Freshman Start

What do you think is the most important year in a High Schooler's life? If you said the Junior or Senior year, the experts say your wrong.

In Assignment: Education.. Bill Ratliff shows you why many school counselors say the Freshman year.. especially the first semester.. is the most important.

--((Teacher Bernice Craig says:)) "Classifying information.. just what we're doing with the market structure."--

This is a Freshman Economics course at Tampa's Plant High School. It's probably not the kind of course these students thought they'd be taking a year ago, when they were Eighth Graders. But a lot has changed for them in one year.

--((Student Jennifer Simmons (in class) says:)) "That would be a monopoly. First, because it is driving the theaters to close."--

This is High School. The big leagues. How these students perform.. even in their very first semester.. can have a huge impact on their futures. It comes down to the importance of grade point average. Margaret Gandy is the Guidance Resource Specialist at Plant. She says for college scholarships and even acceptance.. a three-point-zero.. at the very least.. is the magic number.

--(( Margaret Gandy says:)) "A mixture of "A's", "B's" and "C's" will bring you a three-point-oh. The stronger you have.. the more "B's". But it takes an "A" to bring a "C" up, and two "A's" to bring up a "D".--

For these three Freshmen, the first semester brought mixed results. One earned "A's", "B's" and one "C". .. another "B's" and a "C".. and for yet another "A's," "B's" and a "D". Nick Otto says he was prepared because of the warnings from his older brother.

--((Freshman Nick Otto says:)) "He said the classes you'd have to think for yourself... The teachers would just be there to guide you.. and you'd have to get the answers by yourself."--

Jennifer Simmons says she should have worked harder.

--((Freshman Jennifer Simmons says:)) "I knew what it was going to be like, but I guess I didn't think it would matter as much as it did."--

And Cassie Gonzalez says her Eighth Grade was easy so she thought Ninth Grade would be easy too.

--((Freshman Jennifer Gonzalez says:)) "So it was like this year.. it was a rude awakening.. It's like you know you got to stop messin' around and stuff."--

Don't mess around. That's the bottom line to this story. Work hard from Day One of your High School career. Don't get behind the eight-ball with a poor showing in your Freshman year.. even in the first semester.. because you will spend the remaining three-years playing catch up. As Mrs. Gandy says, if college is in your future plans a "C" average is just not good enough. Bill Ratliff, Newschannel 8.

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