Small schools...the death of the individual
Please excuse the tardiness of this post, but good things take time! Just Kidding (Sort of)
Julie went to a large public high school in an average American town. She loved her high school very much. Although the large size made it slightly more difficult to know her faculty, it did give her the chance to meet a wide variety of people form all different walks of life. She had the option to express herself how she pleased through her choice in music, clothing style, and class choice. She could choose classes she wanted to take, such as interior design. Of course there were some conflicts, nowhere is perfect, but overall, Julie was satisfied with the way high school was going. One afternoon, after a long day at a school, she came home to find her parents sitting on the couch. She wondered what was going on. They told her that although she was doing very well in school, they didn’t think it was challenging enough for her. They had decided to send her to a small private parochial school that had a “stronger academic program” than the school she was attending. She was very upset, but being the chipper young girl she was, she had resolved to make the best of it. She was slightly concerned about attending this new school mid semester. She was going from a school of 3,000 to one of 150. This was going to be a huge adjustment. She was also worried because she had heard stories about this school. She thought that these must be exaggerations since the school was supposed to be a religious school. People had said that the students there were very cliquey and didn’t accept new people very easily. Julie wasn’t too worried about that. She was a pretty outgoing person and had never had trouble making friends before.
The time came for her first day at the new school. She drove into the parking lot and already noticed a big difference. This school had a very strict dress code that would not allow Julie to express her self through fashion, something that was very important to her. Also, she noticed that there were absolutely no minority students and that almost every that could drive had vehicles more expensive that even Julie’s parents’ cars. She walked into the office to prepare a class schedule. She was shocked to notice that she had only one option for class selection: Band or Choir. All the rest of the classes were chosen for her. There were no elective options. She deiced to let this roll off her shoulders and try to make the best of it. She stepped into her first class and started her day. She felt very uncomfortable throughout the day because no one would approach her. Being the outgoing person she was, she tried to talk to some of the students, but many of them were rude or would not respond. Julie was very disheartened by this. She had done nothing wrong and already she felt like every ounce of her being was being judged. She went home that night and told her parents about her day. They told her that it would all get better and to just try and stick it out. She agreed and continued to go back and experience the same results day after day…
After a week of this torment, she had almost had enough. She was in the bathroom stall when a group of girls came in. She could not help but overhear their conversation. Shockingly, it was about her! One girl said she heard that Julie was a drug addict that got arrested and this school was her last chance. Another said that Julie was overly promiscuous and had an oral STD. Julie was horrified to hear such awful rumors. She knew that those things were absolutely untrue. She now knew why everyone was giving her cold looks and why no one would talk to her. She had had enough. She couldn’t stay at this school anymore. She left the bathroom, called her parents in tears, and withdrew that same day.
This may sound extreme, but besides her name, Julie’s story is a true. It happened at my school. It was not just Julie. The sad thing was that there was at least one Julie every semester at my high school.
Julie went to a large public high school in an average American town. She loved her high school very much. Although the large size made it slightly more difficult to know her faculty, it did give her the chance to meet a wide variety of people form all different walks of life. She had the option to express herself how she pleased through her choice in music, clothing style, and class choice. She could choose classes she wanted to take, such as interior design. Of course there were some conflicts, nowhere is perfect, but overall, Julie was satisfied with the way high school was going. One afternoon, after a long day at a school, she came home to find her parents sitting on the couch. She wondered what was going on. They told her that although she was doing very well in school, they didn’t think it was challenging enough for her. They had decided to send her to a small private parochial school that had a “stronger academic program” than the school she was attending. She was very upset, but being the chipper young girl she was, she had resolved to make the best of it. She was slightly concerned about attending this new school mid semester. She was going from a school of 3,000 to one of 150. This was going to be a huge adjustment. She was also worried because she had heard stories about this school. She thought that these must be exaggerations since the school was supposed to be a religious school. People had said that the students there were very cliquey and didn’t accept new people very easily. Julie wasn’t too worried about that. She was a pretty outgoing person and had never had trouble making friends before.
The time came for her first day at the new school. She drove into the parking lot and already noticed a big difference. This school had a very strict dress code that would not allow Julie to express her self through fashion, something that was very important to her. Also, she noticed that there were absolutely no minority students and that almost every that could drive had vehicles more expensive that even Julie’s parents’ cars. She walked into the office to prepare a class schedule. She was shocked to notice that she had only one option for class selection: Band or Choir. All the rest of the classes were chosen for her. There were no elective options. She deiced to let this roll off her shoulders and try to make the best of it. She stepped into her first class and started her day. She felt very uncomfortable throughout the day because no one would approach her. Being the outgoing person she was, she tried to talk to some of the students, but many of them were rude or would not respond. Julie was very disheartened by this. She had done nothing wrong and already she felt like every ounce of her being was being judged. She went home that night and told her parents about her day. They told her that it would all get better and to just try and stick it out. She agreed and continued to go back and experience the same results day after day…
After a week of this torment, she had almost had enough. She was in the bathroom stall when a group of girls came in. She could not help but overhear their conversation. Shockingly, it was about her! One girl said she heard that Julie was a drug addict that got arrested and this school was her last chance. Another said that Julie was overly promiscuous and had an oral STD. Julie was horrified to hear such awful rumors. She knew that those things were absolutely untrue. She now knew why everyone was giving her cold looks and why no one would talk to her. She had had enough. She couldn’t stay at this school anymore. She left the bathroom, called her parents in tears, and withdrew that same day.
This may sound extreme, but besides her name, Julie’s story is a true. It happened at my school. It was not just Julie. The sad thing was that there was at least one Julie every semester at my high school.
posted by Tyler Brown @ 10:01 AM
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