It is no secret that many of America’s students are not overjoyed with their school experience. But the general distaste for the meatloaf that is school is not predetermined. Someone has to overcook it first. And regardless of chef or method, we can perfect the meatloaf only by hearing from those who eat it rather than those who cook. Perhaps then it can become something students can actually swallow.
To determine the opinions of students, I selected five midcoast high schools to be surveyed. Of those, just three agreed to administer a survey to their students: Camden Hills Regional High School; Islesboro Central School, where I’m a senior; and Belfast Area High School. The survey had 10 questions and asked students about their confidence in certain faculties and feelings concerning quality and applicability of the knowledge being provided.
Survey takers were first simply asked, “Do you enjoy school?” Camden students were most positive, with 44 percent saying they enjoyed school. Islesboro came in a close second with 42 percent. Belfast came in last with 37 percent.
Next, students were asked to rate their teachers on a scale of 1 to 10, considering their ability to control a class, explain challenging material and remain engaging. The ratings were compiled in order to formulate a perspective of the four major departments within each school: mathematics, science, English and social studies/history. There were mixed results.
Camden
Camden’s social studies department was most favored, with the single greatest percentage of students (27 percent) rating their social studies teacher as a 10. Only 15 students rated their social studies teacher as being at a 5 or below — a good number for a school of more than 700 students.
Students prefered the science department at Camden second: 18 percent of students chose an 8 for their science teacher, and 44 percent of students rated theirs between 8 and 10.
The English department was a close third, according to students, with 19 percent of students giving their English teachers a 7, and 48 percent of the vote falling between 8 and 10.
The mathematics department was slightly less impressive, with 17 percent of students choosing 7, and just 26 percent of students rating between 8 and 10. Further troubling was the fact that 45 percent of students assigned a rating of 5 or below to their mathematics teacher.
Islesboro
At Islesboro Central School, the English department was most favored, with 28 percent of students rating their English teacher as a 9, and 74 percent of students rating their English teacher between 8 and 10.
The mathematics department came second at Islesboro, with 29 percent of students choosing 8, and 71 percent of students choosing between 8 and 10.
The social studies department came in third, with 28 percent of students choosing 8, and 56 percent of students rating their teacher between 8 and 10.
The science department came in fourth at Islesboro, with 23 percent percent of students rating their science teacher as a 9, but only 41 percent of students rating between 8 and 10.
Belfast
Belfast’s top rated department was mathematics, with 21 percent of students awarding it a 10, and 53 percent of students rating it between 8 and 10.
The science department at Belfast came second, with 27 percent of students awarding it an 8, and 44 percent of students rating it between 8 and 10.
Third at Belfast was the social studies department, with 23 percent rating their social studies teacher at a 6, and 38 percent of students choosing between 8 and 10.
The English department trailed the group with 18 percent of students awarding a 5 to their English teacher. A paltry 24 percent of students rated their English teacher between 8 and 10.
When the results are analyzed, an interesting parallel becomes evident. When a humanities department was highest rated, a science or math department was lowest rated. For Camden, social studies was highly rated, while mathematics was low. For Islesboro, English was high and science was low. In Belfast, mathematics did well, and English did not. Whether this is due to the focus of each school, or simply chance, it is impossible to know.
The final question on the survey was the most important, and the most surprising. Students were asked, “Do you seek outside help in order to understand a topic being taught in school?” At Belfast, 81 percent of students said “yes.” At Camden, 87 percent of students said “yes,” and at Islesboro 95 percent of students said “yes.” The importance of this result cannot be overstated.
The responsibility of any educational institution is first to its students and their learning. Too often in the system of today, polished transcripts trump knowledge and understanding. People consider the outcomes of education paramount, but the process of educating is almost an afterthought. It is the sole purpose of schools to fully educate students, yet the excess of students seemingly educating themselves suggests that schools are not properly fulfilling this requirement.
When a vast majority of students are forced to explore outside options to succeed in school, it has ceased to be a place of practice and instead become a place of performance. One might necessarily conclude that the cooks are more interested in presenting a beautifully prepared meatloaf to their critics, with little regard for the taste.
Sage Kelly is 17 and a senior at Islesboro Central School.