?Easy but boring? is worthless

LICW is meant to ease the transition from middle school to high school and prepare students for adult life. You would think the latter would be more appropriate for a senior class, when students are closer to the adult world — and you would be right. Instead, the two subjects have been jammed together to create a single, utterly useless class.

I took LICW last year at Patterson Mill High School. I had heard from some of the older students that LICW was easy but boring. I’ve had my fair share of “easy but boring” classes, so I thought I knew what to expect. I was wrong.

The year began with the usual introduction to the class. Finally, a week after I had been forced to find all the classes on my own, we went on a tour of the school. This was fun in that we didn’t have to sit in class, but it was otherwise unhelpful.

Next on the list was a speech about how high school means accountability, responsibility and pretty much everything else we had already heard from all our other teachers. I began to realize what a waste of 85 minutes this class was turning out to be. My peers began to slack off and lose respect for the teacher, who struggled to make a coherent class out of the curriculum.

Occasionally, we were asked to analyze current events or draw political cartoons, but meaningful activities were few and far between.

 

Halfway through the year we took an LICW test the school system required. It seemed to assess our common sense and our knowledge of economic terms we had already learned in government class. The test ranged from insultingly easy to completely irrelevant — a good reflection of the course in general.

In the second half of the year we began to learn about personal finances. I do not plan to buy a house or invest in the stock market anytime soon. Going in depth with these subjects seemed pointless for 14-year-olds.

Then, for a few months, we spent our time researching careers. There is nothing wrong with exploring, but they asked us to choose one career. Our guidance counselors spoke to us about career clusters and gave us packets of information.

Remember the “I’m 14” thing? Well, I have no idea what I want to do with my future, and I do not want to be forced into a group of classes based on what I want to do at this moment. It’s good to plan ahead, but I don’t even need to choose a topic to study for at least five years.

Five years ago, I was 9-year-old. At 9 my career goal was to become a famous movie star. Five years before that, I was thinking professional princess. I’d like the creators of LICW and the career pathways program to think about what they wanted to do when they were 14. Torturing adolescents probably wasn’t high on the list. Interests change over time.

The class is a good idea in theory.

With more planning and consideration, a class based on planning your future and living in the real world would be a great elective for older students. I would never wish that class on anyone, and I hope no one has to endure it in the future.

The only thing I learned from LICW is what it feels like to be in a boredom-induced coma.

Grace Mumby is a sophomore at Patterson Mill High School in Bel Air.