Category: High School

There are two types of students: those who feel happy with more than 90 marks and those who feel happy with just passing marks. These grades are not based on cleverness or intelligence, no student is born perfect, only time shapes students. In this essay, I will focus on how to become a successful high school student.

Success has different definitions according to different students. For some having a perfect ‘A’ GPA is a success while achieving in sports and extracurriculars for few. However we define success, there is no easy way to achieve it. But I believe that with the right plan and discipline, anyone may achieve it.

First, to succeed in high school, we must be organized. With the advent of technology, we lost a precious gift – time. Smartphones made us as students unorganized. We sit to study and spend half of our time choosing which subject to start with then the next half choosing the material to study. Finally, they end up studying nothing. To avoid these happenings, we should be well organized. For example, we can maintain a diary to note down our day-to-day plans, make it very precise by including all the essential details, for example, and have a calendar to mark monthly goals and schedules. Having a proper plan and schedule makes us utilize the time properly and reduces distraction that leads to wasting time.

Second, we must dream big. We are the product of our thoughts. We should dream big and have greater thoughts to be successful. Have a higher purpose to live. Dream makes us desire something very unique and essential for our life. It ensures a high level of excitement, thus we stay highly focused. Therefore, we should be serious about dreaming big and improving the quality of our life. For example, find the reasons to get good grades. Make our parents happy and our co-mates admire. Be a positive example and a trendsetter. Do not be one among the crowd try being the one above the crowd. Dreaming big motivates us and makes us achieve more.

In addition, to be successful in high school, staying healthy is important. One who has health has hope, one that has hope has everything. A healthy body gives us a peaceful inner self, which makes us confident and more active the whole day. It is useful to schedule the eating time and integrate the diet with it. We as students should eat fruits and robust foods and avoid having foods with high oil content as it makes us lazy and reduces our work efficiency. As well as give our body proper time to rest. Wake up early and practice meditation, which increases our blood circulation and increases memory. This keeps us fresh and active, as well as gives us more time.

A useful habit is to do one task at a time and avoid multitasking. Like listening to songs while doing homework or doing an assignment while watching a favorite football show. Although it seems to us that it saves our time, in reality, it is not so. Multitasking reduces productivity and effectiveness. Moreover, studies have shown that multitasking can affect our memory and reduce IQ by 15 points. Time management is not about doing more things, it’s about doing more of the important things. So, doing homework or assignments with full concentration is the key to success.

Joining a club can also help to be successful in high school. It makes us social and builds our networking. It is a great opportunity to make new friends and meet more talented people, as well as learn new every day. It develops leadership traits. It develops soft skills like communication, attitude, and work ethic. This is the best way we can give back to society by helping our juniors to succeed. Joining a club enhances our extracurricular activity record so it looks good in our college application.

Being an all-rounder is also very important. We should not just be bookworms. Success in high school does not only refers to academic success but also to overall performance in all fields. For example, playing a favorite sport with a team can teach us teamwork and the confidence to face failure and the humbleness to celebrate our success, which in turn can improve our self-esteem. It also improves blood circulation and keeps us fit. If a student has an interest in music, he or she can try joining a music band or get involved in any kind of extra-curricular activity.

And finally, as students, we should choose our friends wisely. When choosing friends, it is important to prefer like-minded people and people who have higher goals and beliefs. This motivates and encourages us when we feel low or sad. People around us should have thirst for knowledge that should make us learn more things. We should not form a useless gang whose only goal is to enjoy and waste time; these kinds of friendships will help us in no way. We should find someone who will celebrate our success and supports us during our failure. A simple rule to get friends is to give what you expect. Friendship is all about to give and take kind of relationship. Be a good friend to get the best ones back.

There is no shortcut to reaching the top. Still getting successful does not demand more hard work, little smart work can do everything. Great people don’t do different things, they do things differently. Success requires discipline and consistency. Having a lifelong commitment to learning, not just the academic part, but the life skills too, can make us successful students as well as successful humans as a whole.

My only goal was to make my family proud of me. I grew up with a single mother and my twin brother, Jevon. It was hard growing up because my mother worked until late hours trying to provide for Jevon and I. My father popped up here and there, so I didn’t have a strong male presence guiding me throughout my adolescent life. Growing up had been a struggle.

Transitioning from Coney Island Prep Middle School to Coney Island Prep High School was tough from me. During middle school, I wasn’t your average A+ student or on honor roll after every marking period. I was slacking and it was hard for me to maintain my grades to just a B average. I would joke around in class, not take my classwork serious and would barely do any homework. I always focused on having fun rather than getting my work done. I managed to pass but it’s not what my parents expected of me. They knew that I was smart and capable of doing better.

After middle school, I felt guilty because I knew that I let them down. I reflected on my years throughout middle school and I learned that it’s not that I couldn’t do better but that I chose not to which is why I felt guilty. That summer going into Coney Island Prep high school, my grandparents had a talk with me about college. They told me that everyone in the family went to and graduated from college and that Jevon and I were next. They lectured me that college was important because it prepares me for my career and the real world.

In my freshman year, I multi-tasked between having fun and getting my work done. I took courses that were above my grades’ required courses which helped me gain confidence in my ability to do well because I knew I was able to take sophomore classes. I started to think high school was easier than people had told me. I got into athletics more and joined Coney Island Prep basketball team playing JV and varsity basketball. It was a great experience because I became close with the seniors and juniors helping me communicate more with my peers. I finished freshman year decent but that resulted in me being too comfortable and I fell off in my sophomore year. I slacked in a few classes in 10th grade. Some classes were challenging but I managed to push through but others I got lazy and stubborn just like how I was in middle school.

