Rachel Price teaches Grade 12 social class about rejection of liberalism in preparation for diplomas. At WR Myers on April 8, 2024.
Spring is approaching and graduation is around the corner for high school students. The question of post-secondary education is on many students’ minds as well as the challenges that come with transitioning from high school to a college diploma. Rachel Price, a WR Myers Grade 12 teacher says post-secondary is hard but try not to minimize the amount of work you have done to graduate high school.
Not everyone chooses to attend a post-secondary institution right after high school, many students decide to take a gap year and return when they are ready. Price says as a high school educator it is hard to specifically prepare students to go to post-secondary because not everyone is looking for that experience. Price shares why it can be difficult to prepare students to feel ready after high school.
“There are so many different people to cater to in high school and I’m not necessary pushing children to post-secondary, but more so making sure they receive their high school diploma.”
Post-secondary is not in everyone’s path but for the kids that do decide to continue their education, the thought around taking that leap can be scary. Hailey Smith, a graduate of the Child and Youth Care program from Lethbridge College, shares how she felt when attending post-secondary.
“When I went to college I felt as though I was ready for it, but I must admit the first year was extremely hard. I was not prepared for the amount of work that it was going to be and the difficulty of the course. In high school you are almost babied and they do not allow you to fail, Teachers give you unlimited tries to get it right. There are also so many things that were foreign to me like how to format an essay or cite sources. College professors assume that you know how to do those things, when in reality we were never taught it.”
With the new difficulties high school students face when attending post-secondary, it is important to remember there are lots of new skills to be learned.
“Learning and adapting to different challenges is something post-secondary provides and will prepare you for the work world,” says Smith.
With graduation approaching and students embarking on a new phase of life, students entering post-secondary institutions may face new challenges as different expectations are put on them. “Students are more resilient than they think and although we cannot a hundred per cent prepare them for post-secondary, they have been given the tools to be successful,” said Price.
As the semester ends and a new chapter begins for high school students, it is key to remember with any transition, there will always be challenges. Students can check out the Newly admitted page on Lethbridgecollege.ca for more information.