Immaculata prepares students for adulthood

Caleb Puckett
Immaculata Classical Academy

High school is the point in life where many begin to approach adulthood. My high school experience has allowed me to mature in many ways, with such improvements as learning how to act in a professional setting, beginning to think critically, and understanding personal bias and how to approach a topic objectively. While high school will not
fully prepare anyone for life, it may plant a foundation upon which we can grow throughout our lives.

Adults are only children with more experience, and adults who appear to know what they are doing have mastered the essential art of professionalism. They have learned to act properly in an important setting and can differentiate between casual and formal settings. This skill makes up a great portion of the difference between adults and children.

Unfortunately not present in all adults, critical thinking is an important ability with which we can think through questions and more effectively approach truth. Many children and young adults often regurgitate the opinions of others without choosing an original opinion, but ideally everyone would take many different opinions into account and decide for themselves what they believe. Our beliefs influence our actions and make us who we are, so it is important that these defining factors of our personality are truly ours. This is another important part of being an adult.

Critical thinking has great importance in life, but a step further in seeking truth and resolution comes with acknowledging our bias and looking at truths objectively. When disagreement arises, we face two options. We can remain stubborn in our own position and argue that all who disagree are wrong or we can attempt to understand the opposing opinion and where it comes from. If we step away from our bias to evaluate both sides, we often find sympathy in our supposed enemy. This is something very few people do regularly, but if our high school education proves a good foundation, we can build upon it for our own good and the good of our neighbors. Although it is still possible and frequent that we hold steadfast in our beliefs even after exploring the opposing belief, it nevertheless helps us prioritize obtaining truth over disproving our rivals and would certainly result in more understanding and resolution.