Meredith Geyer
Everyday high school students sitting in math class ask themselves, “When am I ever going to use this?” Some even ask their teacher who more often than not, unfortunately, cannot give a valid reason. So what changes to the classroom are needed to make answering this grueling question a bit easier?
Contributing factors to what is presently being learned at Germantown High are new requirements set in place by the Board of Education and the State of Tennessee. Algebra II teacher Josh Taylor has had to accommodate to the changes in the curriculum.
“We've had to go so much quicker with the material and there’s not as much time to go back and review,” Mr. Taylor said. “The students five or six years from now will be stronger, better math students but it is not exactly fair for our current Germantown High School kids.”
In recent weeks Germantown High has had to manipulate the schedule due to M.A.P. testing. This test that must be repeated two more times this year has been put in place to recognize which students need to be put into remediation for next school year. Every student, including seniors, I.B., and honors, is required to take all six tests along with standard E.O.C. assessments.
“It’s been a scheduling nightmare,” Stephanie Thomas, Theory of Knowledge and Humanities teacher, said. “It wrecks student moral; it wrecks teacher moral.”
Germantown High has been testing at a level five for the past several years according to other state mandated tests. With the results from these tests, teachers can recognize the variations in students scores and, therefore, abilities.
“We know the students who are going to be in jeopardy. They are not lost to us,” Thomas explained.
Teachers and students have faced reality and recognized that the only option is to go with the flow, but for some this does not cut it. When asked if the changes and testing will be worth it veteran English teacher, Kimberly Tucker, believes all of it will hurt more than help.
“We spend too much time testing and not enough time preparing them for the real world, for college, or for the tests that actually count for something,” she said. “Arm the teachers with the tools that are necessary to prepare these kids for jobs or college or whatever the next step is.”
Students often share the teachers’ opinions about the testing and schedule it has caused.
I.B. junior Sophia Tony-Egbuniwe feels as though the class time taken up by testing could have been easily replaced with something more beneficial such as ACT prep.
The efforts made by the school board and state to try to give students everything they need to get ready for college possibly provides a disservice to a large portion of students. To students who have always known they were never going to college, the new curriculum and testing means very little to them.
Kimberly Tucker recognized that students “are being made to feel like everyone has to go to college when it’s not for everybody.”
“Our vocational classes are not really a comprehensive program,” Thomas said,” while technical skills are skills that are absolutely necessary to the fabric of society.”
Navy bound senior Noah Hefley can feel the pressure of learning some of the more important life skills on his own.
“School has taught me the information I need in terms of science, and the wrestling team is preparing me for the physical challenge, but that's about it,” he said. “All other things- determination, courage, common sense, communication, etc.- have been taught from other things.”
The changes in the classroom that are needed are up to the Board of Education and the State of Tennessee. Stephanie Thomas believes that those who are in charge and away from the school setting “are missing an opportunity to develop students in a way that is meaningful to them.”
A new question arises: what kind of skills should students take away from high school nowadays?
Everyday high school students sitting in math class ask themselves, “When am I ever going to use this?” Some even ask their teacher who more often than not, unfortunately, cannot give a valid reason. So what changes to the classroom are needed to make answering this grueling question a bit easier?
Contributing factors to what is presently being learned at Germantown High are new requirements set in place by the Board of Education and the State of Tennessee. Algebra II teacher Josh Taylor has had to accommodate to the changes in the curriculum.
“We've had to go so much quicker with the material and there’s not as much time to go back and review,” Mr. Taylor said. “The students five or six years from now will be stronger, better math students but it is not exactly fair for our current Germantown High School kids.”
In recent weeks Germantown High has had to manipulate the schedule due to M.A.P. testing. This test that must be repeated two more times this year has been put in place to recognize which students need to be put into remediation for next school year. Every student, including seniors, I.B., and honors, is required to take all six tests along with standard E.O.C. assessments.
“It’s been a scheduling nightmare,” Stephanie Thomas, Theory of Knowledge and Humanities teacher, said. “It wrecks student moral; it wrecks teacher moral.”
Germantown High has been testing at a level five for the past several years according to other state mandated tests. With the results from these tests, teachers can recognize the variations in students scores and, therefore, abilities.
“We know the students who are going to be in jeopardy. They are not lost to us,” Thomas explained.
Teachers and students have faced reality and recognized that the only option is to go with the flow, but for some this does not cut it. When asked if the changes and testing will be worth it veteran English teacher, Kimberly Tucker, believes all of it will hurt more than help.
“We spend too much time testing and not enough time preparing them for the real world, for college, or for the tests that actually count for something,” she said. “Arm the teachers with the tools that are necessary to prepare these kids for jobs or college or whatever the next step is.”
Students often share the teachers’ opinions about the testing and schedule it has caused.
I.B. junior Sophia Tony-Egbuniwe feels as though the class time taken up by testing could have been easily replaced with something more beneficial such as ACT prep.
The efforts made by the school board and state to try to give students everything they need to get ready for college possibly provides a disservice to a large portion of students. To students who have always known they were never going to college, the new curriculum and testing means very little to them.
Kimberly Tucker recognized that students “are being made to feel like everyone has to go to college when it’s not for everybody.”
“Our vocational classes are not really a comprehensive program,” Thomas said,” while technical skills are skills that are absolutely necessary to the fabric of society.”
Navy bound senior Noah Hefley can feel the pressure of learning some of the more important life skills on his own.
“School has taught me the information I need in terms of science, and the wrestling team is preparing me for the physical challenge, but that's about it,” he said. “All other things- determination, courage, common sense, communication, etc.- have been taught from other things.”
The changes in the classroom that are needed are up to the Board of Education and the State of Tennessee. Stephanie Thomas believes that those who are in charge and away from the school setting “are missing an opportunity to develop students in a way that is meaningful to them.”
A new question arises: what kind of skills should students take away from high school nowadays?