When were you in high school?

[jld]

Jeannie in NJ mentioned graduating in 1971, and I'm wondering if when we were in high school would have affected the education we got.

 

I was there from 1984-1988.

[RENEEinVA]

I think it definitely plays a role depending upon which government program - i.e., No Child Left Behind - was setting the tone. I was in high school from '79-'83 - military school on base for half and rural school for the 2nd half - but I don't remember what the push was way back then. Unfortunately, all I remember is wanting to get through it as quickly as possible.

[JFSinIL]

California high school grad of '77. Only took one semester of basic math - nowadays that would NOT fly!

[skirch]

California high school grad of '77. Only took one semester of basic math - nowadays that would NOT fly!

I also only took one semester of basic math. I graduated in 1985 in Nevada.

[cathmom]

1985-1988 (I went to college early)

[April in CA]

Good Morning!

I graduated in CA in 1980 (so I started 9th grade in Sept 1976). CA in the late 70's, at least in my school, was all about choice, especially if you were a good student. I took honors English in 9th grade (only grammar I remember learning was what a gerund is), Semantics and Expository Writing in 10th grade (one semester each), Mythology and something else in 11th grade. In 12th grade, I took one semester of Honors English (literature - I hated it, which I now find rather ironic) and then dropped it to take a semester of Grammar, Syntax, and Usage, which was one of the most valuable English classes of my high school career. The rest of my class choices were pretty standard college-prep sequences for math and science. I did very well in high school, but had no study skills when I got to college. It was a steep learning curve!

 

My sons' education is much more thorough than mine was! My guys will know how to study and how to manage a substantial work load. As homeschoolers, they already know how to learn from multiple sources and teach themselves what they want/need to know.

 

I feel like I am getting a much better education now than I did in high school. Perhaps part if that is because I appreciate it more now that I have lived a little more.

Blessings,

April

[4wildberrys]

I went to a private, college prep high school in California--1983-1987. Our focus was purely academic, hard pushing and high achieving---no shop, home ec etc---and Ivy League was seen as the ultimate, best goal. My education has definitely colored how I am homeschooling my kids---especially giving me reason to be much more moderate and well rounded with their education. I don't want them to burn out and be so lop-sided in one direction like my life was. :tongue_smilie:

[Corraleno]

1970-73. I remember very little about HS, except hating it and being bored out of my mind. I hated the dry, drill-&-kill way math and science were taught, even in the Honors classes, and all of my English teachers were terrible — especially the baseball coach who's idea of teaching English was to make us read WWII novels all year. :ack2: Worst three years of my life, and a total waste of time IMO. I think I'm looking forward to homeschooling HS even more than elementary/middle, because I get to do it all over again myself!

 

Jackie

[OLG]

Went to a parochial high school in MD graduating in 1970. Pretty good education for the time which made college a breeze. Solid two years of foreign language, three years of math but not calculus and excellent sciences with labs but only two years. Psych as an elective was a 'wild' new thing for a Catholic school back then:D!

 

I do think the quality of high school ed declined in the late 70's and 80's. My Dad was a public high school teacher at that time too. Arts went out the window then too, didn't they? However, it was still better than today, at least, better than the public schools here!

 

Mary

[Ellie]

I graduated in 1969. Yes, I'm rilly, rilly old. :D And yes, it does make a difference when you were in school. Public schools in the U.S. have been terribly dismal for the last 40 years....I think my class made it through just in time, lol.

[Quiver0f10]

I graduated in 1987.

[Mommyfaithe]

Jeannie in NJ mentioned graduating in 1971, and I'm wondering if when we were in high school would have affected the education we got.

 

I was there from 1984-1988.

