Consider this, AHHS: Does anyone actually ask students what they think?

EDIT: Oops. Originally, I mentioned the real name of our school in this post. Someone alerted me to this fact. I’ve edited the post accordingly.

A friend wrote the following:

“Well, let me just tell you: AHHS is broken. And it’s just about the saddest thing to have to come to grips with after two and a half years of the hardest work and most intense emotional investment I’ve ever experienced.”

Um, definitely.

Teachers and school administrators should listen to students more often. Last night, I stayed at AHHS until well after 8:00. Many juniors were at school late in order to attend AHHS’s College Night. I decided I would just talk with students. I certainly didn’t want to return home. Staying behind at AHHS allowed me to avoid my shitty psychology textbook.

My running question of the evening: in 100 words or less, how would you fix AHHS?

Students had incredible insight. One student queried as to why some many teachers at AHHS are uncertified. All agreed that the school no longer motivates students; if a student is to succeed at AHHS, he or she will have to develop the motivation independent of any school effort. All agreed that the school is not truly college preparatory. Teachers assign busy work for the evenings, but rarely do they facilitate meaningful discussions on outside-of-class readings the next day.

I shared how A- and O-levels work in England. I also shared how the IB framework works. The students seemed interested.

AHHS fucks over our gifted students. It’s a shame. Why can’t we read, write, and talk–a lot!–in classes? Is this not education?