High school can be a fun and exciting time for some teens, but for others, it can be stressful and traumatizing. Once graduation comes, most students feel relieved moving on to the next chapter of their lives.
However, if you had the chance to go back and do it all over again, would you?
A&E answers this question for us in their new show “Undercover High." The show sends adults 21-26 back to high school for a semester, posing as teenagers to discover some of the challenges students are facing in today’s digital streaming world. The show takes place at Highland Park High School in Topeka, Kansas.
This show is very intriguing for the simple fact that all of the participants are at the school for an entire semester taking classes, making friends and joining various school clubs just like normal teenagers would.
The participants each come with their own struggles and motivations for going back to high school, with hopes to bring positive changes and a fresh outlook to the students at Highland Park.
Two of the stars are brother and sister duo Jorge and Lina. Both had their challenges in high school. Jorge struggled with embracing his sexuality in school after being bullied for coming out, while his younger sister was a popular cheerleader who had no issues with making friends.
Now, the roles have reversed, and Jorge plans to help others be comfortable in their skin, while Lina wants to be a more positive role model for the Hispanic community. Other participants include a student pastor, a teen mom, a motivational speaker and more.
As someone who had a very good high school experience, there were definitely times when I hated school or faced a little bullying from peers. Through it all, I made the best of it and enjoyed as much of it as I could and I have no regrets.
Now, at 24 years old, I think if I had the opportunity to go back to high school, I would. I wouldn't change too much about my experience, but I think I would express myself a lot more than I did originally, and I would just enjoy everything more.
It's important for teenagers to have role models that they can look up to. That's a big problem in today's society...there's a lack of role models and support for teenagers. I would love to go back and just tell them it gets better.
I'd love to tell them that everything that you think matters now won't a year from now.
A show like this is necessary because students come to school to escape the realities of what's happening at home. As educators and leaders in the school system, it's important to remember that these students need your help.
You have to find ways to communicate with them, help them with the challenges they're facing and motivate them to improve their lives.
"Undercover High" aims to do this in hopes that this experience will give the school district the information they need to improve the system in Topeka and other schools across the country.
Often times, students aren't going to share their deepest thoughts, feelings or concerns to an educator, but they will reveal that information to a peer. I think this show is brilliant and a step in the right direction when it comes to changing the education system as a whole.