 

1978-1982....NYC school system (Brooklyn to be exact) Schools were over crowded (35-40 per class in K-5) Went to a Yeshiva for grades 6-8 where there were 10 - 15 kids in a class and we were taught in a Classical Jewish way. Hebrew studies 6 days a week for 3 hours...English studies (which included Math, science, Literature, etc.) 5 days a week. We went to school 6 days a week...Sunday - Friday with 1/2 days on Sunday (only Hebrew studies) and Friday. We started school a full hour earlier than PS and were released a full hour later. I think these days were my absolute best time in school ever! School was serious, learning was expected, but the teachers were kind and loved us...mentored us...had us visit their homes and families....expected us to be intelligent and treated us as human beings created in God's image with a purpose to fulfill. They took their responsibilities VERY seriously. I was there on scholarship (I won a scholastic exam and also taught myself to read Hebrew.) Once I got to high school, my parents could not afford to keep me in the Yeshiva...and as we were not religious, I started to see deep chasms between our family's lifestyle and those of the Orthodox Jewish sect which my school was affiliated with. To this day, I miss my teachers and mentors. They made a big difference in my life and I wish there was a way to say thank you.

 

 

Back at PS for 9-11th grade...back to a horrible education. Dropped out in 11th because it was just plain old dangerous to be there and took my GED that year. Went to college.

I got a horrible PS education...good thing I could read going in...NEVER learned math...but finally gave up and took accounting classes which turned out to be a great move for me since I have always been able to get a job...BUT a terrible thing for my kids because i am the worst math teacher around. I keep trying to teach myself math...BUT I just do not have the time and quite frankly I wonder if those brain cells are even there any more.

 

~~Faithe

Edited May 29, 2010 by Mommyfaithe

[AngieW in Texas]

I was in high school from 1981-1985. I was very unhappy that I had to go for my senior year. At that time, we were required to have 21.5 credits in order to graduate and could accumulate up to 7 credits each year. I had 21 solid credits at the end of 11th grade. I wanted to go to college one year early, but couldn't because I needed one semester of any elective. Classes taken over the summer wouldn't count for graduation. Summer classes could be used only to make up for failed classes.

 

I ended up going just half-days for my senior year. I found an internship program to go to in the afternoon. So I took AP History, AP English, and Psychology/Sociology in the morning. I spent fall semester interning at the Dallas Police Department in the afternoons and spring semester interning with a veterinarian. I found out that I really didn't want to follow either of those paths.

[Laura in CA]

I graduated in CA in 1980 (so I started 9th grade in Sept 1976). CA in the late 70's, at least in my school, was all about choice, especially if you were a good student. I took honors English in 9th grade

 

Hey, so did I! and graduated in CA in 1980. Maybe we knew each other! :)

 

Long answer:

 

I started 9th grade in western New York, and loved it. History was a two-year sequence -- half the 9th-graders took Asian & African History, and the other half took European History, and you switched in 10th grade. I was initially disappointed to have Asian/African (I was more interested in Europe), but enjoyed the class once it started. I still remember filling in detailed maps of Asia with landforms, political boundaries, etc. And we were learning history, dates, etc. -- real CONTENT. I also started Algebra 2, had a rigorous English class (we'd had tracking since 7th grade), and (I think) physical science w/lab.

 

Then my dad got a job in CA and we spent October driving across the country (very educational, btw, for a 13-year-old!), and in November I started 9th grade in CA. I was put into a geometry class, since that was the sequence after Alg. 1 here; I guess I caught up. Honors English. Remedial science (not sure why; maybe the C I got in science in jr hi?); I soon got onto the college-prep sci track. But the biggest shock was history -- er, "social studies." All we studied were *concepts,* such as "conflict" :confused: I didn't learn a darn thing all year. (I'm still bitter, haha. Seriously.) They used a 5th-grade textbook, whereas in 8th grade in NY we used an 11th-grade textbook in History (b/c we were tracked) and it wasn't a textbook so much as a collection of primary sources; we read those and had "seminars" with our chairs in a circle (this was the 70s!) where we discussed, yes, concepts, but we were basing it on our readings of Locke, Rousseau, Jefferson, Hamilton, etc.

 

So frustrating. And this was a relatively good high school. We had an awesome calculus teacher, so some of us took AP Calc BC, whereas the neighboring high school had no calculus at all; we had Latin & Greek (although in NY in 7th grade my Latin teacher had a PhD; in CA Latin wasn't offered in junior high at all).

