Staff Vote : Yes: 15   No: 6

As the year draws to a close, many seniors start to reflect on their past few years of high school. The LHS Bell staff started this discussion by asking the teachers of LHS their thoughts on the question. Many teachers said the same thing- they weren’t sure. On one hand, some teachers felt that the students who don’t make their high school careers count don’t value education at the moment. Teachers also felt some students don’t have motivation their first two years of high school, and once they hit their senior year, panic sets in.

This doesn’t mean teachers have given up on their students. They noted that the students who are struggling to make their high school careers count can take some steps to improve. The biggest way to spark improvement is to plan out your high school career. The counselors try to help out the students by providing the Naviance course planning program, however not everyone takes it seriously. If students start by planning out what they want to do in high school, then teachers feel like they might be able to get ahead of the curb.

When the discussion took place among the staff, the conversation seemed to mirror how the teachers felt. The staff was also conflicted on how to determine successfulness in high school. We decided all factors, including extracurriculars, academics and socialization all contribute to making high school count. The staff feels if there was more guidance during freshman year, then students would be more likely to set themselves up for success the following years. Some felt that during freshman year students put off the important credits and waste their year.

Another factor that might help students is if they were more ambitious. When it comes to applying for internships or programs that benefit them in the future, students should take any chance they get. Other staff members felt that there needs to be more opportunities for success and that they need to come sooner in the year. Time management is also a big factor of making a high school career count. Staff members felt that students don’t actually budget in time to help them plan for their future. All in all, The Bell staff knows that success is different for everybody. We know our opinion on what we think makes highs school count isn’t always what everyone else thinks.