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SLCs keeps isle students
from reaching potential

This past year at Kalani High School, the administration started a new program called SLC, or Smaller Learning Communities. Under this program, students were put into heterogeneous "houses" with three core teachers for two years. At first I thought the SLC was a good idea, but I soon changed my perspective; many of my fellow classmates agree. I discovered two things: We weren't given any rigorous work, and the SLC is focused on the low-motivation students.

The work I was given in my classes was easy. We expected something more rigorous. This year has been a review for my classmates and me. How do they expect us to get into college and get the careers we want if we do not learn anything?

The closest rigorous class we got was the Social Studies Honors class in fourth quarter. The class gave us extra work aside from our regular social studies work and required us to meet on our own time. Out of the 60 people that showed up for this, only 17 went on to finish the Honors course. The rest found it to be a waste of time. This idea does not work because most of the students have commitments after school and it is extra work aside from the regular work. This idea will be repeated next year in Honors Biology.

The No Child Left Behind Act affected the entire school year by gearing the SLC's main focus toward the unmotivated students. The SLC's purpose is to assist unenthusiastic students by altering the class structure and providing easier work; however, these changes do not benefit the semi-motivated learners. In reality, the entire student body are the ones who are left behind since the motivated students cannot reach their full potential. They are not left behind, but they are not progressing either. Instead, they are forced to review materials that have been previously taught.

The downside of the SLC is that it keeps us in heterogeneous classes -- a team is only as good as its weakest player. The same relates to a heterogeneous classroom environment where we can only proceed at the pace of the slowest student. We should be separated into homogeneous classes for student interaction in a better environment without distractions from impassive students.

The SLC will not benefit the students in the long run. When we graduate from high school, we will not have reached our full potential and utilized it. The evidence presented in this article shows that the SLC is not an effective system for Kalani. In fact, even the low-motivation students have expressed disagreement with it. Kalani needs to implement the previous system or another alternative that satisfies the educational needs of all students, teachers and parents.

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