After attending my basketball teammates signing day and watch them go on stage to graduate, it motivated me to be just as successful as they were. A senior, who is now a freshman at SUNY Cortland and a very good friend of mine that was also on my basketball team, came to my College and Career Readiness Class and gave the class advice. He told us that he too did poorly his freshman and sophomore year but there was still time to make up for it junior and senior year. This gave me hope as I was in his exact same shoes.

Overall, I wish I took my high school career more seriously. If I focused more on my academics, it would’ve been easier and I would have felt more comfortable with my transcript. I understand the necessity to have strong starts and strong finishes, instead of weak starts and weak finishes. My academic mindset mirrors how I play ball: try to get the win at all costs. I understand that my grades directly impacts my future and career I want one day. I learned that no matter how many times I slipped up, it’s important to continue to learn from mistakes. After every setback, I had a major comeback and that’s who I am today.

Not many people can honestly say that they are one hundred percent a ‘morning person’, and for those that identify as such, morning hardly ever means 4:30 or 5 a.m. Waking up this early in the morning is something that many high schoolers are required to do in order to make it to school on time. In this essay, I will explain why high schools should push their start times back so that classes begin later in the morning. Later start times for high schools are beneficial for the mental and physical health of students, lead to higher levels of student productivity, and benefit the overall economy, therefore, high schools should change their start times to later on in the morning.

One of the most important reasons why high schools should start later is that starting later in the morning has been shown to be better for the mental and physical health of high school students. According to Tim Goral, “As children age, particularly as they become adolescents, their circadian rhythms get delayed a little bit, and they require later bedtimes and later wake times. We know that these children have difficulty falling asleep before 11 p.m., and they need eight to ten hours of sleep per night to support optimal health” (Goral). Keeping these times in mind and doing the math, if a teenager falls asleep right at 11 o’clock and sleeps for a minimum of eight hours, the earliest they should be waking up is 7 a.m. However, most high schoolers are not able to do this, considering that the average U.S. high school starts between 7:30 and 8 a.m. If high school students were to get the minimum amount of sleep that they require, they would only have thirty minutes to an hour left to eat breakfast, get dressed, and commute to school. According to a study performed by the National Center for Education Statistics, “Over 10% of U.S. high schools start before 7:30 a.m., 42.5% start before 8 a.m., and only 14.4% start at 8:30 a.m.” (NCES 15). These early start times do not allow high school students sufficient time to get the minimum hours of sleep that they require to stay healthy.

Many teenagers in high school are sleep deprived because they are unable to achieve the amount of sleep that their bodies need. Sustained sleep deprivation is detrimental to the mental and physical health of high school students. Startschoollater.net reports: “Insufficient sleep in teens is associated with obesity, migraines, and immune system disruption and with health risk behaviors including smoking, drinking, stimulant abuse, physical fighting, physical inactivity, depression, and suicidal tendencies” (‘Wake Up Calls (Fast Facts)’). Students who attend high schools with later start times have been shown to have a decrease in these health issues; students who can sleep longer have been shown to have lower blood pressure levels, healthier cholesterol levels, and lower chances of being overweight compared to students who get less sleep (‘The Big Number: How 48 Minutes of Extra Sleep Helped These Teens’). A study done by researchers at the University of Minnesota and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also found that later high school start times led to major decreases in teenage substance abuse, depression, and consumption of caffeine (‘Wake Up Calls (Fast Facts)’).

Later school start times also lead to higher productivity levels from students. Due to the fact that early school start times lead to sleep deprivation, high school students are often fatigued when they get to class. Being fatigued leads students to have issues such as falling asleep in class and having difficulties focusing on the lesson. This means that the students are not fully learning and comprehending all the information that they are being taught and that they are more likely to perform poorly on homework assignments and tests. Starting high schools at later times would combat this issue because students would be more likely to be well-rested and alert in class. According to James Urton, a study done on high school sophomores by the University of Washington and the Salk Institute for Biological Research found that “once the school start time was moved up by 55 minutes, students’ average grades were 4.5% higher, and there was a decrease in tardiness and first-period absences” (Urton).

Additionally, moving the start times of high schools to later on is beneficial for the economy. A macroeconomic study done by Marco Hafner et al. with the RAND Corporation reported that “it has been found delaying school start times to 8:30 a.m. would have an economic gain of $8.6 billion after two years, which would outweigh the initial cost of moving start times” (Hafner et al.). Along with a monetary gain, there would be benefits regarding public health and the economy. Since students would be getting more sleep and would be less likely to be sleep deprived, the health issues, injuries, and accidents related to inadequate sleep in teenagers would decrease. In turn, this would save the economy more money and resources, as there would be a decrease in doctor visits and medical costs. Moving high school start times not only benefits students and schools but also benefits everyone.

Some sides argue that moving high schools to later start times is not a good idea because it may interfere with after-school activities like organized sports or part-time jobs. These are good points, but it has been reported by the National Sleep Foundation: “Despite all these concerns, most districts that have changed their start time have experienced few problems with regard to athletics. Practice times are rescheduled, and in some cases, lights are installed so practice can run a little later” (‘Eight Major Obstacles to Delaying School Start Times’). Regarding potential issues with after-school jobs, the National Sleep Foundation found that “studies have shown that employers indicate a change in start times has not affected their business or the number of hours their student employees can work” (‘Eight Major Obstacles to Delaying School Start Times’). If high schools are moved to have later start times, schedules with after-school activities will need to be adjusted, but it is doable.