 

Sorry for ranting. I knew I shouldn't have replied ;-)

 

Short answer: 1976-1980.

 

~Laura

[cathmom]

I started 9th grade in western New York, and loved it. History was a two-year sequence -- half the 9th-graders took Asian & African History, and the other half took European History, and you switched in 10th grade. I was initially disappointed to have Asian/African (I was more interested in Europe), but enjoyed the class once it started. I still remember filling in detailed maps of Asia with landforms, political boundaries, etc. And we were learning history, dates, etc. -- real CONTENT.

 

 

~Laura

 

You studied Asia and Africa?!? I'm falling over in a dead faint. I didn't think American schools ever taught anything about those continents except that they exist.

[Orthodox6]

I was graduated from high school in 1973. 4 years of honors English, 4 years of honors science, 3 years of honors math, AP-level Spanish, honors history, government, and economics. Even obtained a one-semester course in British history.

 

Had I lived in a small town, rather than a major city, I doubt that I could have received such high-caliber coursework. That is a factor as much as the decade, I suspect.

[Laura in CA]

You studied Asia and Africa?!? I'm falling over in a dead faint. I didn't think American schools ever taught anything about those continents except that they exist.

 

Surprising, isn't it? And for a whole year (except that I was pulled out mid-year, grumble, grumble). Well, it was both Asia & Africa one year, then "just" Europe for another year.

Not sure if they still do in NY ...

[PollyOR]

I graduated in 1982. I'm going to be honest. I don't blame my lack of education on the schools. I take responsibility. I did just enough to pass and that was it. I wanted out! I was put in several "dummy" classes because they didn't know what to do with me. I wasn't one of the smart kids, but I wasn't slow either. I was an average kid who didn't forth any effort.

[elegantlion]

I graduated in 1982. I'm going to be honest. I don't blame my lack of education on the schools. I take responsibility. I did just enough to pass and that was it. I wanted out! I was put in several "dummy" classes because they didn't know what to do with me. I wasn't one of the smart kids, but I wasn't slow either. I was an average kid who didn't forth any effort.

 

:iagree:About my story, except I graduated in 1985. My parents thought the school was guiding me, the guidance counselor had too many kids to deal with, and I followed the path of least resistance. I was pretty book smart, but obviously not too smart about my long term outlook. I graduated at semester my senior year. I never cracked a book at.all. my senior year and the lowest grade I got was a C- in one class, most were A's and B's. I loved learning, I just hated high school.

 

I have to say I'm enjoying the schooling journey much better the second time around. I love forward to homeschooling high school, which will look so different than my education.

[Guest Dulcimeramy]

I graduated in 1982. I'm going to be honest. I don't blame my lack of education on the schools. I take responsibility. I did just enough to pass and that was it. I wanted out! I was put in several "dummy" classes because they didn't know what to do with me. I wasn't one of the smart kids, but I wasn't slow either. I was an average kid who didn't forth any effort.

 

I did the exact same thing, only I was one of the "smart" kids. I took college prep classes, except for math, and found them to be quite easy. I did NOT apply myself. There may have been more to gain, but I didn't see it at the time.

 

I had enough credits, so I graduated a semester early. (Class of 1993) I had so little regard for my high school education that I didn't even go to graduation.

 

The only thing I was proud about was that I stayed in high school the whole time. I wasn't proud of my grades, because I didn't feel as if scribbling a paper while walking down the hall to class was really worthy of an "A" no matter what my teacher thought.

[Guest Dulcimeramy]

:iagree:About my story, except I graduated in 1985. My parents thought the school was guiding me, the guidance counselor had too many kids to deal with, and I followed the path of least resistance. I was pretty book smart, but obviously not too smart about my long term outlook. I graduated at semester my senior year. I never cracked a book at.all. my senior year and the lowest grade I got was a C- in one class, most were A's and B's. I loved learning, I just hated high school.

