Musselman High School and Things that Could Improve This School and Others

There are quite a few things I believe that schools should inprove on to better the education of it's students. I will base this off of the school I attended in high school and use it as an example. The school I attended was Musselman High School out of Inwood West Virginia. Since I attended this school I know what some of the problems are that they face being that I experienced some of them myself.

First of all, I think that there are certain teachers that are just not good teachers and that the principle or someone from the school board should sit in on a required amount of classes to make sure that they teacher is doing their job and performing well as a teacher. I know that all teachers have their own way of teaching which is great but I had one teacher 2 years in a row for 2 different types of science classes.

This teacher did not give us any type of class expectations so we never really knew what was expected of us. A lot of students would not respect her and so there would be a lot of goofing off in the class and she never really even put her foot down. Also, she would get in front of the class and she would try to teach us but we all had trouble understanding what she meant and when we would ask questions it seemed like she could not comprehend what we were asking her.

So I think that all teachers, even in high school, should pass out some sort of syllabus and class expectations sheet. Teachers should also let students know that they are available after class or after school for questions or extra help when needed. When students know what is expected of them then they will do better in class.

Another thing is that teachers and faculty need to have confidence in students and the students decisions. When I attended high school we were required to come up with a degree plan our freshman year. We could edit or change our degree plan as we went along. From the beginning I started out as a science/nursing degree plan. All the classes I chose were tailored in the science and/or nursing. Not once did anyone tell me this was a bad idea or that I wouldn't be smart enough for science or nursing.

Well, I feel I did well in these area's because I was an honor student through most of high school. At the very END of our senior year we were required to meet with our counselors to discuss our college plans and such. I told my counselor that I had applied to a few different colleges and that I planned on going into a nursing degree. He looked at me and said "I really don't think that you would be good at nursing". Can you imagine how that made me feel?!

Four years of high school following that same degree plan that we had to turn into our counselors every year and 2 weeks before getting my diploma he tells me I am not going to be good at what I worked for all those years. I was extremely mad, frustrated, and confused as to why the school would let me waste 4 years. Turns out there were a LOT more students then just me that he had said this too and he is no longer a counselor at the school but because of that I ended up second guessing my decisions. I feel that if a student wants to take a class they should be allowed to take the class and if they make a decision about what they want to study in college that they should be encouraged to do so.

I also think that if and when possible that smaller class sized should be offered. This helps teachers to be able to dedicate more one on one time for when a student doesn't understand something. Plus, I feel that students feel more comfortable in smaller class sizes when raising their hand to ask a question or just for more active class participation. Larger class sizes can be intimidating.

I think that offering same sex classes is a good idea but at the same time I am sure it is hard for schools to do so. What they can do instead is set up to different after school clubs, one for just boys and one for just girls and it can be like a study group. This way girls can study together and boys can study together and they can get help and ask different questions that they may feel uncomfortable asking during class.

There are many things that I feel could be improved when it comes to education and these are just a few. I am sure that what I mentioned is probably already being used in a lot of schools but every school is different and sometimes it is just the small things that make a difference.

References

Targan, D. (1996). Achieving Gender Equity in Science Classrooms. A Guide For Faculty.

Wood, J. T. (2007). Gendered Lives. Communication, Gender, and Culture.