Changing high school start times to later on in the mornings will have positive impacts on the health of high school students, will provide a boost to their productivity levels, and will benefit the nation’s economy. Next time you hear a high schooler complaining about having to wake up early, remember the negative health impacts that waking up too early has on their health. I urge you to get involved with your local school system and help push for changes regarding high school start times. It will not only benefit high school students and teachers but you as well.

The classroom environment offers positive insight and new ideas but lurches with cheating scandals and bold noncompliances. To ameliorate the presence of dishonesty in the classroom, many schools implement honor codes with the sole purpose intended to cultivate integrity. The honor code system has been in place since the founding of various American high schools. Throughout the years it has been evident that honor code policies may not prove effective, requiring revision to ensure the acceptance of these policies as well as perseverance to give the student body a sense of responsibility and create a fair and equal learning environment.

The most effective honor codes are those implemented by students who stay loyal to the school’s policies and influence their peers to emulate their actions. One area of concern for schools while enforcing such codes is opposition amongst the student population. Many students seem to form their own opinions about specific directions and policies the school board enforces. Students who feel strongly against the official rules of the facility may be prone to rebel which turns into mass chaos for school officials. “Encouraging student involvement in developing community standards’, makes students stick to their promise if they opine in the processing of a strict policy for themselves and their peers. Further, this causes a chain of action in student behavior: if peers see others obeying the rules they are more inclined to follow them as well. Not only does the involvement of students prove beneficial to the school, but it also helps students to build on their character skills. Holding a position of authority as a student instills expertise in leadership and responsibility. The authority of Students [part of a] Honor Committee, requires interaction between peers and school staff which builds vital communication skills while doubling as an opportunity to lead the management of school policies. The involvement of the student body generates good ethical behavior and morals to live up to as an individual which will benefit them in their future.

A just educational environment where students are held responsible for their actions provides every student with an equal opportunity to excel and succeed. The lessons students learn in school are engraved in their minds and continue to linger through every interaction they make. Therefore, if a student takes it upon themself to find a way to cheat through an assignment, they have to understand that such misdemeanors come with consequences. The use of explicit “punishments ranging from suspension to expulsion’, trains students to act in order and to the ideals of school policies. Without an appropriate punishment, students would never change their unpure ways of academic living. Further, if students are not punished, it would be unfair to students who abide by the rules because other students continue to leech off their educational intelligence. The consequences that are put in place for issues like this are deemed as a “reasonable sanction’, amongst more than half the school population. It is vital to ensure that every student understands the effects of their actions so they learn to thrive off only themselves in the real world.

The honor code system holds a vital role in the structure of various school systems, although revisions of these edicts are necessary in order to maintain this authority which allows for the growth of students morally and cognitively. The country’s school systems have the ability to flourish once students live up to the ideals of school honor codes. These students can help our nation transform into an ethical society that can remain everlasting for generations to come.

Back in my high school years,when I used to hear the word leadership,my brain will automatically shift toward the concepts of excessive dominance and seduction of an individual that is usually the strongest mentally and socially over a group of people that are referred to as followers,That visualization made me think that being a leader is all about being the loudest guy in the crowd, and in order to lead people, you need to make them fear and obey you rather than respect and love you,we as humans all have this desire to be obeyed and respected by others so we can feel socially validated,I’ve read an article that discussed the greatest fear that all humans face at some point of their lives,and the surprising fact is that it’s not the fear of death as commonly advertised,it is actually the fear of public speaking,and if we just analyze this fear, we will realize that the fear of public speaking is rooted from the fear of being socially refused and becoming an outcast,which will mean in most cases not belonging to a community,and this result will mean death for social creatures like us,that’s what explains the human need of belonging to a community, and as every community it needs a leader that gives order and keep things under control,despite the fact that we are currently living in a modern civilization and we no longer show these primitive behaviors,but deep inside us,this biological need will always live with us,yet,what had changed is the way of leading people,Nowadays,I believe that leadership is one of the hardest yet most important skill an individual could acquire,and the reason I used the word skill is because I’m a strong believer that ever skill can be taught and everyone can learn it,just like I did,It only takes the will to learn and a strong self-discipline,in the remaining of this essay I will discuss my personal experience that lead me from being an average high school student to a captain of a local football team in my hometown,which I consider one of my biggest achievements so far,not because I lead my team but because I felt like I inspired it.

In the summer of 2017, I graduated from high school, filled with the ambition of sculpting my future and becoming the best version of myself, I was filled with motivation to try new things every day, yet the stone that was in my way is my self-doubt and lack of confidence especially on social situations, I decided to work on this aspect of my life first, I had always been stunned how great leaders have this overly high confidence of going out and speaking in front of hundreds of people and inspire them to do better in life, yet, what I have realized is that leadership is all about that, it’s all about providing not receiving.

