I Wish I Was Back In High School

“I Wish I Was Back In High School”

Not something you hear too often or at all. But it was a thought I had after attending Back-to-School night at my daughter’s school.

Going to school in the late eighties, we didn’t have many options when it came to classes. There were the mandatory classes (history/social studies, science, math, English, etc) and an elective. The only other choice was whether you were going to take Spanish or French as your foreign language.

How things have changed. The mandatory courses are still there, although they have changed a lot, too. But it’s the electives that are really different. From her Introduction to IT class where she will get to build a virtual computer and take apart the hardware of a computer to the Mass Media Communications class, we were amazed at the opportunities she has available to her.

The class that truly blew us away was one titled Life Unworthy of Living. The teacher explained that a few years ago she found that most of the students had heard of the Holocaust, but did not grasp the magnitude of it. She received approval to create a class that focused on teaching about the Holocaust and other genocides that have occurred in recent history, such as in Bosnia and Rwanda. In addition to books and videos, she also includes a number of guest speakers throughout the year — many of them are survivors who now fear that history will forget what they suffered.

The teacher invited us to attend whenever there is a speaker. It looks like I, and many other parents, may be going back to high school at least for a couple of days.

Originally published at SCG Advertising & PR.