In school, learning is generally written off as a responsibility specific to the individual student. Generally, people believe that each student should be in charge of their own learning experience. This assumption does tend to be valid, but there are also cases where the student is not at fault for a poor education.

It is simply not possible to learn anything, when no valid information is presented to the student. Despite common belief, this happens much more frequently than it should at a high school like McLean. A wide range of students are unable to gain an adequate education because of their incompetent teachers.

Regardless of their efforts to attain a better mentor, many students’ requests to acquire someone actually capable of teaching them end in vain. The system used to evaluate these teachers is irrelevant and does not actually evaluate the teacher in question efficiently. As a result, the class instructor becomes more of a chaperone.

What should be a teacher, guiding students in their path of education becomes a mere figure at the head of the classroom. The end result is an accumulation of lousy grades. These have a lasting, domino effect, and lead to further academic problems.

Many students end up taking classes that come too easily for them, because their previous, insufficient grades cause them to believe they lack the intelligence necessary for a higher level than general education. They become scared and lack academic motivation. In the end, it all snowballs into one huge mess with the potential to affect where a student applies to and which colleges they are accepted into during their senior and junior years.