I was a very big sports fan, I used to practice all kinds of sports ranging from track running to boxing to football, but what I’ve realized is that I’m an extrovert and I’m happier in team sports, that is why I decided to join a football club, I tested and was admitted, it was a third division football club but I still believed in it, I used to tell my teammates that we can win the junior national championship, they would all laugh at me, I was always working on improving my level as a player and as a team member, my coach started to notice this high positive vibe that was coming out of me every game, we weren’t a high-level team but I believed with hard work we could be, and that belief never faded away, what I’ve remarked is because of that mindset I had, My teammates started to be inspired and motivated to play better and improve their level, not because I asked them, but because I inspired them, and for me, that is what true leadership is all about, Inspire others.

A couple of years after the establishment of a stable colony at Elysian, there will be requirement of an education system which will provide Earth like education. However, the education pattern is designed in a way that it is relevant to the surroundings the children grow up in. A primary school will be located in sector 1 of Residency, a middle and high school in sector 2 and a common Elysian University in sector 3.

We aim at providing a skill-based education which does not confine a student to textbooks and written content, but allows them to explore the possibilities around them. After all, these children will be the future generation. They will be the ones to find new possibilities to support survival in the foreign environment of mars orbit.

Primary Education

Lower Primary

A child will first start going to school at an approximate age of 3-4 years. At this age, children prefer to play and do not like to be restricted. Hence, a Primary School for children of age 3 to 5 will provide basic learning platform through hands-on activities and learn-and-play techniques. Teachers aged 30-35 years will be recruited through a common selection process. The selected candidates will undergo special training in child education, similar to that provided to primary teachers on Earth. School timings will be limited to 4-5 hours so that the child gradually gets accustomed to spending some time without their parents. Children will be allowed to participate in activities according to their wish. There will be no compulsion for a child to participate in a particular activity.

The activities will be similar to those on Earth in regular Pre-Schools. Children will be regularly engaged in art and craft activities, singing and dancing sessions and basic patterns and combination activities. These activities help in development of hand-eye coordination and motor skills in young kids.

At the end of Kindergaten-2, children will know numbers till 50 and the letters of the alphabet. They will also be capable enough to identify animals in the sanctuary, some of the plants that grow around them in a stimulated environment and identify colors.

However, till this stage it is recommended that they are not made aware of the fact that life like they see around them used to exist in a completely foreign location called Earth. The reason behind this is that this information could affect their mental health in a variety of ways. To them, all that thy see around themselves is all that exists.

Upper Primary

This domain will include students from age 6 to 9. At this stage, some amount of concrete learning would be started. Children will be introduced to basic Mathematics, Science and English. However, community specific languages will not be included in the curriculum at any point of time. If the parents wish to teach the child the language of the community they belong to, they are free to do so at home. Other than the above mentioned subjects, children will be introduced to set of basic skills. These skills include designing, working with basic mechanical tools (under teacher supervision), technological skills (computer basics) and space studies.

Considering the fact that the civilians are residing in an independent space settlement, the children should be aware of the environment around them, outside the walls of the Elysian. Hence, they would be taken into the open space in space suits with able guidance and be allowed to explore the free space environment around them.

At the end of each year, the students will undergo an annual examination based on the skills they have acquired throughout the year. However, these examinations will not aim at testing their memory. Rather, they would be required to use all their skills and put together a project.

Middle School

This level includes students from age 10 to 13. The education pattern will undergo a slight change on entrance to the middle school domain. In the middle school domain, activities are more application based. Theory based studies and practical skills are taught in proportionate way. Theory subjects will include introduction to the concept of life existing on Earth thorough the subject of Earth Sciences, Advanced Mathematics and Science, Social and Life Skills, Psychology and Mining and Resources.

Considering asteroid and foreign terrestrial mining for resources will be one of the main occupations in the future, it is crucial that the future generations on the Elysian are well versed with the requirements of the industry. They will be taught how the available resources will be extracted from their natural source, how they will be converted into useful products and the technology required for their appropriate use.

Considering the Elysian is a completely mechanical structure, its maintenance and development will be based on technology and structural engineering. Thus, computer skills of the students will be gradually developed over the years. By the time they graduate from university, the will be capable of improving the present mechanisms on the Elysian and also make necessary repairs to the structure and technological infrastructure.

In order to provide for a stable and responsible government in the future, the students will be taught the principles of a democratic government and their responsibilities as a leader as well as a citizen (refer to government on colony). As a part of the community, the children should be endowed with a value system which ensures that they will be responsible citizens of the future.

The earlier mentioned system of practical and application based examination through a project is applicable for end of year passing out throughout school life. This way, when the student goes out for jobs, they will have already understood how they should use whatever they have learnt over the years.

High School

The students graduating middle school would have already been introduced to raw concepts through activities and practical applications. The 4 years of high school are meant to polish these already developed skills through experience in real life scenarios in different fields.

At this level, students are given the choice to select any 6 subjects based on their personal interests which they will be studying in detail over these 4 years. Besides this, they will be regularly involved in social and cultural activities in order to develop team-work and social skills. They will learn to effectively communicate with their peers and develop active communication skills.

A special program designed for high schoolers will teach them basic survival techniques and ways to provide first aid in an emergency situation. In the future, when many of them are a part of the asteroid and terrestrial mining industries, a situation may arise when one of the many workers may be in need of help. In such a case, protection of human life should be the first and the foremost agenda of any one present around. The students are not expected to follow a fixed career path. Nor should they be forced to do anything by their parents or guardians. The students should be encouraged to follow their passions and do what they love to do. This will create a healthy work atmosphere and not lead to excess stress in the future. It is possible that over the years many new fields of occupations develop. These will solely be the brain child of the new generations and they should be accepted by the community without any problems.

