We at UHS have a lot on our plates. We take harder, more grueling classes than many of our peers who attend other schools. We take countless numbers of AP exams, have one of the highest passing rates in the country for them and we are some of the hardest working students in America. On top of it all, many of us are involved in multiple clubs. Which brings me to the main point of this article: why do WE need another state graduation requirement?
The state has recently mandated for all high school students starting with the class of 2012 to have a half-credit of economics added to already numerous graduation requirements. While this reporter agrees that economics is a valuable subject and should be considered to be taken by high school students, he does not believe that students who have an already heavy course load should have to deal with another obscene graduation requirement which is not needed and should not be added. The state has in my opinion ALREADY inputted a course requirement that adds to the workload and at many middle schools has already been addressed and covered, namely Health. While Health may be considered useful information, it has already been taught during secondary school and so requiring high school credit is redundant. For UHS students who have only 7 hours in the school day for classes including the strict requirements of UHS as its own body, added course requirements only take away the little time students have for activities that are relatively leisurely namely electives like Drama, Dance and Band which have been proven instrumental in helping students achieve better grades in school. The best option is to let the school decide what the standards and requirements should be for the school for the reason that since the state has to have a general requirement they can not efficiently and thoroughly address the needs of specific schools and who better to give the decision making to than the school itself. If the state wants to do what is right for education it should pass the curriculum duties to the schools themselves. This column is always ready and willing for comments on topics being written. Feel free to leave one.
Sam Williams
Editorial Reporter
Band is indeed “instrumental” to student success.
I do agree that we have a heavy course load, and that for us students at UHS this new requirement is quite unnecessary. But other schools within Arizona need prompting to increase the quality and challenge of their classes. While this may not directly address the issue, requiring Economics is a good first step.
However, you mentioned one point that I feel is well-stated: the redundant Health credit. It’s definitely a class that does not bear repetition, seeing as it firstly was (as you said) taught in Middle School, and secondly is not crucial to most future career options.
Sorry, I know this is long-winded… but I just felt that merited being brought up.
while i recognize the “Freshman”‘s point what I said in the article specifically states that schools should be able to choose their own course requirements instead of the state creating overarching requirements that do not accurately represent student bodies at all schools
Sam
Touchè, Sam. That’s true – it’s only necessary at other schools, and not at UHS.
I feel that, not only is it unfair that they added the economics credit, but freshman this year have to take more required classes than the sophomores, who have to take more required classes than the juniors and seniors. The added economics requirement just adds even more pressuer to the fact that UHS is like running into a brick wall from easy schooling, and then extracirriculars that take time… adding the econ requirement just made it harder for the freshman body.
I believe that requiring a half semester of Economics is much more beneficial to everyone, including us at UHS. I must admit it does restrict our ability to take other classes, but it will no doubt help us in the long run. Economics is something we all must learnt to succeed in life, and learning it early into our high school career is beneficial in the long run.