Skills for Success or Disorganized Mess? Skills for Success from the Perspective of Students

By JT Shatzer 

Have you ever heard a student fresh out of high school utter the words, “School hasn’t taught me anything useful,” or “I don’t even know how to function in the real world.” Well, the administrators of Glenelg decided to combat those claims by dedicating the entire September 9th entire school day to teaching their students skills they’ll need to have once school is no longer a part of their life. From changing a car tire, to filing taxes, the staff attempted to enlighten students on the responsibilities they will soon face, and how to tackle them. For such an amazing idea, one would think the organization of the day would be practiced and well thought out, right? ​

Have you ever heard a student fresh out of high school utter the words, “School hasn’t taught me anything useful,” or “I don’t even know how to function in the real world.” Well, the administrators of Glenelg decided to combat those claims by dedicating the entire September 9th entire school day to teaching their students skills they’ll need to have once school is no longer a part of their life. From changing a car tire, to filing taxes, the staff attempted to enlighten students on the responsibilities they will soon face, and how to tackle them. For such an amazing idea, one would think the organization of the day would be practiced and well thought out, right? 
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To start the day off, students were given their schedule of rotation for activities they were expected to be participating in throughout the day, or presentations they were expected to watch. For many, the day started off with a suicide prevention presentation from Grassroots Crisis Intervention Services. The presentation was both touching, and informational, and could be considered the highlight of the day for many. Glenelg Junior, Jake Barney, explained his take on the presentation as he stated, “I felt that the suicide presentation was needed in a community like ours. The expectations for us as students are set so high, and those struggling with anxiety and depression know they have somewhere to go.” Out of everything students were involved with throughout the day, the popular opinion amongst students was that the suicide prevention presentation was the most useful.

From there, students rotated to their “Canvas Training” station with little to no direction. Students sat in front of their designated computer screens and were told to “play around” with some of the new features for almost an hour.  Many students ended up branching off from their designated group and meeting up with other groups throughout the building. Eventually, all students ended up migrating to the gym, which was the home for the wellness presentation. “I feel like there was nothing unique about the presentation,” Junior Ryan Kryder stated. “It just seemed like the same presentation we have been given since middle school.” The powerpoint presentation given to students consisted of bulleted lists of basic ways to deal with stress, and various technological malfunctions, which created long wait times of nothingness between slides. Disappointed in the presentation, Glenelg Junior, Alex Dalton explained, “I really feel that the presentation could have been really beneficial for us Juniors if given in a more creative and organized way, but it really just wasn’t that.” Unfortunately, because of the combination of a lack of student interest and presentations that failed to connect with students at a personal level, the attention span of students was minimal, and important parts of what could have been a very beneficial day were lost. 

For the one-hundred students who signed up, the car maintenance tutorial was one of the few highlights of the day. The technology department decided that it would be beneficial for many of the new Junior drivers to receive instructions on basic actions one must take to take care of their vehicle. “Honestly, it was pretty interesting, and I’m really glad I know how to change a tire now,” said Junior Josh Cohen. Often times, new drivers will get themselves into situations where they find themselves helpless, so including this event during the day was intended to combat that issue within the community.

The day truly consisted of various ups and downs in all aspects. The idea was there, however, many parts of the execution were lacking. Many who were involved in being in charge of small groups of students seemed to be disconnected from those who coordinated the event, which caused an extreme confusion at all levels and resulted in a very disengaging atmosphere. Junior Chris Borkowski was frustrated throughout the entire day as he stated, “I really just felt like the whole thing was disorganized- at least what I participated in. The whole time I just kind of wanted to leave.”  For those who came to school without a plan such as going to the car maintenance event, the day was relatively bland and disengaging.

Even though much of the day seemed disorganized, many of the positives will stick with the students who were intently listening or involved. However, the event all in all was filed with various missed opportunities to bring together students and teachers. Instead of sitting the students down in front of PowerPoints and lecturing them, a “One Glenelg Day” type of atmosphere where students collaborate on activities together would have been much more engaging. The idea of tackling real-world problems as a community is an outstanding idea worthy of a whole day dedicated to it, however, proper execution is vital to its effectiveness.