Teen Talk
Strive for Excellence
By Tyler Alexander
“Strive for Excellence.” This is a motto that has been thrown around the School District of Palm Beach County as a guideline for educators and their students. How many of the teachers actually care about excellence though? There are some superb teachers throughout Palm Beach County, but – after two years of my high school career – I’ve found that these teachers are a rare breed.
It’s a sad sight, when you walk into a classroom and the teacher seems uninterested, out of sync, and just appears to wish they were ANYWHERE but in the classroom. Perhaps it’s the disconnected vibe that the teachers give off that causes the student to act the same way. Personally, to sit in a room and listen to a teacher go on and on without any enthusiasm or interest for the whole class period is darn near torture (especially during 2 hour block schedule).
Many teachers seemingly haven’t grasped the concept that not all students learn the same. They don’t tend to “strive for excellence,” nor do they assist a struggling student. While teachers shouldn’t be required to spend all their spare time at school assisting students, they should make an effort to help. Perhaps setting up a day, once a week, making themselves available for just an hour after or before school could be the difference between a passing and a failing student. Regardless of how it happens, teachers need to assist students in their efforts to succeed and strive for excellence.
The one thing a teacher needs to assist with more than anything – is being available for makeup tests. If the student is willing to compromise to come make up a test, the teacher should at least SEEM like they’re trying to work with the student. Many students have busy schedules after school, whether it’s a sport, a job, or even just studying for the other six classes that they have, and teachers seemingly can’t comprehend that. Personally, as a student who has seventh period off for FloridaVirtualSchool, making up tests after school is nearly impossible, considering staying on campus during seventh isn’t allowed. I’m extremely lucky to be dropped off and picked up at school instead of riding the bus, because I can only imagine how difficult it would be to make up tests in the morning, or the afternoon. Basically, teachers need to compromise with students when it comes to makeup work and tests, and understand also that when a student misses a day, the student also misses six other classes. Expecting makeup work the day after it’s given back is just unreasonable, considering they have that day’s work, and all of their other makeup work.
The single worst thing in my opinion, however, is when teachers give tests on material they never covered. A few of the teachers that I have this year get their tests from other teachers from their department, so if the other teacher covered something we didn’t – well – there’s a point off on our test. One of my biggest fears in this upcoming week is that material will be on my district semester exams that my teacher never covered. I’ve even had a teacher tell me he didn’t cover a whole part of the exam. Here’s to stress caused by teachers who don’t strive for excellence. And here’s hoping for a better effort by our teachers in the years to come, so all students have a better chance to succeed.
Tyler Alexander is a sophomore at Wellington High School. He is Sports Editor for his school online newspaper, The Wave. Tyler enjoys just being around his friends, and having a good time. He has a passion for sports writing, reporting, playing, and well, anything to do with sports. Tyler hopes to ultimately pursue a career in Sports Journalism.