Gender equality and feminism are very controversial topics on Earth. The upbringing of the children in The Elysian should be in a manner that gender biases are completely omitted out. Not only do the lead to hierarchical divisions of the society but also hinder development and progress of the community as a whole. Secularism and equality are two of the many regretful things that we do not wish to inherit from the Earth.

Care and respect for the provided environment and conditions for survival is something that should come to a child without any external indication. The colony as whole is unique and should be appreciated.

The Elysian University

The Elysian University will be known for its uniqueness of conceptuality. The existing concept of theory based learning and exam oriented studying will be replaced by an education pattern which will give the students a proper experience of the expectations in an official work environment. The few years they spend at the university will seem more of like an internship, except it would be in a controlled environment with well qualified teachers rather than being in an official work atmosphere. There is a common university for all streams. Due to limited availability of space, expansion at any point of time in the future will not be possible.

Other than a few minor changes and the above mentioned pattern, everything in the pattern of education at university will more or less remain similar to that followed on universities on Earth. We believe that other than some minor alterations, the universities on Earth are the most appropriate model of higher education.

Often we feel that a student’s potential is not used to the maximum. Thus at the Elysian university, they will always be provided with enough opportunities to showcase their talents and hone their skills. The teachers in the universities will be well-experienced and well-versed in the fields they teach. They will be capable of providing all the guidance a student needs to fine tune themselves and perfect their skills. And like Hellen Keller dedicated to her teacher, Miss Sullivan, “Any teacher can take a child to the classroom, but not every teacher can make him learn”.

We have tried to provide all the possible guidelines and working structure of the education system. However, the people are free to change it according to their needs and compatibility. Over the years, the education system is bound to adapt itself according to the needs of the citizens and provide what they require.

If ever described my freshman year of high school, I would choose the word ‘growth’, both physical growth and academic growth as well as a building me as a different person from middle school.

To be clear, my moving from middle school to high school wasn’t the most exciting. I was used to getting A’s in all my classes, always getting praised by my teachers, and having my school easy to handle without worrying. The first week of high school I had a mix feelings about it was exciting and also I was terrified. This is a new experience in my life, not being in middle school again ever. New school, new friends, and new teachers, basically knew everything in this school.

The first week of high school is different for everyone most freshmen like me that enter the school are scared. I thought the first week of school is going to be smooth and easy to handle, right? But I wasn’t right, as soon as I got seated on the assigned seat, new teachers start to introduce themselves and start giving out what will be doing/having like reading, testing, projects, and homework we will do and have.

When people start high school, they’re usually so excited to finally go to the last 4 years of high school before college. I mean every teacher in my middle school said that high school would be the best 4 years of my life. Now that I am in my junior year, a year from graduating, I wouldn’t say they were my best years, but I can say they were the years I grew a lot and learned a lot. During the 6th period, it was English. Through ESL I met one of my middle school students, Alina, from my P.E. class. We weren’t close in middle school due to both lack of language and both of us being shy, however, we were both happy to have someone we know in one of our classes and not sitting alone with students you see for the first time. Alina was from Ukraine, her English wasn’t as good, however, she was in honor, AP, and college classes because our middle school switched her WIDA (access test) with another girl but she still got all A’s and 1 or 2 B’s. Me and Alina became extremely close that we would go to the library or Barnes & Noble almost every day and study for our classes there and help each other with classes we struggle with.

I met a lot of people during my freshman year, I even became a translator for Syrian students who just came from Jordan. Our countryside high school was full of American and Hispanic/Latin, so being the only Arab I helped through the school year I felt like a teacher because I would help them even with tests and homework they had and it turned out they lived in the same complex as me, so that was an advantage for them because they would come to my house to even help them apply for colleges.

My freshman year went by fast; it went from being scared my first day of high school to me and Alina throwing everything, and all freshmen were happy to pass freshman year and to be done with. During my freshman year, I was also been made fun of because I was a Muslim. Students would say stuff such as “Be careful of her, she has a bomb in her backpack” or would ask me questions like “Why don’t wear a scarf on your head, why don’t you cover your hair”. I even got called sexually related names by other freshmen boys, but I honestly didn’t care, and they stopped after a while seeing me not caring about what they called me, and started becoming friends with me.

Overall, my freshman year was a different year from every school year I had or probably will ever have, it was a different and difficult year.

I took out my earphones, stepping into the school that was just like a second home to me. My then-happy spirits slowly emptied from me like a child after someone stole its candy. I watched as my fellow Year Sixes spread their arms out wide, letting anyone sign their Graduation jackets and t-shirts that we’d held on to so affectionately for the year. My friends had yet to arrive, causing me to text them as much as possible. I couldn’t stand the thought of not seeing them.

The instant my friends ran through that gate, we all bunched up and conversed about the year to come. We did just as everyone else was; letting everyone sign us like void canvases. The teachers slowly came outside, asking us politely to take our classroom chairs outside for the afternoon assembly.

We did as we were told, lining up our seats. It was just as much of a memory as everything else was. Heaping them up, then after assembly rushing over as soon as we could to get the best chairs (the ones that didn’t have rubber stoppers on them so we could lean back and forth). My class single-filed into the classroom, all preparing for our assembly where we would be performing and remembering the dances we’d performed at our Year Six Graduation.

The teacher walked us out, and we sat quickly down on our mats which we’d placed on the hard pavement. I can’t recall that assembly. I can only truly remember the pure adrenaline mixed with sadness that was rushing through me as I waited for our turn to go up to the front.

