High School Course of Study

They say that high school in the United States is unlike the secondary education in other countries because our high school here is a mixture of students who want to be popular or be anonymous, who want to excel in academics, sports, extra-curricular activities, or just be an average in what they do and try to get along with teachers and other students. I might consider myself an average high school student in his sophomore year, but I started this blog so I have an outlet for discussing and sharing my high school life of reading, cramming and studying for exams and quizzes, trying to finish assignments or projects before the deadline, and dealing with my classmates and my teachers.

I also like to share this blog with my fellow high school students whether they are the same grade level like me, or maybe lower or higher. High school life could be very hard from the first year as a freshman student trying to adjust to a new environment up to the final year as a senior student preparing for graduation. But if I believe that I could make it through all the challenges until senior year and graduation, then so could you.

I would discuss some of my daily experiences and other things about the subjects I am now taking, how I handle them, and the relationships I have with my classmates and my teachers. Other students are welcome to provide their comments and share their own thoughts and ideas on their subjects and how they deal with their classmates and teachers.

High School Tips for New Freshmen

Freshman year is a critical period in the life of a student. In a way, this is a transition from middle school to a more sophisticated crowd. Below are some tips that will help you get through this phase:

• Ensure a good first impression. This goes not just on your fellow students, but most especially on your teachers. The impressions you make on people's minds during your first week will define your entire high school period. Come on time for every class. When your teachers hand a syllabus paper to be signed, bring it back within the day or the next. It is important for teachers to have an impression of you as a diligent and obedient student. That way you will find yourself being treated positively in class. In terms of your classmates, reach out to them as much as you can. Even a simple smile goes a long way in making friendships. In a new environment where many students are strangers, you will need to have as many friends as you can to help you survive high school.

• Find your own group of “lunch mates”. Lunch break may be one of the most stressful student activities not directly related to class. Nonetheless, you can make it easier on yourself by sitting with students you already know from middle school. However, bear in mind that lunch seating arrangements are agreed to be “permanent”, and only a few situations can change that, so choose your table wisely. Make sure that these are the same people you would want to be spending not just your lunch hour, but potentially your high school social life with as well.

• Find someone who you can either walk with or follow to class. As mentioned earlier, this is a new environment, and you probably don't have a clear idea of classroom locations at first.

My Research Paper of Students Study on High School Students' Rights

Our class was assigned to do a research paper on subject of students study about human rights and civil rights and we were given the option of choosing our own topics. I selected the topic of the rights that highschool students should know and learn to exercise. I also chose this topic because as a highschool student in the United States, I know on how our history is filled with stories of people from minorities and backgrounds have struggle to fight for their basic civil or human rights.

Our teacher gave us until the end of the month to complete our research papers so I had to be sure I would make a thorough and comprehensive research work on my topic of students study on the rights of American highschool students. During my research I learned that the highschool students' rights are based on the civil rights enshrined in the U.S. federal constitution. The most important rights of highschool students are the right to freedom of expression, right to freedom of religion, the right to fair treatment and equality in education, and the right to private records and privacy. I took note that those important rights of highschool students are also enjoyed by all American citizens.

In my topic of students study on the rights of highschool students, I learned from my research about two U.S. Supreme Court rulings that defined a student's right to freedom of expression. In a 1969 ruling about an Iowa highschool that suspended two students for wearing black armbands as a sign of protest about the Vietnam War, the Supreme Court stated that public highschool students could exercise the right to freedom of expression if the methods on how they exercise those rights are not disruptive to the functions of the institution or did not invade the rights of others in the institution.

However, in a 1988 ruling in which a Missouri highschool censored a school newspaper article about teenage pregnancy and the effects of divorce on children, the Supreme Court ruled that public highschool administrators have the right to censor school-sponsored newspapers if the articles are controversial because the highschool newspaper is restricted to the institution.