Here’s the truth: We, the students of the education system of the United States of America, are not properly taught.

We are not allowed to fail. We are shepherded into high school like cattle and dragged bloody toe over bloody toe over the finishing line that is graduation with a standard of education that is so rudimentary anyone can pass. Including those who don’t even care. Our parents step in to clean up our messes and we are given opportunity after opportunity to do what we should’ve done in the first place.

This proverbial safety net is yanked out from under us after we get our diploma. Is the school going to be checking in on us after we leave the building for the last time? Can our parents protect us in college when we just want to lounge around all day and then write us a note excusing us from school the next day? We’re on our own. Our choices have more importance than ever after we graduate.

Perhaps it’s not hyperbole to take that a step further and say our choices for the first time after we graduate have actual consequences. Getting expelled from school for a semester and then being let back in next semester because some schools don’t have a serious expulsion policy is no longer an option.

And none of us are prepared for this reality. We think we are (I know I think I’m ready). We crave the freedom. We want the responsibility and think we can handle it, but it’s a shock to our system to suddenly be on our own no matter how much we prepare for it. Talk to students currently in college and they’ll tell you that high school never prepared them for the realities of what life is really like after those four years are up.

We should be allowed to fail. We should face serious consequences for our actions. If a student is expelled, expel them for real. If we fail a test, we should not be able to retake it four times until the student passes.

Those who actually realize the importance of an education and know how an education will open doors for them in the future will know what they need to do and what is expected of them. Because that’s what life is really like. No one coddles you and encourages you to graduate and gives you unlimited chances in life.

Jason Wisenbaker 
Copy Editor