Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever.

[icanseeformiles]

Seems I've touched a nerve. Good. Let me approach my point from a slightly different angle. Clearly there are folks in the '03 class that have done well, like Sara, and others that have chosen less traditional paths. However, when you look at the distribution of colleges, as a whole, that the '03 class is attending, it stacks up poorly with

Comments

[jennytenny]

All right. I almost think we're on the same page here. To a certain extent.

I agree with you that people aren't pushing themselves to their full potential. The blame lies on the student themselves with some influence from parents, teachers, guidance counselors, and peers, and society.

I feel that ones social class plays a certain role in the path many people follow. (now...this is a broad generalization...there are exceptions) If you think about it, in our society, a person's path is layed out for them from birth. Depending on where a child is born and what social atmosphere is prevalent has a huge influence. A child who is born in Dover-Sherborn or Weston has a much higher chance of going to a well-known public school or most likely a private school. Face it, they are wealthier communities. They can afford the better teachers, the better education, and the better mentors for their children. The children are headed on the path to the IVY leagues and the lead posistions in large corporations.

Now, take a town like Georgetown. I would consider Georgetown a middle to upper middle class town (in comparison to cities like Lawrence which would be working class). Children in Georgetown are definitely born with privilege. Some parents can afford the private school, some can't. We have a decent school system. But not as nice as a school in Weston. These students are on the path to 2nd tier or state schools. This is not meant to undermine the education at Georgetown at all. I feel as though our school is very privileged. There are a lot of opportunities that Georgetown has to offer. This is where the students want to learn come in...the student has to make the initiative to get as much as they can from what the georgetown public school system has to offer.

Just like if you were to have a public school in Lawrence.The students there would have the path of going to a community school, if they go for a higher education at all. (this is not to say that students from lawrence are less smart...its just the situation they are born into...this is also not to say that there are exceptions. Because there are)

After saying that...laying the foundation of what society dictates to us. There are so many exceptions and so many ways to interpret that.

People deviate from the path. People's success isn't measured by where they go to school or where they work. Statistics can't show that.

Yes...some students from Georgetown will go to a community school. But at least they're going to further their education. Yes, some students will go to Ivy league schools. But that doesn't mean they will gain knowledge. There is a lot more to learn than what a text book can teach you. A person's worth is not measured by their degree.

I remember when we had to take MCAS...these was one student in my class who wasn't able to answer the essay question. So instead he wrote an essay about what he could do.

It was along the lines of, "I may not be able to spell correctly, I may not be able to put together a 5-paragraph essay according to your standards, I may not be able to punctuate properly. But I can change the oil in my car, I can fix an engine, ...continued."

Although he wasn't able to recite facts from a text book he was able to complete many real life problems that he is faced with everyday. That to me is more important than going to an Ivy league school.

~~

Another thing. I dont see how Sara is the only success story from the class of '03. To quote one of my friends, "sara "succeeded" because she sacrificed a lot of real-life experiences, social and otherwise, that a lot of us didn't. and i wouldn't choose that for anything."

Once again. I don't let my value or anyone elses value be determined merely by social class, statistics, or where one goes to school.

-Jen

[blackrosepetal]

I'm not religious in any way...but

AMEN!

Accept the things to which fate binds you and love the people with whom fate brings you together.

[icanseeformiles]

Awwww, we all love you Dani.

Don't accept your dog's admiration as conclusive evidence that you are wonderful.

[icanseeformiles]

Now don't you feel bad about hating me? After all, how many of your friends responded with little love notes to your own LJ postings?

Re: Don't accept your dog's admiration as conclusive evidence that you are wonderful.

[blackrosepetal]

Dude, you may be trying to ware me down or whatever, or make me feel bad, but it just isn't going to work. Complete strangers don't affect me the way friends do. So either own up to your actions to have people effected by them, or keep being a complete pussy ass bitch.

Re: Accept the things to which fate binds you and love the people with whom fate brings you together

[blackrosepetal]

I know.

Re: Accept the things to which fate binds you and love the people with whom fate brings you together

[jennytenny]

You responded to Dani's "amen" but you didn't respond to anything in my post. What do you have to say?

Peace.
-Jen

I may have said the same thing before... But my explanation, I am sure, will always be different.

[icanseeformiles]

I can agree with part of what you say. Please understand, I am not trying to belittle you. However, to make my point again, if you look at the overall distribution of colleges attended by GHS grads, and compare that list to the colleges attended by graduates from other highschools in the area, you see a real disparity. I don't think the kids at Triton or Andover are any smarter than Georgetown kids. So why the lower level of achievement from GHS?

Re: I may have said the same thing before... But my explanation, I am sure, will always be different

[jennytenny]

I think the reason why we got into this debate is because of the generalizing. I feel as though there are definitely people who have the capability to achieve greatly...who don't for the simple lack of will.

However...there are individuals who do strive for more than the average student. Not only in school work but also in every day situations.

It all depends on what the individual wants and how far they will go to achieve that.

And...i dont know why there is a lower level of achievement from GHS. But also realize that if you're comparing GHS to Andover and Triton...GHS is a much smaller school. Much smaller. GHS should have regionalized years ago to get the funding they need.

Peace
-Jen

What counts is not the size of the dog in the fight - it's the size of the fight in the dog

[icanseeformiles]

I am not convinced by the size argument. Harvard (the town) has one of the best public schools in Massachusetts by virtually any criteria - SAT scores, college admissions, etc. Harvard has fewer people (read taxpayers) than Georgetown, and about 70-85 kids per class.

Re: What counts is not the size of the dog in the fight - it's the size of the fight in the dog

[jennytenny]

Look at the average yearly income of Harvard too. I'm sure it is a lot higher than Georgetown.

Peace
-Jen

Re: What counts is not the size of the dog in the fight - it's the size of the fight in the dog

[jennytenny]

The town's budget comes from property taxes, not income tax. This year Harvard spent $6,459 per student, to Georgetown's $5,916. When you account for the economy of scale (more students per non-teacher salaries) and certain fixed costs that are independent of the number of students, the spread is even smaller.