THIS IS A COLUMN

My high school career is quickly coming to a close. Whereas my crowd of self esteem is going wild at that idea, my leaving begins the final episode for the future seniors. I’ll refrain from boring you by outlining essential advice such as respect your administration, your teachers, your education. Instead, I wish to add on what I feel to be the most important tenant students can represent: respect each other. This does not equate to play nice and share your Teddy Grams, I’m asking you to overcome what I have observed is one of the most detrimental problems at Hoover. As students, we do not judge each other by the way we look, but by the classes we take. Hoover has fallen victim to academic division. The factions mark out courses – AP to Honors to regular – and not only outline the difficulty of the classes, but also classify the students that take them. I personally have taken several Honors and AP courses. Whereas these classes positively prepare me for the great beyond, the environment is very competitive. It’s an ongoing war for both the highest GPA and the highest stress level. Meanwhile, in the rare moments of downtime between tests and notes, one of my peers might slip a harmless comment: “I’m going to fail this test and be sent to the regular class and they’ll murder me.” We laugh.  But I know it’s wrong. Comments are made from all sides. The two-way street allows AP students and regular students to make assumptions about each other. I must admit I make comments too. Not about the class level, but about the students taking the courses. And every time I do I catch myself just after I say it, and it makes me feel guilty. I believe that we’re all guilty. There are also lines circling the career technical classes and students in the Career Based Intervention (CBI) program. I used to sit in the study hall in L-6 and dread the cold. Not only was it physically freezing, but there was also an uncomfortable chill seeping under the doors of the neighboring classes: ISI, Novanet, and CBI. As an observer, I would watch the CBI students walk in and out of class making discourteous remarks about their teachers as well as to each other. For years I assumed that CBI was for the students that weren’t like me. That they dumped students into there as to say “we don’t think you’re going to get anywhere in life, so go empty some recycle bins and we’ll give you some tools to survive.” I know I’m not the only student that made that assumption. Despite this, I feel awfully unlearned. How much do I actually know about the program? Nothing. To furthermore research my observations, I spoke to, worked with and befriended a former CBI student. After discussing the time she spent in the program as well as the impact it had on her, I realized that all of my scrutiny was rather pretentious. She told me CBI helped her get on her feet during the awkward stage between middle school and high school and that it assisted in her academic success. I learned that those in career technical classes are no different than I am. My brain might be wired to slave over anti-derivatives in Calculus, but I also definitely understand those that learn more through real-life application. My assumptions melted away into a sticky mess that stuck to my shoe and kept me attached to the issue. Some events such as Project MOSAIC (Molding Our Students to be Accepting, Insightful, and Compassionate) do a fantastic job in regards to this cause. Started during my freshman year, the group meets to discuss the diversity and interpersonal issues between students within the community and the district. However, we can not depend on small groups. It is up to the student body at Hoover to overcome this academic diversity. This is my task for the future seniors not only of 2012, but of the years following. I ask you not only to respect each other to preserve the peace - but to also dive deeper than just gaining a mutual understanding. Research what you don’t know, ask the questions and learn about each other. You might find a good life lesson. Or you might even gain an unlikely friend. But most importantly; you will make a difference.