February 28th...or the day they finally lost it...
    So as you may well know, South Windsor High School is far from perfect.  In general I'm not a fan of the way we educate people in this country, but it serves its purpose for the most part so I'm willing to let that go, for now.  However, some schools go way too far.  Case in point, South Windsor is a fairly rich suburban town whose residents are on the wealthier end of the spectrum.*  So, one would think that with all the outrageous taxes that are paid that one of the top priorites would be to educate the more than 5000 students that attend schools in this town.  Hah. You're funny.  Several times the school has suprised me with the idiotic things it thinks it can do.  People are going to say I should appreciate what I have, but when what I have is a bunch of teachers who think their job is to give students work to figure out on their own while they sit at their desk on the computer and do God knows what, while the administration takes pleasure in punishing students for the most mundane activities, it's going to be real hard to appreciate it.

    In the past, there have been many such issues that I don't care to list right now because I have a feeling today is going to take long enough.  I walk into school around 8:20 minding my own business.  I see Andy and Matt and say hi.  Next thing I know we run into Mrs. Rizzo and Al sitting at a table across the hallway in front of the office.  I am asked if we have late arrival, I say yes.  Then I am told, "Go the office, sign in and go directly to the cafeteria."  Okay?  While I'm waiting to check-in the bell rings.  Confused, I stand there for a few minutes before Mrs. Rizzo says we can go to class.  Good, I wouldn't want to be late.

    I walk into Statistics class, take my seat in the back, and open up my backpack to get my homework out.   I hear a little talk about people getting detentions, but hey, it happens right?  So I go to English class, (which was luckily right around the corner), sit down there, and this is where the chaos begins.  Foley isn't there and LIz is our sub so all is good.  Then Erin comes in and announces she got a detention.  This obviously makes sense because Erin has always been a bad kid...right?  Not so much.   Here's the story, she was 10 feet from the door to her 2nd period classroom when the bell rang, so she is given a detention, and thus made 5 extra minutes late to her 2nd period class.  Asli walks in late to class.  She too has a detention.  I know what you're thinking, just another bad kid right?  So,  here's her story.  She has late arrival too, but I'm thinking she doesn't have 1st or 2nd period, so she gets here and the back doors by the parking lot are locked.  So, she has to wait for someone to unlock them or walk around the school in 10 degree whether.  Neither choice is very pleasant, nor quick.  So, she walks into school late and is given a detention.   Asli and Erin go to the office during class (while the class waits to see if they come back with more dententions..).  Here's my favorite part, Benoit basically laughs at them.  "You can't get out of this, but here's some candy."  What the hell?  We spend part of the class talking about this absurdity that has become our school.  When I got to Spanish Nicki was talking to Srta.  She had lunch next, so normally she could just stay and talk and then go to lunch late right?  Hah.  She needed a pass to lunch.  If that isn't the most ridiculous thing ever, you tell me what is.  Later I found out that Allie got a detention when she was just outside her classroom.  Her teacher is getting taped for her BEST portfolio.  So, instead of Allie being a few seconds late to class, probably before the tape was even playing, she was 5 minutes late, interrupting class and the video.  Super!

    Calculus is always a lovely time as one might guess.  Devassy is probably the biggest advocate of the administration of our school.   She always takes her side, rarely has her own opinion, and when she does, it sucks just as bad as if it had come from Benoit herself.  So, of course, by 5th period everyone is pretty riled up about this whole detention busy.  We never start Calculus on time, so why begin today?  Everyone starts complaining, Devassy (or whatever her real name is...) starts sticking up for the administration.  She then gives us this crap about how there was this big committee and students had the opportunity to be on it and blah blah blah.  That's a load of bull if I ever heard one.  She teachers three classes, she has no idea what goes on in our school.  And even were allowed to have some say in this "committee" how come no one knew about it? Oh right, because it didn't exist...

Might I also mention that the lovely Bobcat that we all love states its policy on tardiness as follows:
Tardiness to class:
Teachers will admit tardy students to class.  However, if the student cannot present a slip excusing the tardiness, the tardiness will be considered unexcused and the student will receive a grade of zero for any assignment or assessment missed.  The teacher may take disciplinary action if he or she wishes.  Excessive tardniess will be referred to administration for further action.**  Unexcused tardiness in excess of half the period will be considered a class cut and treated accordingly.

    Nowhere in this lovely section does it mention the penalties for being a few steps from the door of a classroom when the bell rings.  There are rumors that some teachers are counting down in their classrooms and running out as soon as the bell rings to catch any delinquents who havent managed to make it to their class yet.  Have you ever tried getting from the basement to the opposite top corner of the school?  No?  Try it sometime.  It might work if the hallways were clear and the stairwells weren't overcrowded, but let's face it, you can't even take one stairwell all the way up.  You have two that go to the basement and three that go up.  Fire hazard?  No way.  So, although many people remember the old three tardy rule before you can get in trouble, that apparently does not exist anymore.  It must have gone away with the 15-absence rule for classes, but either way, the administration is still going again its own rules.  What rebels!

    Personally, I think the school's time could be better spent on other things.  How about monitor the teachers to make sure they're actually teaching?  How about catch all the kids that smoke outside in between classes?  Or just do your little hall sweeps in the middle of class and catch the kids who are actually up to no good?  Or better yet, take a little time and read your own rules.  Learn some of them, and realize how ridiculous most of them are.  Trust the kids a bit, and we'll respect you a bit...maybe.

    Hopefully livejournal.com doesn't make the news any time soon, I wouldn't want the administration reading my journal just like they look at my myspace....that is totally another issue though.  Maybe it will be the topic of a future post.  The only thing I'm going to say about that now is that it's not myspace that is getting 14-yr old sluts raped and it's not the internet that is dangerous, it's the 14-yr old sluts who post half naked pictures of themselves next to their address and aim s/n that are dangerous to themselves...


*Overall, it fits this description.  However, there are many people, mostly my end of town, that aren't included in that category, including myself.  But, I'm trying to make a point. ***
**In case you weren't aware, excessive now means one time.
***Yea, i stole Colby's star thing.