Photos by Avery Lucatero Bejinez
As a student just two years away from entering college, I wonder if whatever skills I have accumulated throughout high school will actually assist me. I mean, will y=mx+b help me find a purpose in life? I am not alone in terms of feeling uncertain; students from James Logan High School have differing opinions regarding the extent of college readiness conducted by our educators currently.
College students all over California have been voicing their distress of not being prepared for college as classes move at a faster pace.
According to PublicSchoolReview.com, 60% of students transitioning to college feel unprepared for the workload.
”I teach College Connections here at Logan, which is basically a program that helps bridge students over to community college while students are in high school taking high school courses,” history teacher Allen Chan said. “They can also take classes at Ohlone and start building their college resume,” and “there’s a bunch of different programs at Logan that help prepare students for their future”
We students know that most teachers try to prepare us for college, but how well do those lessons actually work?
“It’s honestly a hit or miss,” Chan said. “I do believe sometimes it sticks and I’ll teach a good lesson but sometimes it’s a less engaging lesson. Trying new things is the beauty in teaching.”
Different teachers have different methods and philosophies for helping students learn.
“I can’t speak on behalf of my colleagues in what they do to help students, but one of the things to help prepare my students is to have them take initiative and request extensions for school work/homework. Also I try to always emphasize to my students to read for understanding rather than quickly reading,” Psychology teacher Mrs. Diaz said.
In my opinion, this is a good way to prepare for college as reading intensifies in college and communication is key with your professor.
“I feel teachers don’t necessarily prepare students for college,” junior Jacob Nguyen said. “But learning different subjects helps us understand what we are interested in, Logan provides a wide variety of subjects for us to learn and be interested in along with clubs to further our knowledge.”
In fact some times it can feel like too much according to some of the students trying to find their way through high school. An overwhelming work load was a common theme.
“Lessons and activities – also giving us some homework but not overloading us with tons to do at once,” junior Jaymie Jovero said. “On the other hand, some teachers might not provide the same amount of support, such as when they rush the unit and don’t give us enough time to process the information.”
The pace of a class can affect how well prepared students feel in a subject. Junior Ethan Thomson finds himself spacing out, thinking about things going on in his life, drawing, and listening to music.
“Some teachers are very slow and don’t give really any homework, otherwise school is just in the middle,” Thomson said. “It’s not engaging which makes me get side tracked a lot.”
Junior Natalia Martinez sees AP classes as preparing students for college better than regular ones.
“I get a sense of how a college class would be including the work load” Martinez, said. “Teachers giving out quizzes, tests, help you prepare for AP exams as it’s more college level. It really depends on the teacher and if they’re willing to help.”
