Although high school hasn’t lived up to my full expectations (I was expecting something a little closer to High School Musical), one thing I fell in love with this year were my blended classes.

Now I know what you’re thinking, and no, I don’t just like it because I get to leave school and take a power nap before my next period.

It gives seniors a glimpse of freedom before they go off to college, and can ease the transition between the two. College is all about choices. But so are blended classes. Are you going to stay in class and catch up on your reading?  Are you going to have a one-on-one discussion with your teacher? Or are you going to skip school altogether and get McDonald’s with a couple of friends? The choice is yours.

If you do decide to not show up to class, there are always going to be consequences.

For example, you might not show up to an economics review session and therefore fail your test. However, it’s better to learn your mistakes in high school rather than in college, where your decisions make or break your future.

According to math teacher Jason Adler, who teaches blended DC Finite, blended classes benefit students in ways other classes can’t.

“I think in blended, you get an idea of doing what you need to do to be successful so when you get to college, you don’t freak out about that freedom and fail your first semester,“ Adler said.

Also, the teachers in high school won’t let you fail the course like college professors would. At SHS, if your grade falls below a B-, teachers can revoke your “blending” rights. Therefore, this could motivate some students who typically aren’t the best at schoolwork. I think of it as a safety net that you won’t have in college, most professors will just let you fail.

Another reason why I recommend blended classes is because every student has the opportunity to learn at their own pace. Traditional classrooms are often ineffective for most students; some are just wasting their time being lectured on things they already know, while others need more time to comprehend the lesson. Either way, blended classes are the way to fix both of the problems.