 

I have to say I'm enjoying the schooling journey much better the second time around. I love forward to homeschooling high school, which will look so different than my education.

 

I should have read this before I posted and just nodded. This was exactly true for me, too.

[G5052]

Late 1970's -- I went to one of the top public high schools in the country and truly had a great education. My AP English teachers and the debate team were especially top-notch.

 

At the time there were no national or state standards, just a group of teachers who had crafted a great school with high standards. It lost a lot of ground though over the years though as those teachers retired and as the standards movement took off. I hear that's still a good school, but not a great school.

[AHASRADA]

I was in HS from 1987-1990 (class of 1991) . I was able to graduate a year early because, unlike poor Angie, I was able to fit in all my credits in 3 years. This was not my original plan, I just didn't see any purpose in taking study hall, and therefore filled up my schedule in grades 9 & 10. Once I realized how close I was to having my required credits, I met with my guidance counselor and figured out a way to finish in 3 years (taking English 11 and English 12 simultaneously was the main requirement). At that point, I was sooo over the immature social environment of high school, and ready to be out in the real world with rational adults :). I wasn't sure what I wanted to do, so I worked full-time as a receptionist for that year before going to college (and getting married ;)).

 

I was actually quite pleased with the education I received; certainly not classical, and I definitely needed to be taught math using a different approach. We were taught phonics in elem., our middle school teachers created a curriculum specifically designed to gradually prepare us for HS, my HS had a nice selection of electives and course options, I thoroughly enjoyed the literature analysis ("To Kill a Mockingbird" and "Emma" stick in my mind) and I was given a very strong foundation in composition, especially essays and persuasive writing.

 

I liked my teachers, and thoroughly enjoyed learning. What I hated, was the bullying, cliquish behavior of the other kids, the entire culture of public school that tries to force everyone into a box of what is "cool", and leaves little to no tolerance for individuality. It is extremely difficult to come through 12 years in this environment having any sense of who you truly are, having been so strongly influenced by this artificial peer-based environment. This is what I am sparing my kids from by homeschooling. I not only want them to receive a good education, but to maintain their dignity, sense of self, and love of learning, in the process.

[Chris in VA]

Graduated in 1981. Lived in Ohio during most of my schooling--there, high school was 10-12th grade, Jr Hi was 7-9th.

Moved to FL in 11th grade--there, it was 9-12th grade, so the school felt different to me!

Had a good but not great education. Better in Ohio.

[knittingmomof3]

I graduated in 1997 in NJ. I learned the locations of all 50 states and that was the extent of my experience in World Geography. My DH went to the same high school and is quite informed about World Geography. Although he credits his fascination with his father's huge world atlas and NOT the classes he took at the public high school. I remember a lot of American History, but nothing about World History aside from a little bit from the World War II era. The really sad thing is that I attended one of NJ's first "Star Schools," whatever that means...

 

I am very much looking forward to studying history the WTM way with my kids. I will be learning right along with them. :001_smile:

[Murmer]

I graduated from high school in ca in 1999. Learned next to nothing, biggest waste of 4 years. There where no ap classes honors English was a series of watching movie adaptions of books ( good thing I loved reading and wanted to read the odessy all the way through instead of just watching the movie). Students were tracked starting their freshman year and if you were in band you could not take advanced science courses, they conflicted all four years.

[Alphabetika]

I graduated in 1985 here in SoCA. I only took a year of math, and the main philosophy I remember being taught was that I could decide my own truth and my own way of defining morality. Also during my high school stint, the administrators decided that marching band could count as PE, which made me very, very happy.

 

I had no geography, one year of dumbed-down American history, but good education in English, perhaps because it was my favorite. Excellent artistic opportunities, too, though the budget was cut and cut and cut as I went along.

 

Though I would have missed the group music opportunities I had in school, I would have loved to be homeschooled if I'd known anything about it.

[dragons in the flower bed]

I thought this said, "What were you in high school?" and was expecting to find out who was a punk, a jock, etc.

