This question has been posed all over the United States. Are we being prepared, or are our schools just going through the motions? A national survey posed this question to over 500 students in the graduate classes of 2019-2022; their responses to this question might shock you. About 75% of those graduates responded that they did not feel prepared to make college and career decisions. This statistic begs the question of what CCHS students would say. 

Abby Kiil, a student who graduated from the class of 2023, stated, “Cathedral teaches you to work hard, but there is much more in life.” She talked about the rigorous classes we must take and how they teach us discipline in an academic environment. But, when asked about the outside world of taxes and work, Kiil noted, “In life, there is a lot more collaboration and conversations that essentially help solve more significant problems.”

Kiil reiterated how, in high school, they sometimes teach courses that are essentially pointless in life. Kiil illustrated, “High school doesn’t teach about taxes, investing, how to make your money work for you, and how to be successful in the changed working world.” In college, Kiil felt unprepared to take on numerous new tasks of being an adult. Kiil stated, “Yes, in high school, you learn important things, but they don’t teach essential things when departing your youth and arriving in young adulthood.” Kiil loved high school for the social aspect, but when it came to learning things relevant to life after high school, she felt it did not prepare her for that jump.

As we dive deeper into the topic of life preparation, there are diverse viewpoints on this topic. In a similar survey, about 81% of students felt that high school got them very or somewhat ready for college. Mrs. Fiore, a sophomore English teacher, states, “In high school, there is a lot of collaboration and group seeding as well as learning to think critically.” Fiore talked about making her classroom more of a community and a family. 

Fiore said, “Cathedral is constantly trying to improve, and high schools are also trying to offer more forward-thinking classes, for example, Sports Med.” Mrs. Fiore, from a teacher’s perspective, sees Cathedral as a constantly evolving school trying to better prepare students. 

Finally, Tommy Bacich, a senior this year at Cathedral, described how our school is very structured and knows how to answer your questions about college, which he credits to our great college counselors. But when it came to the preparation process, he spoke a little differently, “High school could do a better job of preparing kids for the real world. High school doesn’t teach you how to manage your time and be a productive learner and worker.” 

Specifically, Bacich wished our school would provide more guidance on not just getting into college but also what the steps after are, such as what college classes to take and what career paths students would be interested in. Bacich explained, “High schools should not just focus on getting you into a good college and being done but rather, having a little bit more direction past college.” He thought high schools could focus a little less on college and a little more on life paths for teens.

 Overall, there are a considerable number of teens – Cathedral students among them – who may be feeling unprepared for the next steps in their lives.