An Open Letter To East Jessamine High School | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Student Life

An Open Letter To East Jessamine High School

I wish I went to West.

8
An Open Letter To East Jessamine High School

I wanna start off by at least saying thank you. You taught me a lot, you really did. And as much as I can try to deny it, I learned a lot of valuable lessons during my four years of high school. Unfortunately, those valuable lessons didn’t come from the curriculum you attempted to but failed to teach me.

When I was in middle school, I was put into advanced placement math classes, because I was told I was smarter than the other kids. I was told I could handle harder math. And I succeeded in those classes.

Then when I got to high school, I was put into the regular math classes. Not like that was a problem, I hated math. I didn’t mind being in the general math class. But what you did to me was unfair. You gave me a teacher that had no idea how to teach math to students. He was a first-year teacher, so I took my chances. But when he relied on Khan Academy and worksheets to do the teaching he was supposed to do himself, I knew something was wrong. I barely passed with a C.

My sophomore year was the only year I actually got a decent teacher who actually knew how to teach math. I passed my math class that year with an A.

Junior year was completely ridiculous. You assigned me a teacher that was more concerned with basketball than math. He would give us worksheets and expect us to know how to do it. Then he would work a couple problems from the worksheet out on the board and expect us to understand the reasoning behind it. When we would ask questions, he never answered them. My final grade in there was a really low C, but that doesn’t mean I understood anything that was “taught” to me.

Senior year I decided to only take a semester of math so that I would actually have a nice chance of getting into college. I got another teacher who acted like he hated being there, but at least he knew how to answer questions when we had them. He was one of two math teachers that actually seemed to understand the concepts of what they were teaching.

I barely reached the benchmark in math on my ACT score. So thank you for that. I am thankful that the college I attend accepted me with my awful score. But I also want you guys to realize that I’m stuck in regular freshman math classes (which are far below the math class I need for my major) because of your failures.

There were only a few teachers that worked at that school that were helpful. Some of them no longer work there, and I’m hoping they’re teaching at a much better place now, where the academic standards aren’t so low.

Thank you for cheating me out of about two years of useful math education. Thank you for allowing me to be completely finished with my minor before I’m even able to start working on my major. I appreciate the fact that you lied to me by making me believe your job was to prepare me for college; no one can adequately prepare you for college except college. Thank you for failing me. I believed in you, and you let me down. So thank you.

I wish the best for your current and future students. May they know that your standards are low. May they be encouraged to shoot higher.

Sincerely,

A frustrated, annoyed, college freshman who graduated thinking she was ready to take on college only to realize that she was nowhere near ready, because of you.

P.S. Hire some better math teachers.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
ross geller
YouTube

As college students, we are all familiar with the horror show that is course registration week. Whether you are an incoming freshman or selecting classes for your last semester, I am certain that you can relate to how traumatic this can be.

1. When course schedules are released and you have a conflict between two required classes.

Bonus points if it is more than two.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

12 Things I Learned my Freshmen Year of College

When your capability of "adulting" is put to the test

4392
friends

Whether you're commuting or dorming, your first year of college is a huge adjustment. The transition from living with parents to being on my own was an experience I couldn't have even imagined- both a good and a bad thing. Here's a personal archive of a few of the things I learned after going away for the first time.

Keep Reading...Show less
Featured

Economic Benefits of Higher Wages

Nobody deserves to be living in poverty.

303122
Illistrated image of people crowded with banners to support a cause
StableDiffusion

Raising the minimum wage to a livable wage would not only benefit workers and their families, it would also have positive impacts on the economy and society. Studies have shown that by increasing the minimum wage, poverty and inequality can be reduced by enabling workers to meet their basic needs and reducing income disparities.

I come from a low-income family. A family, like many others in the United States, which has lived paycheck to paycheck. My family and other families in my community have been trying to make ends meet by living on the minimum wage. We are proof that it doesn't work.

Keep Reading...Show less
blank paper
Allena Tapia

As an English Major in college, I have a lot of writing and especially creative writing pieces that I work on throughout the semester and sometimes, I'll find it hard to get the motivation to type a few pages and the thought process that goes behind it. These are eleven thoughts that I have as a writer while writing my stories.

Keep Reading...Show less
April Ludgate

Every college student knows and understands the struggle of forcing themselves to continue to care about school. Between the piles of homework, the hours of studying and the painfully long lectures, the desire to dropout is something that is constantly weighing on each and every one of us, but the glimmer of hope at the end of the tunnel helps to keep us motivated. While we are somehow managing to stay enrolled and (semi) alert, that does not mean that our inner-demons aren't telling us otherwise, and who is better to explain inner-demons than the beloved April Ludgate herself? Because of her dark-spirit and lack of filter, April has successfully been able to describe the emotional roller-coaster that is college on at least 13 different occasions and here they are.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments