A few days ago, I went on a field trip as a volunteer with my little sister’s fourth-grade class. The trip went great and was a lot of fun.

We went to the Poulsbo Marine Science Center and got to experience first-hand some of the things that you do as a marine biologist. I helped work a station on the floating learning center, and I got to work with every one of the students in the fourth-grade class.

My point is, I spent an entire day working with these 9- and 10-year-olds. They were all eager to learn and worked very hard. They were also pretty respectful of not only each other, but the equipment they were working with and the adults they were interacting with. They didn’t break anything either on accident or on purpose, and nobody did anything that would require disciplinary action.

On the other hand, I visit the high school at lunch to see some of my old friends. We talk and eat lunch and catch up. I don’t get to see them as often, since I take my classes at Olympic College.

What I see there I just can’t figure out. The students — teenagers, some of them legal adults with jobs and cars — act younger and less mature than the fourth- graders I was with during the field trip.

That got me thinking about other things that high school students do that you don’t see elementary students doing as much.

Students at the high school argue with and bad-mouth teachers, behind their backs and to their faces. They intentionally misuse and abuse the equipment they are given to work with that they are lucky to have, and they are just awful to each other. It almost seems as though as we get older we forget how to behave.

College is a different atmosphere entirely. There are people there that have jobs, spouses and children of their own in high school. The college environment is considerably better than high school. I’m glad I got out of high school when I did and now I am where I am — with competent adults and other students who are working hard and earning their educations. Everyone there wants to be there.

At the high school, I heard people talking about how the only reason they were there was because it’s required and how they were done with school after they graduate. They weren’t taking anything seriously and made it more difficult to learn in class, slacking off and distracting teachers and other students.

Now, my classes are filled with people working their hardest and putting everything they have into their educations. Nobody has to be there, so everybody that is, wants to be.

— Kyler Lacey is a senior at Kingston High School taking Running Start classes at Olympic College. Contact him at kylerlacey@gmail.com.