How to Improve High School Education

Here are some pieces of essays I had my College Comp I students write about being engaged in school.

"I enjoyed it so much that I forgot about the huge post-lab exam. I did fine; it didn’t matter."

"Then when it came to actually writing the project, it seemed like hardly work at all."

"I got to express myself through paintings and shapes. My assignments seemed more like a time in my day to let my tension go. The cold clay formed around my fingers, and my emotions would flow down my arm to shape or paint what couldn’t be said. When the class was over, I dreaded having to do homework for another class, wishing they would be as fun as art."

"The best part was probably the interviews. It was fascinating to be able to hear firsthand what ti is like to be a physical therapist. We were just supposed to ask 25 questions for the report, but I probably asked over a hundred. It was one of the few reports that I can honestly say I enjoyed every part of from front to back."


How often does learning like this take place in schools? Not nearly enough. And that’s the problem with secondary education in America.