High School

High school has been a challenge: it's a whole new ball game compared to middle school. I've had late nights after late nights thrown my way, and early mornings each day. The curriculum has stepped up, no more being babied; I'm expected to fly high! Middle school was a piece of cake, now I'm stuck with a plate of rocks. Middle school should've better prepared me to chomp down on these rocks!

One thing I can tell all of my peers need help in is writing. We're stuck in English writing essay after essay to perfect our writing, which should've been done long ago! Every grade level must write essays, stories, research papers, etc., we've been doing it since third grade, but why haven't we been taught anything about it since then? I've been taught to include an introduction, middle, conclusion, transition, thesis, for as long as I can remember, but not how, exactly, to do these things. Middle school should've provided me with new techniques, ideas, formats, writing styles, so I could learn to flow and not be bound to a certain elementary style. Writing expectations should've been broken down, by each English teacher, each year, so that everyone could become comfortable with writing and perfect the art. If that would've happened we'd be seeing many more sixes on writes upon requests or FCAT writing.

Every teacher in middle school had standards; however, they were not always followed. Rules and procedures were stated in the beginning of the each year; we should have followed those rules as firmly as possible all year, but it never happened. Middle school babied me way too much. I regret it now, because I'm up late each night doing homework, I think it's unfair; in all actuality it's just how life is. If I would've received a larger work load, or if I had actually been punished for low quality products, I'd be better off these days. In middle school, teachers accepted late work, and checked for completion, and came to you about missing assignments, all of the teachers fit the student's needs. I still somewhat expect that; that expectation has brought rude awakenings my way. The teachers now make us work for our grades and I must say: It sucks. If I would've had more structure and expectations, and the discipline for not meeting those expectations in middle school I would've been so prepared for high school, but I wasn't.

Another thing that many of my peers are struggling with these days is oral communication. In the first two weeks of high school, my English teacher talked to us, just a normal conversation, to see where we were at in speaking. He wanted to see how responsive we were. He then taught us the importance of oral communication. That simple lesson was probably the best lesson I've ever had. I am, and always have been, extremely awkward around adults; I lose the ability to think. After that lesson, I