Slow and Steady Wins the Race

Lauren Brinegar

Multimedia Staff

Two words. High school. The eagerness to grow up is never surprising.

Many believe that they are capable of much more than high school allows. But are they quite ready for the trials of adulthood?
High school students shouldn’t graduate early.

Graduating early from high school doesn’t necessarily make you an adult or make you any more mature. The college prep classes and study skills taught in high school insure your future success.

If we, as teenagers, can’t stay in high school for the duration of four years, we will then be creating a pattern of giving up before we are truly finished.

High school is a four-year process that conforms to the changes and challenges of teenagers’ lives. If we cheat ourselves of that process, then we won’t be ready for the responsibilities of the real world.

College requires a mental and emotional maturity you may not have yet when you graduate early. High school is the closest thing to a trial run. To skip the trial and to begin the actual game has its consequences.

There’s a lot of brain development going on during our teenage years, when our frontal lobes, our impulsive control and the ability to plan, are still developing.

Students would be putting too much stress on themselves since they would be taking junior classes at school and their “senior” classes online, they wouldn’t have time for extra curricular activities or the time to make memories in their year of lasts.

Graduating early at GRC is becoming more popular as the years go on. In 2015-2016 only two people graduated early, last year only 14 students graduated early. This year, 15 people are planning on graduating early from GRC.

If they graduate early, they would be missing out on a lot of life long memories.

Whether it’s sports, musicals, band, or prom with your graduating classmates, you’re bound to miss something.

Enjoy what extra curricular activities high school has to offer, because it won’t be the same in college.

For many, senior year is a time to celebrate with friends and enjoy every last bit of high school. Don’t rush yourself into the responsibilities of the real world just yet. Enjoy your days being a teenager; you have your whole adult life ahead of you.

Go Ahead: Skip the Training Wheels

Taylor Rader

Multimedia Staff

Why not get a head start on life?

High school: a time when students learn their full potential.

It’s also a time when students learn if they really need to go through four years of high school.

With opportunities such as AP classes and EKU Now, many students are realizing that they are ready for the challenges of college.

Early graduation is an amazing opportunity that students around the state and nation can take advantage of.

This year, 15 students plan on graduating early. Eight students are going about it the Board of Education way, and seven are going about the state way.

Both are attainable routes with a little bit of extra work.

Early graduation is not just about leaving high school early; it’s about getting a head start on life. Whether students plan on going straight into the work force or to college, they are already striving toward their wanted future.

Early graduation grants you more time to do the things you want to do. Whether it is traveling the world or simply taking things at your own pace, you have the leisure to do whatever you want with your life.

High school is just a stepping stone used to help us prepare for the next step in our lives – a step deemed
unnecessary by some.

Everyone sees high school differently. Some see it as the most challenging part of growing up, while others think it’s the longest
four years of their lives.

For some, classes can sometimes blur together. You hear the same information over and over again and it all becomes repetitive. This bores those who strive for challenges and the real world.

Football games and musicals might be fun but they are not necessary. High school is what you make of it; there is no right or wrong way to enjoy it.

However, not everyone has the luxury of being able to stay within the four walls of a classroom.

Some students don’t have time to be teenagers. Early graduation offers the ability to help support both their families and themselves.

Those in financial situations find early graduation as a way of getting their situation under control. It helps those get their life started on a stable path.

Early graduation is not just giving up on high school, its taking steps to a desired future. Whether students go to college or not, it is still beneficial with getting a head start.