[Angel]

1986-1990

[elegantlion]

I thought this said, "What were you in high school?" and was expecting to find out who was a punk, a jock, etc.

 

:lol::lol: punk wannabe, new wave with an attitude. It was my rebellion against plaid polo pony shirts, alligators on your shirt, and someone elses name on your dark wash jeans with gold thread. I remember distinctly dressing oddly to see who would still be my friends. My first foray into human social behavior. :D I think it was preparation for homeschooling.

[MIC in OH]

I would have graduated in 1984 had I not a baby in 1983 :-) I took Basic Algebra 1 & II in 9th and 10th grades. That is not even offered now. Also my computer class was computer science and we learned all about bianary codes and 010001110000 types of stuff. I think Bill Gates was just cutting his teeth with Windows! lol....

[brewer13399]

2001 I hated high school. To much for drama :) I went to school in a rural area and we had nothing for great classes. The extent was advanced English. It was pretty wasteful 4 years, I did what I had to do to graduate and that was about it. my grades were not much over C or B if lucky.

 

 

Mandi loving her boys---Ozzi 7, Bam 6, Dax and Vin 2 1/2

[Renee in NC]

1990-1992 (I dropped out.:D)

[Jen the RD]

(1976-1980) In fact, it was Dekalb county, which at the time was managed by superintendent Jim Cherry and considered one of the ten best school sytems in the country. I even had a history teacher who moved his family to our area just to teach and have his kids go to school there. Honestly, I had a decent education, but I can go back and tell you exactly which teachers were the best and the worst....and I had both! At the time, there was a huge push for math and science. I really had some excellent math and science teachers. Language arts was a complete joke therefore I never really learned to write well...not until my joint enrollment english classes during my senior year. My professor was phenominal! Would you believe that I learned outlining skills from my science (biology) teacher?! He was the one that gave us instruction on taking notes/outlining from our text. That has been invaluable to me ever since!

 

Sadly, in a short time after I graduated the system deteriorated. When I say short, I mean there were enough changes during the next 3-4 years to substantially affect the education that my brother got. I think my parents still regret not moving him elsewhere.

 

Jennifer

[cathmom]

What was I?

 

Bored.

 

Completely and totally bored.

 

My mom conveniently worked for Barnes and Noble at the time, and brought home boxes of books with the covers stripped off. I brought a book every day and usually had finished it by the end of the day.

[mom31257]

I graduated in 1985 in Tennessee. I think I received a very good education. Our high school had a great college prep track. I took 5 sciences, including Advanced Chemistry and Advanced Biology. We had two years of college prep English that really focused on writing. My senior English teacher had a Ph. D. and really challenged us. The math program only went through Advanced Math, but I scored a perfect score on the math part of the ACT.

[gingersmom]

I graduated in 1983.

 

I did 9th grade in private school (grades 6-9) and 10-12 at public school.

 

Senior year was a complete waste of time and I hope to graduate my kids in 3 years.

[mcconnellboys]

1974-78. Very rural school. No AP or honors courses. No foreign language. Only two math credits required at that time.

[Sasharowan]

I graduated in 1987. Although I had a high GPA, I did as little as possible to get by. I got most of my learning from sources other than school anyway. I frequented the library a lot. My sis graduated 5 yrs after me from a college prep school and had 33 college credits when she graduated due to AP classes and other stuff like that. The guidance counselors at my school were definitely not a big help.

[elizabeth]

1980-1983. Punk. Worked 40 hours a week managing posh womens clothing and furrier. Honor society. Never cracked an assigned book until absolutely imperative. Read voraciously and well. Still dear friends with my closet comrades one of whom works in Foreign Service Office and the other likes to build rockets. Big ones. I guess the hours of D and D did not totally rot our brains.:lol: I actually attended a fairly decent hs with many master teachers I just had my own agenda. Exactly what that agenda is remains an ongoing project.

