As eighth graders make the difficult transition from middle school to high school, new changes and opportunities arise for them. They’ll meet many new people, join clubs, and take on difficult courses. For many people, high school is the last step before reaching adulthood. Freshmen at Hinsdale South, class of 2027, have stated that they face many challenges.
South freshman Mikalyn Jefferson states, “High School is going pretty well and I am really excited to play basketball for the Hinsdale South community but one thing I hate about high school is the fact that the grades aren’t like how I thought it would be. I thought it would be easier to get good grades but it really isn’t. You actually have to try in high school and I hate that teachers really underestimate students.”
Another freshman Simran Goel believes that high school is challenging because it is difficult to balance extracurricular activities with academics and home life. “One of the biggest differences between middle school and high school is that it is much more difficult to get good grades. The amount of effort you have to put in to get an A is much higher. In addition, one of the best things about high school is the clubs and activities. While these opportunities are great, it becomes hard to balance it with homework.”
This input demonstrates how high school has many opportunities for different sports and meeting new people, but it is much more academically challenging since there are higher standards for how students should behave and teachers are stricter when it comes to grading. Though, not everyone can agree with this, and some are able to adjust to high school easily.
Freshman Rohan Joshi mentions, “High school is pretty fun and the classes aren’t too bad. I am in a lot of extracurricular activities, taking all honors classes, and I sleep at a pretty reasonable hour. My homework takes me about an hour and I usually have an extra hour to relax or read.”
Although high school is a fresh start that provides freshmen with lots of opportunities, it can also be challenging for freshmen to balance their school work and extracurricular activities unless they are able to adjust quickly to this new lifestyle.
