There's been something about Newtown High School that's particularly bothered me for the past three years. No, not about the school itself, but rather the air inside it--an air that carries with it a certain sense of negativity, of dissatisfaction with the environment around us, as if no one is happy with the school or its people, as signified by the professional criticism published on bathroom stalls, or the cries of "NHS sucks" seeping from the mouths of hallway walkers and their Tweeting fingers. It's not that this is something I've held a passionate view about over my three years, or something that I've felt the need to actively protest (notice that in the aforementioned three years I haven't written anything about it until now), but to me seems that in a world clouded by stress, anxiety, and general unpleasantry, this apparent hatred by students toward their school has contributed an unnecessary rain to those clouds above us. Seeing as every argument has its reason, even the ones that don't, it's important first to understand why such dissatisfaction exists among the students here. Through various interviews, from which no one will be named, and general observations built up from years past, it seems that the primary target of criticism is the people itself--teachers and other students alike. People can't seem to grapple with the fact that not all kids are good kids, and that some teachers feel it necessary to have a level of discipline when doing their job. Sure among the nearly 2000 students, you're bound to meet some with no apparent regard for life or wellbeing--the students who cut class to smoke in the bathrooms or use the lobby as their fight club--but right next to them you might find that vast body of talent, the extraordinary number of students who spend their time as sports stars, artists, musicians--all successfully too.
We have a music department of well over 100 kids that consistently wins awards across multiple states. We have sports teams where several players are being approached by elite colleges due to their showing of promise. We have a drama department where every year hundreds of people fill the auditorium to see professional-grade performances of the likes of Beauty and the Beast. Beyond that we have several other showcases of talent, some of which I might not have heard of, not because I'm ignorant but because there's just so much going on that I can't keep track. Here we also have some of the best faculty a student could ask for. Every year I've felt my natural tendency to pick favorites diminish, because I've received an equal level of wisdom, inspiration, and simple education from teachers across all departments. Just ask a friend about their teachers, I can guarantee everyone has at least one teacher they can point to that has changed their life in some way.
In my case, although I will not use names, I'm not sure I would at all be the same person if I didn't have faculty to point out my strengths in places I felt I didn't have. without this consistent recognition of me as an individual by people who really care about the 100+ students they meet each year, I would never know I could write well, or that my skills in school could be applied to different talents and success. Beyond its people, there's just so many benefits to attending NHS that it's easy to take it all for granted. Over the course of time here I've gone on trips to Canada, Boston, Virginia Beach, and the UK, and such trips have given me an outlook beyond the classroom and have allowed me to develop friendships while exploring the world. Even within the school itself we have opportunities to explore ourselves and find new interests.
March, when students begin to choose their schedule for the next year, has been one of the most stressful months each year. This is because there's too many classes I want to take, and that it would never be possible to fit it all in four years. This is not a complaint. The same applies to the diverse range of extracurricular activities available to us too. This is not meant to be a rambling list of pride, and certainly not a call to flaunt just how great we are to everyone else. In fact, this is more of a PSA, a push for awareness of some things you maybe haven't noticed before, or have unknowingly taken for granted. So next time you're in the bathroom and you read "NHS sucks" on the wall, consider to yourself where you've come from, what class you're in, what teacher you have, and think of the teachers you had before that. Then consider the ones you'll have after that, and what you're doing after school that day, and what major event you have coming up in the days after that, and just think to yourself, does it really?
Image Courtesy of newtown.nhs.schooldeck.net