How College And High School Differ Essay

, Research Paper

How College and High School Differ

A good education is an important part of ones life. To achieve a good education, one should attend both high school and college. Although some people think high school has a lot in common with college, I find them to be very different. After graduating from high school I enrolled into college and noticed that there are many differences between them. A few of these differences include the attitude and responsibilities of the teachers and students and the amount of work given to the students.

To begin with, there are many ways in which the attitudes of the teachers in high school differ from the attitudes of the teachers in college. In high school my teachers seemed to be stricter and have more rules for the students to follow. The teachers were also responsible for making sure each student obeyed these rules to the fullest extent and carried out disciplinary actions for those who did not obey them. One example in which a teacher has taken on a disciplinary action was when a student was tardy or skipped their scheduled class; the students usually received detention along with an “F” for the day in the class the skipped or was tardy too. Although attendance is also required in college and many enforce it; some teachers do not. While attending college I have noticed that there are teachers who feel it is the student’s responsibility to come to class. If a student chooses to skip that class; the teacher rarely says anything to the student but the student usually gets an “F” for the day in which they skipped. Some college teachers believe the students should be mature enough to make their own decision on whether to attend class or not and leave it to them to make that decision. While in high school I also noticed teachers had strict rules to obey given to them by a higher authority. These rules include no eating or drinking in class and sometimes no chewing gum. However, in college students are allowed to chew gum and teachers often allow the students to bring snacks or drinks into the classroom if they are careful with them. Another way which I noticed the attitude of the teachers differ is that in high school the teachers seemed to be more responsible for what they said and had to make sure they did not curse or say something that could offend a student. If a high school teacher offended a student the student could complain to the principal and the teacher often had to take responsibility. In contrast, college teachers do not have this responsibility and are able to say almost anything they want regardless of whether it offends someone. It is common in college to have a teacher curse during their lecture or even towards a student when they are angry.

Furthermore, the attitude of students in high school and college also differ greatly in ways such as their dedication to schoolwork. While

attending college I notice more students have the attitude that they are in college because they want to be. In contrast, when I attended high school I noticed many students had the attitude that they only attended class because they had to by law or because their parents insisted they attend. In high school I noticed that many students goofed off during class and did not take the courses seriously; however, in college many students have the attitude that they are there to learn and give their instructors their undivided attention. Another difference between high school and college is in high school many classes had a “class clown” whereas in college there is rarely a “class clown” and many students are there only to learn. While in high school I also noticed students tended to sleep more during class and even carried on their own conversations with other classmates during lectures. In college several students also carry on side conversations and sleep during class, but I find fewer students in college do this than in high school.

The third contrast between high school and college is the workload that is given to the students by the teachers. In high school I could go days with out having homework or studying; however, in college I was told by one of my professors; a college student is expected to study for three hours a week per a credit. In high school a student usually is given a single homework assignment or task per class; a college student may be given several tasks or homework assignments to do at the same time for one class. For example, as a college student I have been given several pages to read from a text and a 700 word paper due all the next class day, whereas in high school I was usually only given one of those assignments at a time. The material in college is also much hardier and more detailed than that in high school. For example, in both high school and college general biology students often learn about the make up of a cell; but in high school, a simple make up of the cells major parts is usually all that is expected for the students to learn. In college; however, the knowledge of a more complex make up of a cell is usually expected for the students to know.

High school and college are very important in the educational processes because often one can not get a good job without a well-developed education. This education frequently comes from having a high school diploma and a college degree. Although high school and college carry some of the same features; they also have several differences between them. Some of the ways which high school and college differ include the teacher’s attitude and responsibilities, the student’s attitude and responsibilities and the amount of work given to the students. High school and college play important parts in the lives of many people and although they may be thought as similar they differ in several ways.