In today's contemporary world, the importance of education to human life is accepted universally. Every person in the world regardless of who they are or where they come from are expected to at least have access to an education. This requirement is in fact enshrined in international law and is also a provision in the human rights laws of all countries in the universe. Education is considered to be a basic human right, and every child should have a chance for an education. In hindsight, I am now aware of the crucial role that school plays in the life of an individual. Suffice to say, my first days in school and particularly high school were not the best. I remember my first day of school with an unrelenting bout of nostalgia. I recall the feeling of being overwhelmed. Here I was, a freshman in high school in a new environment and for the first time in my life, I was afraid. However, over time, I have come to appreciate the time I had in school and the impact that school had on me as an individual.
It is an accepted fact that most people will spend most of their time in school in a bid to attain the knowledge required to work in the field of their choice. Granted, those years spent in school are divided into various levels of education with some being easier and hence more preferred compared to those that are harder and consequently less liked. Two of the most important levels that almost every person passes through in pursuit of academic excellence is high school and college. While some individuals view college as being just another level above high school, a closer examination of the two reveals that there are numerous similarities and differences between the two levels of education.
First, the cost of pursuing a high school education is not the same as that of the cost of pursuing a college education. In the same way, there are inherent differences between the two from an academic perspective and the social environment. The fact that attending college is more expensive than attending high school is true based on the fact that the level of education in college is higher. However, this fact does not augur well with all people since only individuals who come from affluent families can be able to access college education in addition to those people who receive government support, scholarships, and student loans. Furthermore, in college students are expected to purchase almost all the essential learning material while in high school books and other stationeries are provided to them by the school.
In addition to this, while paying for the education one needs is already quite expensive, some individuals end up spending even more money. High school students have the option of attending a boarding high school or commute to school from home. On the other hand, college students do not have this luxury since colleges are not found in all cities and individuals who wish to pursue a college education most often than not move away from home to new cities. Here, they are forced to incur accommodation costs and transport costs which unlike high school they have no option but to incur. Therefore, it is evident that college is more costly than high school.
Nonetheless, education cost is not the only difference between high school and college. It is also worth noting that the relationship between students and staff is also not the same. The relationship between teachers in high school and their students is different from that of college professors and their students. For example, high school teachers tend to be more accommodating to their students, and it is not uncommon to find high school teachers who know the names of the learners in their class. Conversely, it is rare to find college professors who have a personal relationship with their students. The reason for this is that they mostly deal with so many students it is practically impossible for them to relate names to faces. My high school teachers all strived to create personal relationships with the students which was for me the main reason why I performed so well in my studies. It is also for this reason that I found the going tough, to begin with in my formative years in college when I found out that to have any correspondence with the professors, one had to make an appointment.
Nevertheless, the experiences that I had in both high school and college played a significant role in molding me into a responsible member of society. I learned how to deal with challenges depending on the situation I found myself. In high school, I had to learn how to interact with my peers and teachers to achieve the educational goals while in college, I learned how to be self-sufficient, depend on myself and set the goals I would like to accomplish in future.