When we were finally called, we all knew we had to put on our best performance. We had to leave the best impression we could on the students, the parents, the teachers, and everyone. I heard the melody gradually grow from behind me and I began dancing my heart out; just like I had on Graduation night.

When our dances were finally complete, we were allowed to go inside to sign Graduation bears. Around this time was the primary source of tears, causing one of the Year 6 teachers to try his hardest to be a hero. He proceeded to play one of our favorite Graduation songs and watched us all flock inside to perform. This was astounding for approximately five minutes until the tune ceased. We all went straight back to the hall and moped around as we had before.

Our teacher that year was the best I’ve ever had and the best I ever will have. She was such a kind soul to us that she gifted us each a small Santa Cruz pencil case, which typically goes for around $15 each. You can comprehend how much she cared about us when you know this was a set of 20+ students. She also gave us laminated cards which told us what she thought we were most likely to become as we grew up. I was given ‘Most Likely to Become an Author’, which I’m still proud of.

We were shortly allowed outside where we could take photos on our phones and sign each other’s Graduation jackets and t-shirts. You could hear the combined noises of all of us sobbing, photos being taken of red and teary-eyed faces. We were like a flock of birds; all following each other around, asking for photos with whomever we could just for any last bit of a memory we could manage.

The students lined themselves up in whichever order we’d like on the staging in front of the school. There, parents flocked in to steal photographs of us. My mother took quite a few of the Year Sixes, most of which made my face completely blurry. My friends sobbed around me, supporting each other by any means they could.

The time following school was one of the most challenging parts of the day for me. My mum drove me over to the Highpoint shopping center, cheering me up quite a bit. However, her endeavors to console me still didn’t stop me from texting my friends until one in the morning about how much I missed them.

The day started off like any other ordinary school day at Westfield High. The students were all split into their social groups just like any other high school; The ‘plastic’ girls are sitting at their table, smothered in make-up, dressed up in inappropriate clothing, and trying to make themselves noticed, the Jocks are out on the oval training for football meanwhile the girls are checking them out, the cheerleaders are on the oval, practicing their routine for the upcoming game, the floaters are roaming around all the groups and talking to each of them, the Good-Ats are just at their own table and talking to different people as they are liked by everyone, the nerds are over in room24 playing Dungeons and Dragons, and then the loners are over in the corner by themselves, not talking and just being unsocial.

Amongst the cheerleaders is a girl named Betty. She is the first person everyone notices because she is so wild and overactive and her personality attracts even those who are quiet. Then there is Veronica, another cheerleader who trains with Betty.

Betty meets Veronica at the cheerleading tryouts and they decided to partner up and work together to try and impress the head cheerleaders so they could make the team and then soon after the tryouts Betty and Veronica become great friends and they always hangout together and talk about Veronica boyfriend Kevin who is one of the jocks that hangout with Archie and football team but when they started talking about Veronica dating Kevin Betty got really upset and depressed because she couldn’t be with Archie and that it was really hard seeing all her friends with their boyfriends.

After Veronica saw Betty upset, she asked what was wrong. Betty told her that she is upset that she doesn’t have a boyfriend and she is jealous of everyone else because they are in relationships. So Veronica talked to Kevin about it and they organized a date night for Archie and Betty. They went to the drive-in to see the latest movie and they enjoyed it a lot. They then went for a drive around town and talked to each other to see what they had in common with each other.

A few weeks later, and after a lot of dates, Archie finally asked Betty out. She happily said yes to him and he was so happy. A few more days later Archie introduced Betty to his parents and they liked her. But when Betty introduced Archie to her parents, they weren’t as thrilled. They thought that he would do some things to her and they did not want that to happen. So they told Betty to break up with Archie right then and there.

Betty got so upset and angry at her parents. Archie just stared at Betty, with a tear in her eye, and then walked out. Betty ran to her room and balled her eyes out. Eventually, Betty couldn’t take it anymore she started getting worse and started self-harming and getting more depressed she wouldn’t even step foot out of her room because all she wanted to do was lay in bed crying all day but Veronica found out by Betty’s mother that she was self-harming and not coping very well with everything that she has going on in her life.

So Veronica talked to her over the phone for a few nights to try and help her out. Then her parents saw how bad she was and had a rethink the relationship. So Betty’s parents talked to Archie’s parents and they asked them a few questions about him to make sure he wouldn’t do anything to her. They told Betty’s parents that he was a sweet boy who hadn’t had a girlfriend before and there was no way that he would do anything of the sort to her. So Betty’s parents told her that she could get back with Archie and that they were so incredibly sorry for what they did.

Betty was over the moon with excitement and gave her parents a big hug and kiss. She then ran over to Archie’s place and surprised him and told him the news. So they got back together at that moment and they started anew. After that, they stayed together for a very long time and ended up being married and having children. They had the best lives and they knew nothing could go wrong again.

The K-12 program Is new the basic education after they finish six years in primary school, four years in junior high school then another two years for senior high school in preparation for tertiary education in which they are free to choose a strand that is suitable for the course that they would take after they graduated on the senior high school they will now be ready for tertiary education, K-12 program was implemented way back in 2011 where the new curriculum is being proposal and the education system is being questioned, later years the program was been signed as a law by the former president Benigno Aquino III and now it’s called as the republic act 10533 “An Act Enhancing the Philippine Basic Education System by Strengthening Its Curriculum and Increasing the Number of Years for Basic Education, Appropriating Funds and other purposes”, which was approved on May 15, 2013.

