What I learned from ‘This is High School’
By Jerrison Oracion, Senior Columnist
High school is a place that everyone has to go to. You learn a lot of things, and create memories. Depending on what year you went to high school, it may not be the same today. This is High School follows the daily happenings of the students and teachers of South Kamloops Secondary School. While the show might look like a high school version of Big Brother, it merely shows the various types of things that happen in high school.
It is interesting that high school is so different today than when I went to high school. The students can use their cellphones during class. Back then, we were not allowed to do that. Also, they have a new curriculum, which means that they learn things in a new way. One of the things that is still the same is that the students have the resource of teachers and counsellors when they need help.
When students get into trouble and they see the principal or vice principal, you may think that they will be punished. Instead, they all work with their teachers and counsellor to figure out the problem and solve it. For example, when a student was misbehaving and one of the vice principals, found out, they saw that he was not being involved in the school’s lacrosse team very much, and they agreed that he should be more involved with the team. Another example is when a student had a dispute with a friend and their classmates talked about it on social media; they settled it with a counsellor.
There is also a time when Gage, a student, is going back and forth between working and playing the guitar. So, while the principal encouraged him to go to his classes, his teachers allowed him to enjoy the lessons in his class by using music to encourage him.
Next, when Austin (who has autism) had to do an essay that talks about an important moment in his life, had his literature teacher, Laura Richter, help him write it and read it in front of the class.
They also have support workers to help students out in personal situations. For example, Karsen has low grades in math because she has panic attacks that cause her to be distracted, and some of her teachers do not know about that. When she sees a support worker, she tells her to tell those teachers that she has panic attacks, and it helped her pass math.
Teachers can also help students to meet new friends, like when a new student named Ryan tried to meet new people, his literature teacher, Teri Thorp, moved him around the class to meet his classmates. This led to him meeting a classmate that he would spend a lot of time with, and later, she would become his girlfriend. While high school seems to be different from what we remember, learning things, having friends and getting help from teachers is still the same. While it is unknown if the show will be back next season, they may show what a high school in Ontario looks like.
Now that a show that talks about high school is done, a show that talks about the things that you learned in high school begins with Canada’s Smartest Person. You might even see me in the audience of episode three.