Essay/Term paper: High school-college contrasts

Essay, term paper, research paper:  Education

High School/College Contrasts

I have spent four years in high school
and only two and a half months in
college, but I have already noticed a lot
of differences between the two. Some of
the changes were good, but there were
also some bad ones.
The first difference I noticed right
away was the fact that you don't have all
of your classes every day of the week.
In high school, you had anywhere from
three to six classes every day. They
weren't very long, but that gave you
homework almost every night. In college,
however, you normally have about five
classes. Some of the classes met twice
a week, and others met three times a
week. This gave you more time to do the
assigned homework and more class time
to ask questions or take notes on
lectures.
The second major difference I saw
was the density of people in classes, in
the halls, and on the sidewalks. In high
school there were usually around
twenty-five to thirty students in each
class, but in college the most I have seen
in one classroom at one time was about
nineteen. The hallways in high school
were always packed and you would have
trouble even going to another classroom
four rooms down. In college there is
always plenty of room and you can get
all the way across campuswith no hassle
at all.
Another minor difference was the
appearance and attitude of the teachers.
In high school the teachers were always
worried about discipline and trying to
keep the students from tearing up the
classroom. In college the teachers act
like they could care less what you do, but
you know they really do care.!? That's
probably because it's not their money
you are wasting when you go in there
and just goof off. College teachers will
just tell you to leave if you are disturbing
the rest of the class. High school
teachers would go through all the trouble
of writing up a referral and taking the
delinquent down to the principal's office
to make sure they actually went.
All in all, it seems like it is a totally
different world in both places. I guess
the atmosphere could have a lot to do
with the age differences in college
compared to age groups that are alike in
high school.