Tuesday, June 11, 2013

High School Roller Coaster

The Scenic Railway at Luna Park, Melbourne, is...
I recently assigned my Public Speaking class (composed entirely of freshmen) the following assignment:
You have been chosen to speak to incoming freshmen and their parents at Tyngsboro High School’s Freshmen Orientation on this topic: “How to Survive and Thrive at THS”.
I was curious to find out what advice this year's freshmen had for the class behind them. I got mostly what I expected: "do your homework", "try your best", "listen to your teachers",  "play a sport", etc. I also got a few I didn't expect. Apparently, it is unwise to change seats in the cafeteria once things have been established early in the year, and the rules of the hallway are the same as the rules of the road: stay to the right.

My son will be entering high school in the fall, and as I thought about their advice, I thought about what I would say as a 19 year veteran of the classroom. So, that's my goal for the summer. Hopefully, by the end of August, I will have amassed a collection of essays which will help my son (and anyone's child) to survive and thrive on the roller coaster that is high school. I don't actually ride the coaster anymore, but I'm one of the operators, and I'm familiar with the ups and downs and twists and turns of the next four years.

NEXT POST: The extended metaphor of the high school roller coaster.
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