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The purpose of high school, I believe, is to prepare students for a meaningful life in the 21st century; to be a good citizen, economically self-sufficient and respectful of themselves and others. There are many paths to self-fulfillment and a productive, meaningful life. Acquiring a college diploma is only one of these. I also believe high school must inculcate honor and respect for all avenues to success, and that it is important not to denigrate any of them in the eyes of our students. Students should be encouraged to aspire towards any of the myriad of paths leading to a meaningful life that they find personally satisfying.  

The Berkeley School system is again going through the important task of rethinking the goals of a high school education, the main purpose of the accreditation process now taking place at the school. The whole school system is involved, as well as the School Board. 

At our last board meeting we were presented with the beginning elements of this process, the airing and ratification of the “Expected Schoolwide Learning Results.” According to BHS Vice Principal Mary Ann Valles, these ESLRs describe what a well-rounded person should look like and know when she or he exits high school. We were also presented, at the same time, with the first reading of the revised list of courses required for graduation from BHS, which should support the new ESLRs. 

The Daily Planet, on Sept. 7, gave a fine report on the issues and discussions that took place at our meeting, but I think, I may not have stated my position as concisely, or coherently as I would have liked. I was quoted saying, “There’s not one thing in these ESLRs about sending students to college.” I did say these words, not during the discussion about ESLRs, as reported, but rather during the discussion about courses required for graduation. The point I was attempting to make was that I do not believe that graduation requirements for ALL students should be the same as those required to qualify for admission to a four-year college. I think the ESLRs we just adopted did not say this either. The new ESLRs presume that the purpose of high school is to prepare students for successful lives after high school. That preparation may include readiness for going to a four-year college or university, but not only going to college. I believe that the ESLRs we adopted reflect this broader, more inclusive view of high school achievement, but the proposed high school graduation requirements may not, and in fact might be interpreted as contradicting the ESLRs. 

Many of my most successful students at BHS did not take all the courses necessary to go immediately to a four-year college. They were not required to take those courses to graduate and chose not to take them. Some of them went into the dot-com industry, some became workers for AC Transit, BART, the U.S. Post Office, professional photographers and skilled tradespersons. My own father I consider to have had a very successful life. He was a journeyman electrician, artist, union activist, and devoted family man. If he had been forced to take all the classes required to go to college when in high school, he would never have graduated and possibly would have never considered himself a success in life. 

Our "Expected Schoolwide Learning Results" should be reflected in our graduation requirements. What I was trying to say, at the last school board meeting, is that these requirements should not be designed to elevate one possible post high school path over any others. I believe this sets up elitist attitudes among our faculty and students, and unnecessarily dooms some students to a feeling of failure when we should be celebrating all the alternative paths to success.