For the past seven years the students under K-12 have been confused and retaliations by the implementations, The schools are trying to cope with the problem by hiring faculty staff and building or improvising new classrooms for the students that will take another 2 years in secondary education or the senior high school, some schools implemented the K-12 a bit late but still try to manage and catch up to the other schools.

The students who were under the K-12 were thrown into confusion and some made retaliation for they were all trying to fit in and know about the K-12 program, however, K-12 already has many negative accusations and many do not approve of the implementation of the program, but still it was still implemented.

K-12 was been implemented because our education system was not following the global standards and it was recommended for us so we can go side by side with other countries that already using this education system and enhance the student’s skills and competent in labor which will help them to be more recognized as a professional in abroad.

This year K-12 is now trending due to current president Duterte’s statement of removing the program and bringing back the old curriculum, This starts a controversy that K-12 can’t be easily removed, and how about the students who continue the K-12 and now a college student?

The first republic Arose and education was later set aside following the defeat of the Spaniards in Spanish–American War led to the short span of the Philippines’ Independence, which established the insurgents of the First Philippine Republic., The schools left by the Spaniards were closed briefly, it was reopened on August 29, 1898, The Burgos Institute, the Academia Militar, and the Literary University of the Philippines were later established, under article 23 of the Malolos Constitution ordered that public education would offer free education and obligatory in all public schools of the nation under the First Republic of Philippine, however, the Philippine–American war hindered the progress.

During the American period, our education started to improve more, about a year after the Americans managed to secure Manila, they were keen enough to open seven schools alongside army servicemen teaching with army command-selected books and supplies.

In the same year more schools were built and opened this time with 24 English-language teachers and 4500 students, the basic education system consisted of 6 years of elementary and 4 years of secondary schooling, until recently prepared students for tertiary level instruction for them to earn a degree that would secure them a job later on in life.

Experimental public school education system, later built in 1901, under Act No. 74, this law exposed the shortage of qualified proctors, brought by a large amount of enrollment in schools.

As a result, the Philippine Commission authorized the Secretary of Public Instruction to bring more than 1,000 teachers from the U.S., they are called the “Thomasite”, to the Philippines between 1901 and 1902. These teachers were scattered throughout the islands to establish barangay schools.

Americans provided a lot of teaching facilities and we continued to improve our education, After that, we entered the third to the fifth republic, and education here was a bit hanged and had few changes but most of what happened was just changing its name and what its department is all about

The education system stayed that way till the 21st century started, we now starting to approach the K-12 program which people are against to it, most reasons are due to lack of money for their sons and daughters to continue, schools have a problem with K-12 as well for the classrooms they have are not enough for extra 2 years of senior high school.

People then started making a few protests and some senators disagreed with it due to its very long period of education, which most of them aren’t wrong K-12 program is a very long period of time Other than that, parents of the students that are affected by the K-12 are having a hard time making their children to continue their studies for they need to provide the things they need in the school.

Sooner former President Benigno Aquino III passed the approval of the K12 program in many retaliated to the decision due to many of the people disagreeing with it, Many hated the president for this, but they were left with no choice but to follow this new education system and new curriculum.

Education is now being questioned even more, Common things the students think about are “it worth my time and money to continue studying”, and “Should I continue till college”, this are the common things that the students question about the worth of the education.

This causes some of the students to finish only junior high or senior high because they think it’s a waste of time and money for them to continue studying, contributing factors might be that they don’t have any confidence that they will finish the course they want in college, this is a very saddening thing that happens to our fellow Filipino students, because they actually gave up on the things they wish to accomplish some might be because their parents don’t them to continue but still poor young people like us are being push to the edge and having second thoughts.

It’s really hard to be a student nowadays although some universities offer free education like our school not all are fortunate enough to be chosen as a student of this kind of university, Other than that it is hard to find universities and colleges that have quality education.

After 7 years of the K-12 program being implemented in our education system, the current President Duterte is now planning to remove the K-12 education program, and many of the students requested the president to remove it.

It’s now a controversy that Duterte is trying to remove the K12 program but the Deped insisted that the president can’t just simply remove the K12 program, the law act 10533 prevents the president from removing the program for law specify that “An Act Enhancing the Philippine Basic Education System by Strengthening Its Curriculum and Increasing the Number of Years for Basic Education, Appropriating Funds and other purposes” in which removing the k12 will be a violating the law.

The progress in it is still ongoing but as many of us know how our president acts and how he does things his way, we just hope he will not continue this for it will be unfair to us people who suffer in the K12 curriculum.

In conclusion, the removal of K-12 has been set in motion, although the news and DepEd’s claim are implying that the Duterte administration won’t be able to remove it, there is still the lingering possibility that it will happen and knowing our current president’s behavior, he will sooner or later try to do something on it especially if he knows that it’s one of the problems of our country.

K12 isn’t that bad of a program however this made the students have second thoughts about taking a degree in college and made the parents of the students get more agitated about the new curriculum that isn’t very familiar to them, At this point, they are grasping straws either to let their children continue college.

Education has been a hard thing to bargain on us all in this country, either the money is worth it but the quality isn’t that much or the cost of it is very expensive but that is also the quality of it, Other than that some schools are very tight-fisted on their education, demanding a high standard of students and school activities, this are making the students be more obsolete and lost interest on the course they will take.

