High School Training Ground

By: Riss Willwerth

“Oceans of adolescents come here to receive lessons but never learn how to swim” –Malcolm London

This video discusses through poetry how high school is like a training ground. Malcolm London is a high school student who describes the struggles of high school clearly through the use of metaphors and similes.

He discusses how high school tends to bring him and others down by saying, “A building, dedicated for building, but always brings me down” I think he is spot on with his ideas on the need for degrees. I went through a high school that was so focused on getting into college and AP classes that really learning the material was diminished. This is a problem because students are memorizing and not retaining a lot of information.

The topic of girls covering up their insecurities and having rules on what to wear is something any girl who went through high school can relate to. I remember hearing "no spaghetti straps" so many times at my school and not being allowed to wear certain shorts when it was very hot out, due to the length.

Malcolm talks about the masculinity that high school boys are told to express. Showing emotion just is not acceptable. “Social lines are barbed wire” says Malcolm London. You stayed in your social group and didn’t dare leave it, afraid to make the wrong move and be shunned by your classmates. Bullying is still so prevalent! He talks about one group is taught to lead and one to follow. That there is a separation of hierarchy in high school. Are you a regular or an honors student? People that may be friends outside of class but in class don’t look at each other because one is deemed “smarter”. The separations are endless. How do we as future teachers fix this?

https://www.ted.com/talks/malcolm_london_high_school_training_ground