Are students really learning?

Posted on May 21, 2014 by Steve Dominguez in Op-Ed

Chelyah Miller

Chronicle Reporter

During an English class, students were asked to write down what they liked and disliked about school. I gave this question a lot of thought. Most of the students wrote how they didn’t like how they were treated by certain teachers or administrators or the workload that they were given and the amount of time they had to do it.

I have no problem with any of these things. My biggest problem is that I can honestly say is that I am not learning anything beneficial.

When I say this I’m not saying I’m not learning at all because that’s not true. I’m learning a lot of things that will help me in college. However, I’m not learning anything that will help me when I go out into the world. I’m learning how to solve for x and use the Pythagorean Theorem but I’m not learning how to balance a checkbook or pay my bills.

The things that are taught in school are supposed to enlighten students, but what can really help them? The things they are learning are not preparing for life after college. No one will be there to hold their hands; they will need to use skills they were taught, and right now, that’s not very much. I feel that if students are forced to show up to school every single day then they should learn something that will really help them.