<p>I took a brief walk to the school's "Academy" section today, which is virtually segregated from the "rest" of the school. It's for the instruction of students who are only trying to attain a GED, and have a less than glistening record.</p>
<p>My god.</p>
<p>It felt as though I was visiting an entirely different school. In the classes that I take, largely APs and Honors, I'm surrounded by studious peers who would bawl at the sight of a 'B'. I walk into a classroom in Academy, and see kids who couldn't care less if they received an 'F'.</p>
<p>One was covered with tattoos and piercings. Another wore huge, fake gold jewelry. Several were asleep. Two were noticeably pregnant. One had a baby bag. All in a class numbering a baker's dozen.</p>
<p>We have that same thing in reverse. I'm part of the HGM (wikipedia it or ask if you really want to learn more), where we're part of the big school, yet have a seperated program of classes (more APs and honors classes). The majority of our school has people like the ones you described.</p>
<p>to judge them without knowing them and their circumstances is not right</p>
<p>and I can tell you this, most of those kids probably had a rough time at home for a variety of reasons, and didn't have the means to survive it better</p>
<p>at least those pregnant girls are triying to finish school. Bet the daddies are long gone</p>
<p>those are the guys that disgust me....</p>
<p>as for talking about fake jewelry, my goodness, but aren't we a bit crass ourselves to focus on a person's accesories and to make an assumption </p>
<p>the dark side? how about another side? </p>
<p>that is the kind of attitude that hurts people</p>
<p>your words are crueler than you think they are</p>
<p>Yeah the descriptions of the people leave a bad taste in the mouth...clearly you haven't seen these people much because you talk with typical upper class condescension...but anyway it's all good, at least you got a taste of this crap. Now try doing something about it? Volunteer work or something?</p>
<p>Yes, PrescitedEntity's perspective was a bit narrow, but we can't really blame him/her. The truth of the matter is society doesn't give a damn what's going on in your life. They are going to judge you a thousand times over without giving thought to your personal background. Yes, these people should be commended for their efforts to complete GED, but very few people are going to do so.</p>
<p>You are kidding me, right?.............well come? </p>
<p>Welcome to real life! Students come in all shapes, sizes and color. Be careful not to prejudge others. Your college professor may have tattoos, piercings, be unwed and pregnant, sit cross legged on the desk, and have pink hair. So what! She still is the one that determines whether you pass or fail her class. ;)</p>
<p>Don't worry, I was nearly attacked by a guy with vulgar parlance today as I was attempting to sell food for a club.
He just randomly starts walking up to the counter and cusses and acts all ominous because he didn't realize that he HAD to buy a TICKET to get food. And he started bribing me (while cussing) so that he could bypass the ticket business. He even started throwing these strange fits.
Oh lordy...
Welcome to reality, indeed.</p>
<p>Aww you guys! Don't judge. Sheltered people are generally a liability to themselves, as they tend to say things they really shouldn't. Don't get mad though. Get glad! No, seriously, though lol, it's not PrescitedEntity's fault that s/he made those kinds of comments. S/he obviously hasn't been exposed to people with hard lives, and it really isn't his/her fault. </p>
<p>I agree with b4nnd20, though. The best way to take this new experience is to start volunteering. I almost became a (volunteer) tutor for students getting their GED's this summer (I'm a junior in high school, but I'm past the level you need to be to get a GED). I ended up doing something else, but that's a great way to help out.</p>
<p>Yesterday, I posted a flagrantly idiotic and malicious post concerning the nature of my school.</p>
<p>I must say, I'm not surprised at the response, mostly accusations of being sheltered and class conscious. Honestly, I was a bit shocked myself to see how unprepared I was for the diversity of the real world, as opposed to my little niche group. I'm beyond sheltered; I'd always considered myself open-minded, but I agree that I must be anything but. Instead of proving anything about the people in those classes, it was a testament of a nasty truth about myself - that I'm no better than the elitists that I frown upon.</p>
<p>I do have to say, though, that I merely expressed shock, and meant no insult through my post, and I hope I've offended no one.</p>
<p>A painful dose of reality for me, not that the world has a diverse group of people, but how narrow-minded I actually am, and the extent of my hypocrisy. Even at the time I wrote my post, I had not stopped to think of how contradictory it was to everything that I profess to believe in - my denouncation of stereotyping and whatnot. What pains me greatly is that I knew it was wrong, yet it was still my first response - I can't even attribute it to ignorance. I have no defense for my thoughts.</p>
<p>I'm not sure what I'm saying, exactly, but it feels important to say it.</p>