Dear President,

Every day of the week I go to school and each class period seems to be a pretty productive class period, until I get to my sixth period. My sixth period is U.S. History and there’s a lot to learn, except it doesn’t seem like anyone is focused on what the teacher is teaching most of the time. The teacher could hand out an assignment and the whole class would carry on their conversations with their peers like we didn’t have an assignment handed to us just a moment ago. Failing grades don’t seem to worry any of them, and the thought of not graduating has probably never even crossed their minds. Although it doesn’t worry those being directly affected, it worries me because I would hate to hear that someone that I went to school with wasn’t able to graduate with their class.

If this continues, it will pass on to the next generation and teens will not ever feel motivated to do anything that will ensure them a successful future. This could lead to a long line of adults that are headed in the wrong direction causing them to wish that they had tried harder in school. Teens will forever feel like high school is just a waste of time and won’t realize how important until it’s too late. In 2003, 40% of high school students were chronically disengaged from school and that number has been increasing since then. Every teen should feel motivated to do their best in high school, no matter what. Every teen should know that they have potential and that isn’t just a parent’s responsibility, the teacher’s responsibility, but it’s also the government’s responsibility to let them know that.

So what will you do about the countless teens that need you? Will you just let them convince themselves that high school is too hard to even try? Or will you possibly tweak the curriculum in high schools so that it’s more interesting and relatable to them? Just like there are assemblies on bullying and destructive decisions, there should be assemblies that inform teens of the importance of their grades in high school. There should be assemblies that make students eager to do their best in order to get into college and start their successful life! Will you be willing for this all to be funded? Or will you allow our current generation, and the generations to come, to quickly give up on their future? It’s all up to you.

Sincerely, Concerned Millennial