get a real insight as to what it is they want to do in the near future. Another great thing is that some events even offer student discounts. So again I encourage you—explore what’s out there! Many resources are available and an online search is just one of them. Once you start looking, you’ll find there are so many new opportunities simply waiting for you to discover!
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For this installment of the Sequoia Choice blog, I was asked to write about a current events topic. I looked at politics, sports, entertainment, and scientific articles. Most of that time I simply shook my head, blinked unbelievingly on several occasions, and then decided to write about what I know—“edumacation.”
I stumbled across an article by Ira David Socol called “Today's 'School Reformers' vs Real Change for Education – II.” In this article, Socol says that “teachers are the least respected professionals in America.” This is no great revelation. Everyone knows it (especially the teachers themselves). Interestingly enough, when I've told folks from other professions that I was a teacher, the overwhelming majority of them looked at me in amazement and told me how they could “...never be a teacher because they ______ (fill in the blank: lack the patience, need more money, can't stand kids, etc).” However, those same folks invariably told me how valuable teachers were and how badly off this country would be if not for the dedicated teachers. I, of course, agree. Socol doesn't.
Socol says that “many teachers are doing a lousy job.” I agree with that, too. Socol believes that stems from the teachers being “hopelessly disconnected from the needs of [their] students.” This is where we part roads. The good teachers are not disconnected from student needs. If by “many teachers,” Socol means “most teachers,” he's very wrong. Almost all the teachers I've met over my twenty-one years in education were dedicated and very connected to student needs, many times giving up their own needs for the sake of their students. That being said, Socol continues with what he believes would reform education more than anything else—reforming teacher recruitment, training, support, rewards, and retention methods. In summary, he wrote:
“Community-based Teacher Certification” — Socol proposes taking the folks that already live around and work at the schools and turn them into teachers. Train them in subject content areas and some psychology and methodology. His logic is that these people know the kids and the school, live in the neighborhood, and don't appear to be leaving any time soon. If those connections are already in place, why not just educate them in some educationally specific knowledge and put them in the classroom?
“Second Careers” — Although some people “hide out in education” until economics allow them to re-enter their respective previous careers, Socol believes that there are many more people who would make excellent teachers if re-trained. He thinks that there should be a national program to re-train these folks, starting them off immediately in the classroom while they train to see if they have the stuff to be a good educator.
“The Best Undergrads” — Getting the best undergrads would take putting them into classrooms right from their freshmen year in college. At the end of the four-year bachelor program, if they decide to officially go into teaching, Socol proposes that colleges grandfather their respective educational costs and make their educations totally free.
“Supporting and Keeping Teachers” — Socol is adamantly against merit pay because the term “merit” has yet to be solidly and consistently defined across the board. Teachers teaching the “easiest” kids should not get more pay than a teacher who is just as skilled, but teaches the more challenging students. Instead, he suggests that more relevant in-service days be issued for teachers to learn things that can really help them in their day-to-day classroom teaching. He also suggests making safety a major focus; not only the physical safety of teachers, but also alleviating their fears of “administrators, parents, (and) test scores.”
In essence, Socol supports changing how our country treats our educators. Taking teachers and showing them respect by paying them what they're worth, training them effectively, rewarding them adequately, and making it worthwhile to actually go to school to become an educator would be a boon for our society and our children.
As an attendee of Arizona Distance Learning, I can say that distance learning students do miss out on a few extracurricular activities that regular schools participate in, like band and sports. Personally, the thing I dislike most about distance learning is not playing in team sports, especially volleyball. Fortunately, distance learning offers many electives, some through BYU, which can take the place of extracurricular activities. For example, I really missed playing sports, but to make up for that, I took a jogging course. It’s not exactly the same as playing a game of volleyball, but I made the best out of what I could. It’s all about attitude—don’t focus on what you don’t have the opportunity to do, but what you do have the opportunity to do. 
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