Student like me nowadays looks like dried fish due to us being constantly thrown too many school activities well some schools but others keep making a lot of unnecessary school activities events that isn’t even that meaning full or made up events that aren’t supposed to be required are now being added for the sake of “enhance socialization”.

The capabilities of a student also are being tested by time, for the knowledge they learned back then is just now in their own phones, My point here is as we progress to a better future, the capabilities that people expect isn’t only simple anymore, the student must be able to speak in the different language being focus here are our own and the English language, it’s understandable that it’s for us to use in other country but sometimes the proctors are very perfectionist and grammar must be in proper order, almost like there isn’t a mistake to found.

Other than that we are now progressing to a better country but still not all have access to a brighter or better education due to the underwhelming rate of poverty, most of our citizens are either in the farmlands or people who aren’t able to have a better life due to being in the squatter’s area.

Also, people who are experiencing a better education aren’t getting a better education either, some graduate but still don’t know much English or how to properly spell an English word making their studies biased, some come to the college level and aren’t even able to properly read even Tagalog.

Many students are very well gifted in studying but many hindrances keep on showing, lack of money, loss of self-confidence and their racing thoughts of whether to finish everything but is it worth it or not, we students can do and go along with all of this new curriculum and education system if only time won’t catch us because studying some course now takes so many years and its very time-consuming.

I mean by time-consuming is that there are already extra years back kindergarten and senior high, then some students who are still determined will take courses that are as long as 10 or 6 years, and the problem here is that the student might repeat some of its subjects that will cause them to take a year again to just finish that class and the possible thing that might happen is they will be irregular students.

This is the things the possibilities that could happen to a student who is either being dragged by the new curriculum or was caught by the K12 implementation, either way, it’s very stressful for us to just think about it but if we manage perhaps it’s all worth it in the end, I won’t say that it is going to be a guaranteed success in life but we can make an easy income out of our course we choose.

Our government will still try to implement new things and ways to make our education more reliable and not a waste of good students that has better future, although more updated learning materials and schools being open for every student who is willing to learn and has the capabilities to be able to finish his or her course.

Hope that we progress more in our country because we are very behind others, still a good thing that we aren’t that advanced yet but still the ignorance of our fellow country people sometimes is very… interesting.

I believe we should focus more on other aspects of the problem in the education system we have in our country, Our education is now stable even thou many are still retaliating that our education is getting too absurd, still it’s the principle of what people can do in their life, perhaps they should try updating the learning materials that schools are distributing, our learning materials now are somewhat outdated but technology is doing a great job keeping our students well learned with the new information’s that we have and our teachers now are implementing many technological materials and aids like power point presentations, youtube videos, and some schools are using computers for examinations and quizzes.

Another thing that they should improve is the actual needs of a school facility, a school facility is a must need if you are going to teach eager young people, there should be more facility that corresponds to subjects that have needed to it, for example, the science subject in elementary schools, there should be a laboratory for them to conduct experiments, or an AVR for any meetings or if teachers want to let their students watch a video for educational purpose.

We may also include the school activities and lesson plans given as recommendations of the department, both should be balanced and not one of the other will be more of the focus of the teachers or the school, other than that English subject should not be too harsh or be a perfectionist on making their students good at it, instead they should do it like building blocks, brick by brick they teach their students the write ways on English language and literature.

Since we are making the English subject more approachable and fun, might as well bring back the PSEP program or Practical Spoken English Program, it’s a program that helps young people speak English in a variety of memorization, readings, and impromptu speaking, This helps some of the Filipino back in early 2003, other than that in K12 program there is the mother tongue lessons, although it’s for the children to understand the dialects, this language can be learn in homes, they should remove this in K12 Program.

Also, some colleges and universities should offer scholarships, like what Tau has for students who pass the entrance exam, improving on this might attract willing people to continuo to study at college.

K12 has been an eye-catcher for parents and senators for many years, Now that It has stayed for 7 years and it made our education system a reliable thing, instead of removing it why not just improve the different aspects and parts of the program, this might be the key to a better education system rather than debating on either to remove it because we are going to waste time on it and we won’t be able to do more.

We should also encourage our youth to achieve their dreams and take up the course they want to everyone wants a job that can give them an income that will make their life successful and fulfilling, and speaking of jobs we should not just focus on people going abroad, some are just going to stay in our country.

Job fares must be more consistent and companies are ready to hire the graduates of K12 students for this is the main goal of K12, to begin with, a quality student, other than jobs we should also bring more seminars and orientation for students that are confused on what course they want to take so in their near future they will be able to choose what they want to take on college and lessen the possibilities of them repeating the subjects since this is what they want and they are ready for the job they studied for.

In addition, orientations and seminar should also bring more enlightenment on strands that senior high school offers, Take me as an example when I entered senior high, my mother and I was very confused because we didn’t know much about what strand I should take that correspond to veterinary medicine.

Also, the strands should not only focus on a particular course that corresponds to it, if it’s like STEM the stand should focus on all the possible courses that correspond to it not just focus on a course that the school is famous for, they should ask the student personally one by one so that they will know where they will put them in when immersion shows.

All in all, K12 is a fine program all they need to do now is to improve the different sub-branches of it to bring more reliability to it so people will trust the education system that we have right now, that will be all for my term paper I hope that I make a few points they should remove the K12 program because it’s too late now.