By Dani Ricker Posted December 17, 2014
To receive just a basic diploma at Lowry a student must have twenty-three and a half credits. Of which, four have to be English credits, one-half credit has to be Health Education, four must be math, two PE, three Science, one U.S. History, one U.S. Government, one Arts/Humanities/C.T.E., one-half of Computers, one Economics/Social Studies, and five and a half Elective credits.
That is 24 credits that you are required to take no matter what.
The problem with this is these classes (aside from most electives) prepare you for college, but what if you don’t plan on going to college? And what if you plan on a pursuing career such as a carpenter or something? Shouldn’t you be taking classes that prepare you for those jobs? And what if my plan in life is to not go to college, and instead open up a quilting shop? I mean, how often am I going to have to find the derivative of a trig function if I’m quilting all day? Let’s be real, how often are you going to use calculus no matter what trade you choose?
Let’s go back to that carpenter idea: I realize basic English skills are required, but if you can pass a state writing test should you still be required to complete all four credits? If state testing is done sophomore year and you pass that test, your last two years could be used to study welding, construction, or woods; which are classes you will need to take to pursue that career.
I think students need to start thinking ahead about college majors and career paths as freshmen. If you plan on majoring in something involving a lot of math, rather than taking art as an elective, take accounting. If you plan on doing something with music, take band. How many times have you taken a random elective because it’s an “easy A”? Electives may seem like unimportant easy classes, but those are the classes that could prepare you for life more than any other class offered at Lowry. If students started to think about the future before their senior year they wouldn’t be panicking, trying to decide what to major in or what they’re going to do with their lives. I also think that if students were allowed to build their own schedules based on what they plan on doing in life, they would be more prepared to be off on their own in the ‘real world’. Maybe the school system should be more aware of the fact that not all students will go to college, let alone actually graduate high school, and prepare them better for the jobs that will be available to them.