[Susan in IL]

From 1969 and graduated in 1972 from one of the top PS in the state, long before magnet schools. No AP or honors classes offered, just plain old good teaching. When I read TWTM, I thought well---isn't that what all schools do? since I had much of that all the way from K-12. Still is a great school system - they start foreign language in 1st grade now instead of 4th when I went - and very expensive to live there now. I did read that most of the kids don't go to kindergarten until they are 6 - take another year of "pre-school" at 5K+ a year.

 

I did what I needed to get by and just being in class getting by, you got a lot. Total underachiever but I took the hardest classes offered. My counselor was worthless, not helpful at all. I have not kept in contact with anyone from there - my class was 600 and there were 2500 total in the school. I marched to my own tune and I wasn't in step with the rest of my class. To escape, I read lots of books.

[Retired]

Rural Alabama 1988

 

Cotton Mill town education

 

1 year of math

no foreign language

 

my favorite and most valuable class typing and home economics

[Beth in TN]

Went to public school in Tampa, FL from 1986 to 1990. This is back when 9th grade was part of junior high, so high school was only 10-12. There were no AP classes just Honors, but they did have Latin as a foreign language, which I took since Spanish was full and French was harder than it was in middle school. They had 3 tracks (college prep, general, and technical). They still taught classes like shop, home ec, typing, and driver's ed.

[lllll]

..

[creekland]

I graduated in '85 in upstate (Canadian border) NY and had a great education. When I went off to college I wondered why everyone was having trouble with their Freshman year as it was essentially a repeat of what I'd done in high school except for a couple of classes. I tutored some in Chem.

 

That doesn't mean I liked high school though - I hated it - too much immaturity. I was never part of any clique though I did have a few good friends. I spent as much time as I could out with my horses and at the barn (not connected to school).

[lllll]

..

[SkateLeft]

I graduated in 1990.

 

I did my first three years on Long Island, NY, in a big (4000+ students) public high school, offering several tracks of classes and tons of electives. I had honors classes in everything except PE. We had 8 periods, one of which could be lunch, and I opted not to take a lunch period during my 10th and 11th grade year, so I could take another class. (I was overseas most of 9th grade and was able to test out of my classes.)

 

Then I moved to Cupertino, CA (Silicon Valley) in 1989, and public high school there was like being in a daycare center. This was a high ranking "California Blue Ribbon School." I had so many units, and they offered so little that I'd pretty much run out of things to take there. By law, I couldn't leave before 5th period, so they let me work as a teaching assistant in a couple of courses. Silly.

 

That's really why I ended up homeschooling. Public school in California was ridiculous.

[choirfarm]

I LOVED high school. I was there from 1981-1985. Actually at two. We moved between my 10th and 11th grade year. I only knew the people in my new school if they were in honors, choir or drama. (There were 625 people in my graduating class...about the same in my other one, but I knew all of them having gone to school since K) I lived for school. My home life was a mess, so school and church were much happier and I was extremely involved. I was always vice president or treasurer or something of every club I was ever involved in. (I wasn't poplular enough to be president, but a work horse and everyone knew it!) I always took honors or AP and my senior year I didn't have lunch. I couldn't fit in my classes with choir, show choir and drama so I did show choir during my lunch hour and the director let me eat lunch for the first few minutes. The first few weeks of my jr year were hard because I didn't know anyone, but that soon changed as I am not a wallflower. If you had told me I would be a homeschooling mom, I would have laughed in your face. I so adored school. To be honest, I sometimes wonder if I am really doing the right thing as we have no activities here.

 

Christine

[MamaT]

I graduated in 1981. High school was not a good experience for me, even though I made really high grades and was a cheerleader. I think my small home town is depraved. :001_smile:

[Tressa]

I graduated in 1990 from a 3 year high school that was overcrowded. This played a big part in my decision to homeschool because my kids would be going to the same school that I did. Because of the school's size, there were a lot of opportunities for different activities if you were the best at what you did. It was very easy to get lost in the crowd otherwise.. I was on the college track, and felt that I was getting a good education until I went to college and realized that I didn't have a clue.

 

It was also a little sad to be sitting at graduation and watching several people that I didn't even know were in my class walk across the stage.