Well, to say yesterday was a boring day is to speak a lie.
I really don't understand those who skipped.
First off, we had an awesome first class, laughing all the way through out with those strong enough against peer pressure and with enough integrity to stay. I must say, it was an adventure in itself.
Yes, all we did was watch a movie. But that is such an inadequte description of the journey we took into a mad man's mind, seeing them brandish their swords against each other and make fun of their characters. It was extremely unsatisfying to end the class: we were about to see them all drop dead. Sigh, at least the rest of the class will be able to enjoy that pleasure on Monday.
What else to say...well, second block we got bonus marks, third block we got bonus marks, oh and we got ice cream too!! Who would trade that for a day of skipping to be bored and play board games? The teachers think well of you too when you stay, just an added bonus. (as opposed to thinking of you as irresponsible students)
Well, I'll leave my tirade at that and get to the part you probably will only care about.
But then again, if you skipped the class on purpose, I do not see why you would want to know the homework either. But then again, if you didn't care, you wouldn't be reading this either. Teenagers sure are confusing people. Or maybe it's not the teenager that is confusing but the MOB of teenagers that gets confusing. Just maybe.
Here goes nothing:
1) Hamlet Essay due MONDAY, June 11
2) read "Disembarking at Quebec" by Margaret Atwood (pg. 1000) for MONDAY, June 11
3) Hamlet Act V quiz - TUESDAY, June 12
4) Bonus Lines (pervious post - Jaclyn and I have claimed lines already) - WEDNESDAY, June 13
*If you believe anything I said here was unjust or insulting, I apologize for insulting you but I do hold my opinion. Skip day may be tradition, but it is a stupid tradition fueled by peer pressure. There is no benefit in skip day, "hanging out" can happen at any time and it only hurts the integrity of the individual and of the class. Practically, you may or may not be able to skip the class, but it is the ethics of respecting the teachers that are there to teach you that really matters. You are more than welcome to debate this point with me. I am more than willing to have a well-reasoned discussion about why grads should or should not skip.
Bold and Saucy comments, Kathleen, and certainly not without their veritable points. I too, would like to see a skipper response to this. I am no judge to weigh the matter and pronounce judgement, just want to hear what the other side has to say.
ReplyDeleteSee you Monday.
I love seeing characters fall into madness.
ReplyDeleteIt is always so exciting.
All I received on Skip Day was the pleasure of walking through blissfully quiet hallways at Lunch Hour.
That was enough for me.
Kathleen, we are delighted to hear that you had your fair amount of fun at school yesterday. We would like to inform you that we did too. As you spent exchanging a “healthy” dose of laughter with the other two members (Jaclynn and Mrs. Loconte) of the class, a majority of us enjoyed ourselves at IHOP conversing about our past years at Carver over a satisfying breakfast.
ReplyDeleteAs for peer pressure, you should realize that in the context of the events that took place on Friday, one could argue that you staying at school was an immense amount of peer pressure on you. Let’s look at the facts. Nobody was forced to go to the Grad Skip Day and all of the people that did show up volunteered to go. With that said, although our friends were present, the attendance to the event proves that the students that were there were there because they wanted to be. As you may recall, even during our meeting on Thursday, we did warn students that if they had an important project or homework to do, they should stay at school.
As for integrity, we would like to remind you that our integrity is in the sense of the unity of our grade. We are truthful to ourselves—whole with one another. The act of gathering together, while considering the consequences, for the sake of communion with one another is a great example of integrity—to us. May I ask who received your integrity while you stayed at Carver? Was it to you, to the teachers, to Carver? How about to your Grad Class, Kathleen? As I recall, it was Grad Skip Day, not Teacher nor Carver Skip Day. It was a day for us; a day to commemorate, to finalize the time that we have had together. It is not a matter of skipping or of tradition. It is a matter of bonding. We decided to skip, not to hurt others, not to be rebellious, but to enjoy our time with ourselves.
As for the bonus marks, we believe that we should be thanked, not scorned. We recall that had we all decided to be “faithful” as you were no one would have received the bonus marks. As for your statement of “who would trade that for a day of skipping to be bored and play board games,” you are forgetting that indeed the majority of the class chose that option. You obviously are missing the point of the day, by misevaluating and undermining our efforts—which I must say is actually disrespectful. But then again, that is only understandable, including the fact that you were not present at the Dry Grad and that you have a reluctance to show up at Grad events. The issue here is not that we Grads are rebellious; the issue here is that one of our classmates has lost faith in us. Are all Grad events boring? Was the Dry Grad boring? Is Ignite also boring—preparing and being with you class? Think about it.
As for the comments of the teachers, I think you are misrepresenting their opinions by only speaking about the selected opinions of a few. Some of the teachers even had a laugh and to some degree almost taunted us or encouraged us to continue with the Grad Skip Day.
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ReplyDeleteI would also like to remind you that, we are of the same age group. By calling us “confusing people” you are also calling yourself such, which is needless to say, needless.
ReplyDeleteAs for all the gossip about tradition this, tradition that, we would like to clarify that Grad Skip Day was not about tradition—at least for not all of us. It was about coming together as a grade and enjoying ourselves. It was not dependent on the acts of the past, or on the consideration of the actions of a near or far future. It was simply about us. You also state that “hanging out” as a grade can occur at any time outside of school. This is ironic, because you have proven, by your lack of attendance to such events, that this is not as simple as it seems. If you think it to be so simple, maybe you should try to organize one. Don’t apologize to us for your opinion or for offending us, apologize for losing faith in us.
Remember, you only graduate once.
P.S: This is not a personal attack. We respect your opinion and we respect that you have the heart and conviction to resist what so many of us are unable to do. We understand that none of us are perfect, and yes that we have made mistakes, and that at times we should really think through what we do. But we would also like to inform you that we did. We knew what was coming. We knew that we may have lost some marks and that there would be consequences. We knew the gravity of our actions, and that either speaks to the rebellious intent of the event or to the depth of loyalty we felt for one another. As for the teachers, we do apologize if any of you were hurt; it was not in our intention to do so. However, we did see the possibility that some of you would disagree and punish us, hence the bonus marks, but we will not judge you for it. You had every right to make that call. We pushed you to do it. This is not about tradition, or about hurting each other. It is about us, the Carver Graduating Class of 2012, having a good time with one another for one last time. You may say that we could organize that at any time, but considering that we will not see each other due to post-secondary of vacations in the summer, we only have about a week to do so. So before you look at the actions taken, please consider the motive behind it all. We love you teachers and we are extremely grateful, this was not an attack on anyone.
Additionally, it is only 'peer pressure' if we are indeed pressured to skip, which no one was. Those who went, went of their own accord, because they wanted to be in community with their grad class. We all know that in the span of a short week, our lives will no longer be so intertwined, and we wanted to reminisce and have some fun. We were celebrating the time we had together, however brief. Also, skipping was not boring at all, and we did not play any board games. This you might have known if you had come. I would have been more bored at school, considering that most of my classes were either to be filled with "work blocks" or movie watching. I weighed the consequences and pros and cons of each choice, and I chose the choice which to me was right - to skip. I don't regret it.
ReplyDelete