| |
Wednesday December 17, 2003
PPA haters rant
Edit: Read this entry too. They really have dumb points that they're using to argue against us.
Well, I realize this is my second entry today, but I just felt compelled to talk about this. There was yet another article in the Republic today about how PPA sucks. This one was especially offensive.
The author, Kellen McCarroll, wrote about how PPA students are "egocentric" and hate Mountain Pointe even though they "wanted the Academy." Uh, excuse me while I barf? Since when are we egocentric for wanting a school of our own? Since when did we hate Mountain Pointe? Since when do you have the ****ing right to discriminate like this? I honestly have half a mind to sue you for libel, since your letter is based completely in lies, not fact, and since it personally attacks PPA students.
*breathes* Okay, I'm calm now... Anyway, I especially love how she dwells on how we have "an average class size of 32 students and free laptops for every student." Uh...that was two years ago? Welcome to reality? We've suffered from the budget cuts just as much (actually more than) you have. WE HAVE NOT HAD PERSONAL LAPTOPS FOR TWO YEARS. STOP DWELLING ON IT! You say you have large classes? Well, we have large classes AND classes without teachers AND classes that have changed teachers 4 times.
And now we're "egocentric" because we fight for our school's right to exist? If Mountain Pointe was facing being chopped, I'm sure you would be right there next to us yelling at Buchanan (who I hate by the way). And don't use the arguement that we have no right to exist, because we have just as much right to exist as Mountain Pointe does.
We take up too much money? Uh, no. All schools have startup costs. Mountain Pointe had startup costs. We have startup costs. In fact, we cost less per student to operate than you do. What now? Oh, got you there!
In all honestly, I'm totally sick of this stupid libel from everyone. It's discrimination, plain and simple. If this kind of attack had been mounted on ANYONE else, be it black students or special ed students or atheletes, it would have been dealt with appropriately and the offenders would have been silenced. But the fact that's we're smart makes it okay. Since when is it okay to treat gifted students like shit just because you feel like it? Since when is it okay to call them names? Since when (and this is for the teachers) is it okay to offer extra credit to students for speaking out against the Academy? Last time I checked, being smart was not an acceptable criterion for discrimination.
Do I sound pissed? Good. I've dealt with three years of this stupid ****ing shit. People hate us for no ****ing reason. "Oh, you take money away." "Oh, you get free laptops!" "Oh, you have small classes!" "Oh, you're elitist and hate everyone else!" "Oh, you squander your intellegence on yourselves!" "Oh, you never help out others." Look, shut the hell up. You know nothing about us. If you took the time to research it, you'd realize we're not your enemy. Gifted education is underfunded EVERYWHERE. You could be working with us to improve gifted education instead of attacking us.
Ah yes, the board decision. You don't like it? You think it's unfair that we're getting additional funding? Guess what? The funding they're giving us is just the money it would have cost to move to Mountain Pointe. That money would have been spent ANYWAY, regardless of whether we moved or not. So unless you were hoping to use the funds DESIGNATED FOR PPA for Mountain Pointe programs (which is completely dishonest), you can't complain about this. Or are you still dwelling on the fact that we exist? ;)
Unfair that we get "better" (although this is debatable) resources than you? Guess what? You had the decision in front of you. If you qualified, you could be here right now. We gave up our friends. We gave up our comfort zones. We gave up so much to be here. You could have given up the same. You could be here. You therefore have no right to complain about how it is unequal.
Back to discrimination. Special education students are funded way better than we are. They recieve extremely small "classes." They get individual attention. They have their own building. Why do I use them as an example? I use them deliberately because we are special ed too. So why is it "okay" for them to have their needs met while it is "wrong" for us to have our needs met? Some of us are BORED in regular classes. That might not seem like much to you, but imagine being in high school sitting in math class for four years "learning" how to add. Bad example? I don't think so. That's what regular classes are like for us. Special ed students are seperated because they need to be. You know what? Some of us need to be as well. So what makes it okay to discriminate, because that's exactly what it is, against gifted students? Answer that. Seriously. Answer that. Don't have an answer? Good. Then stop ****ing talking crap about us.
You from Mountain Pointe? Good. Read this. Read it nice and slow. Then read it again. Then spread it to all your friends. Offended? Good. I've been offended for three years. Lay the hell off us.
Edit 12/18: I just found out today that the ESL kids are getting palm pilots to help them with classes and all. And of course, no one will complain about this. Why would that? It's helping them learn. So then why do people keep complaining about us getting laptops (which was two years ago, by the way--we don't get them anymore)? It's the same thing. Really, it's discrimination against us as PPA Students.
Edit 12/20: Yet another anti=ppa letter in the paper today. This makes 4 this week and a half, all from Mountain Pointe. Why do they keep on attacking us? Anyway, read this.
Comments:
Post a comment:
|
| |
