With the first week of classes under my belt, it seems an appropriate time to reflect on the past and wonder what the future holds.

I must admit, college is not what I expected it to be.

I have had more homework this first week of classes than I did in my entire senior year of high school. I am not used to this — actually reading chapters, taking notes, worrying about up and coming tests! In the words of the great Charlie Brown, “Aaauuuggghhh!”

What exactly did my high school prepare me for?

It would seem that they expected me to lead a life of laziness, doing things at the last minute and getting by just fine.

Well, I am not getting by just fine. As if my new home, a.k.a. my cell, is not enough of a shock, homework (and lots of it) has to be added to the mix.

Why doesn’t some firing squad just ask me what I want on my Tombstone already?

Since I am a freshman, I am just realizing how sad my high school education really was.

I know that part of it was my fault for not preparing myself, but my school has to share some of the blame.

All I needed was homework that required a little bit of reading, a test that I needed to study for, assignments that could not be done in the time it took the teacher to take attendance and college prep courses that were a little more like college classes. Is that too much to ask?

It should not be, when considering the purpose of going to school. For those of you who have forgotten that purpose (and who wouldn’t, since it is rarely ever met), I will happily refresh your memory.

The purpose of school, k-12, is to prepare students for their future.

The key word there kids is “prepare.” Why is that the key word? Well, because they haven’t. In fact they haven’t even come close. If “prepare” was America, the school system would be China, that’s how unclose they really are.

My school was not the only one lacking these important elements. Other freshmen are in the same boat. So it is safe for me to assume that schools across the nation are not up to the level they should be (to put it nicely).

When I think about all the “supposed” experts in school, I am just astounded at how out of touch things are.

The sad truth is that 41 percent of our fourth graders cannot read at a basic level, and only 28 percent performed at or above the proficient level. Our eighth graders performed below the average among 41 countries in a math and science study. That is pathetic.

What exactly are the teachers, administrators, school officials, etc., doing with their time? They obviously aren’t preparing anything, since I am sitting here completely unprepared.

The United States often represents itself as the greatest nation on the face of the earth. But when it comes to education, we miss the mark.

Education — who cares? At least we have bigger guns.

I think that other countries are clued in to what our nation is not. Education is a big deal. For instance, take a look at “Jerry Springer” or virtually any other talk show. The people who are guests on those shows (in most instances) did not get a good education, and they do make up a lot of the population — more than we realize.

That is how widespread this problem is. Education is what gets us where we need to go.

It alleviates ignorance (a regular complex with Jerry’s guests), creates technology and allows us to better understand who we are and why we are here, among other things. Without education, what is the point in life?

This problem does extend farther than us poor freshman not being prepared for college. Yet, that is a good place to start. Education needs to be increased from kindergarten on up to truly get young adults ready for whatever is at the next turn.

It’s about time that high schools meet their stated purpose at the appropriate level.

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Jessica Bittner is a freshman in journalism and mass communication from Council Bluffs.