By Brianna Hall
When we think of a really smart person, or a really wealthy person, we probably envision that they graduated college. This is a view that is widely enforced by our education system. Our lens of academic success has narrowed into whether or not students go to college, and what calibre of college they are admitted to. This is a problem. While all students should have the opportunity to pursue higher education, it should not be something they feel that they have to do if they want to be viewed as intelligent and professional.
Highschools that have the resources to have gotten into the habit of grooming juniors and seniors to achieve one goal: college. However, the goal of college should be replaced with the goal of success. Every student should be given the resources to choose their own path of success, regardless of whether or not that path leads to college.
I haven’t met a student who says that at one point they did not feel overwhelmed by the pressure of getting into college. This is largely due to the pressure that high schools place on students to go to college. If highschools explored multiple paths such as trade school, apprenticeships, interning, and jobs, that all lead to success students would not feel confined to fit themselves into the mold of college.
While college is a great fit for many students, for many it is not, and they are often viewed as less intelligent and successful. Teenage years are full of difficult decisions that can be easily impacted by social norms. Highschools need to break the rigid outline of success for students and prepare them for any option they make after graduation.
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