Senior Year: A Teenage Wasteland

My brilliant friend Mary Tedrow posted this piece over on Teacher Magazine. It is a must read.

Senior Year: A Teenage Wasteland
In
2001, the U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley called the high
school senior year a "wasteland." In 2005, researchers concluded that
the majority of high school students were not challenged during their
senior year in reading, writing, or math. To many teachers who work
with high school seniors, these findings ring true. They best apply to
the wide swath of "average" students who travel the featureless
landscape called senior year. Teacher Magazine, 8/1/07 (free registration required)

To give you a taste of why the free registration is worth it, here is a piece from the article as Mary describes what the senior year *could* be…

I would go a large step further and treat the senior year as a unique
capstone experience. By eliminating strict scheduling, a team of
teachers and counselors could shepherd seniors through a meaningful
transition. Students could work with teachers to design a schedule that
would include coursework, apprenticeships, and community activities.
Seniors could also accept ownership in the school community by
participating in tutoring, student courts, in-house television and
radio programs, designing and writing school publications, maintaining
websites, or even helping interview prospective teachers. In short, let
kids test the waters. Let them make decisions in close mentorship with
adults.

I say– YES. And let’s take it a step further. Let’s imagine the entire school experience being that meaningful. Why stop at one year?

Mary Tedrow, a National Board-certified teacher, has taught high school
English and Journalism for 17 years. In the fall she will begin
teaching juniors at John Handley High School in Winchester, VA.