The final year of school feels much like facing Goliath and once slayed, the feeling of accomplishment is incomparable. However, are our experiences while conquering this obstacle different to those experienced by the generation before us?
I’m not sure how it was in the old days, but these days, school is tedious – eight to nine hour days, Saturday school as well as extra-curricular activities. With so many subjects to do and a plethora of tasks forever awaiting completion, the most commonly asked question is, “When am I ever going to use this in the ‘real’ world?”
Almost everything taught at school seems to be of no relevance and university is a shining light at the end of the tunnel – a place in which one can focus on exactly what it is we plan on doing for the rest of forever.
Passing matric with brilliant results is also of high importance and one of the things school leavers wish to attain. This is a stepping stone on the way to university acceptance, which is highly anticipated. Once in varsity, it is important to make companies you wish to work for aware of you. I don’t think there’s anything worse than completing your tertiary education and standing there like, ‘well, what now? No one is going to initiate that head-start other than us.
Our generation has been handed several resources that have resulted in a change in the way we do things compared to the generation before us. For instance, the Internet – I honestly don’t know how I would do any of my homework without it. Schools also run career workshops now- these help us choose the right subjects to take in order to qualify for our desired faculties. I cite this as an example because I think the generation before us didn’t have this privilege and many went through school without a broader knowledge of the opportunities that awaited and would often end up studying something that did not particularly interest them. These days, we are more aware of the countless professions and feel spoilt for choice.
This goes along with the fact that we’re not faced with the hardships of apartheid, which means already we have a better chance at making it.
Ultimately, the idea of completing high school and moving on to tertiary is an exciting reality for school leavers of this generation and with the resources provided, I think we’re set to dominate our futures.
By Anda Mtshemla, a Grade 11 pupil at Waldorf Michael Mount
