Today was a late start AND a scholarship meeting. Needless to say, Gillian Hart and I were present as was another teacher and three counselors. Six people to represent our entire campus. And, yeah, that’s not a very good number, but if kids want a scholarship, perhaps they should advocate for themselves and apply for many. There’s this weird thing called the Internet that has a HUGE amount of scholarships for every shape and size. Get out there and get them.
I write that because the world isn’t fair. Great students don’t get into college while less-than-great students do. Same goes for scholarship money. When you only have a small number of teachers deciding fates, the money goes to the students that are known to those teachers. Unfair? A little. I have students who are amazing this year who have received no scholarship money (there’s been quite a few opportunities, too) while others who may not graduate have been awarded and rewarded. It doesn’t make sense, but Camus would argue that life does make sense.
If you want something to happen, make it happen.
I want tardies on late starts to go away, but that just isn’t a priority of our school right now. The teacher next door to me had 17 of 34 at the 8:50 bell, while the other teacher next to me had 20 of 28. 25 tardies out of 62 kids. Hallways were filled with kids. One of them was running, though. Perhaps others will follow.
High school offers all these advocates for kids, from friends, to parents, to teachers, to counselors, to all the hired help that are there to ensure success. So often, though, no matter how many people are in the students’ corners, it comes down to the student to get things done. As I wrote previously some other day–it’s those students who get things done that get overlooked. We fall for flash and potential and forget about the grinder. I don’t want someone with flash and potential building a bridge that I have to drive across daily.
We supposedly taught kids how to write an argumentative paper this last quarter. Most of my kids left themselves out of their own texts, even though personal experience is never discouraged. Are we removing students so much from their own lives that they can’t and/or won’t advocate for themselves?
Will they write appeal letters to colleges who wait-listed them?
Will they challenge grades when a clear teacher error is present?
Do they actually want to drive a car? because many kids wait until they’re 18 to get a license (and they really don’t want one at 16).
Take a stand, people, because your advocates are tired of doing it for you.