Reflective Essay: The Importance Of Education In High School

Throughout high school, my teachers have always said, “We are preparing you for college,” and, “It won’t be this easy when you go to college.” We are conditioned to think of college as a completely independent learning environment where spending hours studying a textbook is the key to a good grade and later, success in a career. “No one in college will care whether you pass or fail. It’s all up to you,” said my freshman English teacher. I have had the unique opportunity to test this theory out the past two years through the Trailblazer Collegiate Academy. Switching between high school and college-mode can be a challenge, but one that develops my learning in a deeper way. The summer between our sophomore and junior year, the incoming Trailblazers, (students in the program), are required to complete College 100. It is essentially the equivalent to Fort Osage’s Freshman Focus. We are all in the same class and it is personalized to our unique educational path. Throughout the four-week course, our instructors stressed that the key to success is being in tune with yourself. They designed a …show more content…
Yes, I have learned to follow directions and how to solve a math problem, but I haven’t learned how to think for myself and be my own leader. The curriculum of College 100 taught me how to be a more efficient student, but more importantly, the class taught me how to be an adult in society. My teachers in high school have given us warning after warning on how they are preparing us for college, but as someone who is already attending college and has been shown what it takes to be successful, I can say with absolute certainty that Fort Osage hasn’t prepared me. Instead, I feel that I have only been prepared to follow in the steps of the working class citizens in our community, even though I aspire to be more and do