Email this story to a friend

Anchor Lead: Our peers are sometimes our best teachers. It's easier to take advice from someone who knows what you're going through—someone who's recently had the same experience. That's especially true for teenagers, who are more likely to talk to fellow students, rather than adults, about the pressures of high school. That's what's happening right now in Washington schools, as older students teach younger students about some pretty big changes coming their way. Those changes include passing the state's WASL exam in order to graduate. KPLU's Kirsten Kendrick has more, in the latest edition of The Learning Curve.

Listen Now! MP3
Or read the full text below:

Full Story Text:

"Once everybody is seated and ready we'll start going over what you're gonna do."

Brent Christopherson is 18 years old. He's teaching a class of 9th graders in Bothell.

"Alright so go ahead and go to it, you have some time to do this. We'll be walking around if you need any help let us know, raise your hand up, we'll come by."

Dressed in baggy shorts, a t-shirt and a baseball cap, this tall, lanky, high school senior doesn't look like your average teacher. That's the point.

Brent is one of the instructors in a new program called "Student 2 Student: Change Your World." This spring, seniors and juniors are talking to 9th graders about the new graduation requirements that take effect in 2008, including passing the WASL.

Brent: "Does everybody know what they're doing? Yes. How about you in the corner over there? Of course not? Oh, that's reassuring."

Smiling and joking, Brent has captured the attention of this 9th grade science class at Northshore Junior High.

"It was something we could understand a lot easier than we could coming from adults, so to hear the students tell us more in depth and how they've done it and how they've managed, helped a lot."

"The other thing is that they didn't have that requirement of professionalism that any counselor would, so they were telling it like it is: 'You don't have to worry about that. Don't do that, that's dumb, don't do that.' That sort of thing."

Brent knows what it's like to be in 9th grade and nervous. He's trying to put his students at ease.

"They need to be able to trust themselves and not worry as much about it because that will help them do better is that they know that they know it, instead of second guess themselves."

"Student 2 Student" is believed to be the first program of its kind in the country, and has become a model for other states. It started more than a year ago when the state realized too many students did not know what was expected of them.

"We said something needs to be done to fix this problem."

18-year-old Kourosh Zamanizadeh is one of two student members of the State Board of Education who helped develop the program. Until now, he says students were out of the loop on education reform.

"When all these new things started to occur, adults were just hoping that all this information would kind of just permeate down to the students and they would just understand what was going on through the classroom, but somewhere along that pathway the message reached a barrier and it never got down to the students."

Through the program, Superintendent of Public Instruction Terry Bergeson hopes to set the record straight about why the state is demanding more from its students.

"The misinformation is rampant, rampant. And I hope that the students from the grass roots up can help us spread a better set of information 'cause it's for them, it's so they can be better and smarter and have a chance in their life."

In creating the "Student 2 Student" lesson plan, student leaders wanted something their peers could relate to.

They even produced their own MTV-style video—complete with hip-hop music and flashy effects.

Video: "The world has changed, and school has changed. Employers expect more from the people they hire, and we have to show them that we have the skills and knowledge we need to succeed."

Students have heard about the new requirements before. But this may be the first time the information sticks. Northshore counselor Tally Reynolds says she gets along well her students, but when it comes to what they can expect in high school…

"They obviously look at me and think, uh, well there wasn't even cars or microwaves, actually there wasn't microwaves, there wasn't computers when I was in high school so, it is kids talking to kids and we all know that peer tutoring, peer mentoring has a strength that is beyond what I can sometimes offer. I offer the years of wisdom but there's a kid experiencing, living it and saying 'Hey, this is what it's like.'"

And, what began as a way to teach students about the new graduation requirements, has also become an outlet for teens to talk to teens … about everything from peer pressure to parties.

"What we're mostly concerned about and what most people are nervous about is the actual life that happens in high school. And so it was really cool to see that side of it."

Kourosh Zamanizadeh taught "Student 2 Student" classes at his high school and found that 9th graders do look up to older students, and listen to them.

"They ask me things like, 'So are you saying we shouldn't party at all?' or things like that. And I said 'No that's not what I'm saying but you have to get your priorities straight, where you get your schoolwork done first and then sports if you're doing that and any other clubs you're in and then save your Friday nights/Saturday nights for having fun but when it comes to Sunday, that's when you need to crack down and get your homework done again."

Starting in 2008, on top of passing the WASL and completing the required number of core credits to graduate, students must also develop a plan for the first year after high school and complete a senior project that's tied to a career field that interests them. Kourosh says the goal is to have students take ownership of their education.

"The key part really is just getting them to consider their future. And they don't have to set that in stone and be 100 percent certain this is what I'm gonna do, but at least give it some thought."

This year's freshmen are the first class that must meet the new graduation requirements. More is expected of them and of the students who follow them. That's why the state plans to continue "Student 2 Student."

The hope is that those who are being mentored today will become mentors in a few years…to reassure another class of 9th graders that high school isn't all that scary—and that they know exactly what they're going through.

Kirsten Kendrick, KPLU NEWS.