So what is high school like in America?
Yawn, scribble, sigh. Laugh, iPhone alert, clatter, snore, cry. Someone either saying, “I’m tired” or “When do I get out of here?” Those sounds and hackneyed questions basically define homegrown American high schools. I have been attending a thoroughly American school for three years now, and I have witnessed good teachers, awful teachers, cuss words being dropped like petals of a rose in a windstorm, noisy breakups, weave in the school sinks, and boys feeling up heavily makeup-ed girls in the landing of the stairs. Pleasant, I know. I take seven classes (plus two online—Latin and SAT Prep) every day, from 7:05 a.m. to 1:35 p.m. When that loud, monotone bell shrieks at 1:35, the students disappear from the campus quicker than subways filling up and emptying in New York City. As far as classes, I am taking AP Art History, AP Environmental, Pre-Calculus, Spanish 5, U.S. history honors, AP Literature, and AP Statistics. AP, or advanced placement, basically just means I can earn college credit for my classes if I pass a huge, long exam in May. Yay!.JPG) o |
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SAT Prep book Despite being barely awake and functioning at 7:05 IN THE MORNING, it is common to see girls curling their hair in the hallways before school starts. For attention or for laughable vanity, these girls are just one of the many examples of the social groups. Let me brief you on average high school students. There are the popular sluts, the weird scene kids with gauges, the tall, gangly nerds, the tan, athletic kids, and the awkward people who hover around looking for friends. As for me, I’m in the smart but not awkwardly unapproachable group (I can socialize normally when I have too: P). Most kids just hang around and have a large group of friends to feel wanted and part of something larger than just themselves. 
The People
Girls will always be catty and boys will always be consumed by sex hormones, but the truth is that everyone is just waiting to get out. In America, high school doesn’t really matter that much education-wise (university is stressed the most); American high schools are more focused on sports like football and basketball than on academics. However, my classes are generally interesting, especially my art history class (which I LOVE). My teachers basically have free reign to teach in whatever style they choose; there are state standards, but no one really enforces them or checks every teacher EVERY DAY to see what they are teaching (no accountability).Many American teachers are gray-haired, inconsistent, and just hanging on until their retirement kicks in so they can live out a comfortable life in Florida or Arizona. American students also value the ability to drive and be on social media. Older students (aged 16-18) grip their lanyards with their car keys on it and wave it around in front of them to say, “Hey guys—look, I can drive!” Driving and gaining freedom at 16 is so deeply engrained in our culture that if you don’t conform to society, you may be looked down upon. Social media also has a huge impact on American high schools. Students are always texting or snap chatting, and the new form of taking notes is to simply take a picture of it on the board—amazing! Although I know it is melodramatic to say the halls of my high school are like jails (which they actually resemble—long, white, cinderblock, and sterile looking), I don’t want to sound too cynical. But there are good things about high schools; this part only lasts four years and it goes by SO quickly. The higher the grade you are, the more interesting classes you are likely to take and most of the teachers are decent.
Although lunch is mostly useless (and no one eats anything anyways), it is a good time to socialize with your friends . As for relationships between boys and girls, they are either so awkward that even Mary from Pride and Prejudice is cringing or they are overtly sexual and kind of disgusting. Many couples make out and hold hands, but almost every relationship doesn't make it past six months (which I think is universal). To conclude, American high schools are a melting pot of everything good, horrendous, dramatic, boring, and interesting. To be honest, these four years don’t even mean anything; university is the important education in America.
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