Student Perspective:

You walk into your math class and your first thought is, “The square root of pi…
Man I’m hungry…” Science is a drag (it’s not like it’s how you even live or anything),
literature is never ending, and you don’t want to talk about your history class because
that is exactly what it is.
School is where we learn, make friends, and spend most of our year. Why is it so
“bad”? Is it the homework, the early mornings, or the teachers? Well, Bingham?
The teachers are here everyday just for their students’ benefit, and that’s what
they have dedicated their lives to. They work hard, and you probably couldn’t do better,
let alone even close to as well as they do. Do we appreciate it enough? *insert sarcastic
comment about us appreciating it* Given you all likely had your own sarcastic comment,
we obviously have pretty poor attitudes about school. Why is this?
English teacher Ms. Quist said, “I think that most students actually want to be
here and learn, but it’s when I assign them reading or assignments, that’s when they
don’t want to do it.” Well Bingham, is it true? Do we actually like to learn? Think about it,
we read in our spare time, but as soon as an English teacher says “To Kill A
Mockingbird, “ many students think, “Why not just kill me?”
Child Trends said, “In 2013, seven percent of males ages 16 to 24 were high
school dropouts, compared with six percent of females.” Is high school really that hard?
We have heard that with organization, we can get good grades and still have time for
extracurricular activities. Do you think that it is possible for you, or anyone? We picked
our own classes. We know what is expected. Challenge accepted.

Teacher Perspective:

Many students struggle to understand why school is meaningful.  High school
should be more than a seven-hour roll call mandated by state law.  Surely, our
parents are almost as tired of hearing us complain about school as we are of actually
attending.  Admittedly, getting up in the morning is a bear and passing required
courses is monotonous, but school is worth our work. Aristotle said, “The roots of
education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet.”
Teachers work every day to make us understand, help us explore new ideas,
and force us to form our own opinions about the world.  Since they are so involved
in our education, I asked four teachers why they thought school is worth our time
and here is what they had to say.
“School teaches you to think critically and solve problems.  It’s not like you
are going to be solving for x your whole life, but learning how to think and being
aware of the world [is what makes school really important,]”  said Ms. Uhl from the
Math Department.
Mr. Fish from Science said, “The main reason you are in school, I know most
kids tend to believe that it is to baby-tend [you] or to keep [you] out of trouble, but
our main purpose, if you look in our job description, is to prepare you to be
functional, logical, critical thinking members of society”
From the English Department, Ms. Hollinger said, “What do you want out of
your life? If you want to have some control in your life, you have to have knowledge;
knowledge equals power.”
Mr. Moritz from Social Studies said, “Money comes and goes.  Careers come
and go. But knowledge sticks with you until you die—unless, of course, you lose
your mind…Altogether, we are the same. We are the same in how we interact in our
lives, but education and intelligence is what separates us from each other: those
who just go through the motions versus those who actually use their mind for a
greater purpose.”
Our school’s mission statement says that Bingham’s goal is to “empower each
student to function effectively in an ever-changing society as a competent, creative,
productive, and responsible citizen.”  The anatomy of a sentence and learning how
to calculate the area of a shape spun around the x-axis may not affect our daily
lives after high school, but thinking critically and solving problems never goes
away.  School teaches us to play well with others, work in groups, and survive in a
society full of people who may not agree with us.  So, take hard classes.  Do your
homework.  Challenge yourself.  High school is worth your investment.