Michigan’s Education System Raises the Bar

(This guest post is written by Heather Johnson, who frequently writes on the subject of instant degree. She welcomes your comments and freelance writing inquiries at: heatherjohnson2323 at gmail dot com.)

High school is not exactly the easiest period in a teen’s life, and Michigan’s youngsters are learning the hard way that it just got harder. Schools across the state just raised the level of coursework included in the high school curriculum. Mathematics, Science, Algebra, Geometry and Social Science have taken on monstrous proportions to students already juggling schoolwork, raging hormones and the terrible teenage years. There are no second chances since one failed class means graduation is delayed, and with the onus of implementing the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) falling on the shoulders of the school and its staff members, every child who does not graduate in four years contributes to the drop in the level of the school’s standards.

The children, who are the hardest hit, are questioning the reason behind this new policy because they feel it inconveniences them in various ways:

Since the new policy has come into effect only this year, the gap between the standards of the last year of middle school and the first year of high school seems like a yawning chasm that the kids are unable to bridge with regular hours of study. They’re forced to learn subjects that are difficult even at normal levels like mathematics and algebra at a much higher standard – freshmen are now learning things that were earlier included in the syllabus for junior and senior year students. Students who are unable to cope and avoid doing homework have to compulsorily give up their lunch breaks or stay behind after school to complete their assignments and take extra classes.

The children are sore because most of them have already decided their future careers, vocations where advanced mathematical principles would stick out like a sore thumb. Freshmen are unable to get their seniors’ help since the older children themselves are just learning the same curriculum.

As if extra lessons on school days are not enough, weaker children and those who fail a class are taking online classes or credit recovery courses over the summer. Even the bright students are finding homework assignments to be extremely tough.

Looking at things on a positive note, schools and their teaching staff are rising to the occasion to help children struggling to cope by putting in extra hours themselves. For doubts and questions that arise after school or tuition hours, online help is always available. The schools are bearing the added expenditure incurred in paying the staff for working overtime and for transportation costs incurred in driving those who stay behind after school hours to catch up on their coursework.

Officials are justifying the policy as a necessary step in the process of providing the future workforce of Michigan with a solid foundation that will help them perform better when they take on college degrees and graduate into members of the earning fraternity. Obviously they’re hoping to catch them young! But in the eyes of the children, it’s a big leap indeed, one that leaves them little or no time at all for the fun things that high school students would love to do.