Warning: This blog post is going to be a
little unconventional compared to my previous posts; it will probably sound
like a rant.
I just finished reading The Chariot’s
article TC Line’s Future Uncertain, and
I am not impressed with the school’s actions. The administration decided to ban the
TC Line temporarily and increase supervision at football games. I am not saying
that the students who decided to bring alcohol to the game should go
unpunished, but the “[school] is at best but an expedient; but most [schools]
are usually, and all [schools] are sometimes, inexpedient” (Thoreau 1016). The
school thinks that these restrictions will solve the problem of alcohol and
drug abuse at Troy High School. They will not.
I was ignorant that people at Troy High use alcohol and drugs when I first got here. Until people told me
how widespread this problem is, I had no idea it occurred. I was so sheltered
by being around people who do not make these poor decisions that I did not know
the other side of Troy High. The administration is like me before I knew this
problem—they only see the superficial, glamorous part of student life.
Even if people are not bringing alcohol to
football games, that does not stop them from drinking it at parties. I think
that teenagers are at a point where they want to break rules and become independent.
The more restrictions placed on them, the more they are inclined to break them
just to feel “cool.” This is similar to the no gum policy in middle school. I
remember teachers always having to tell students to spit out their gum. The
school believed that, without restrictions, students would leave their gum
everywhere and vandalize the school. However, after coming to Troy High where
there is not a no gum policy (at least I think there is not), students are not
putting gum everywhere; they are respectfully chewing gum to stay focused in
class, and they are properly throwing it away in the trash.
I think that the school’s “expedient”
decision to ban the TC Line and increase supervision would make more students want
to have parties to break these rules. In Thoreau’s perspective, students are simply
exercising their conscience and viewing these rules as unjust. Again, I do not
believe kids should be drinking alcohol or doing drugs, but the school is not
doing much to solve this issue.
I know we are only students, but the
school should listen to our opinions more. “Why is it not more apt to
anticipate and provide for reform” (Thoreau 1022). The only way we can solve
issues at our school is by working together. By simply installing more
regulations, the school is only exacerbating the problem.
“plus ça change,
plus c'est la même chose”
-Jean-Baptiste
Alphonse Karr
Great Job Richard! This is such an interesting post coming from you, but I really enjoyed your perspective on the controversy on the TC line. I liked how you related something so current going on around us in own school and related it to the piece. I also liked how you stated that students are more likely to outbreak when restrictions are put on them, adding the gum example really added to that point.
ReplyDeleteRichard, you have made another excellent blog. I enjoyed how you managed to connect Thoreau's essay to the issue revolving around the TC line. You also used very concise sentences to help convey your opinion on the issue. I also appreciated how you connected the school's gum policy to the incident of banning the TC line.
ReplyDeleteYou perfectly joined an article from centuries ago with a current issue in our school today. Your explanation was very valid and there must be a more efficient way to prevent students from making bad decisions such as drinking and doing drugs. Great job!
ReplyDeleteThis was such an interesting perspective on the TC line and I like how you were able to relate it back to our class discussion essay!
ReplyDeleteGreat post once again Richard. I really enjoyed how you connected Civil Disobedience to the school's situation. Changing 'government' to 'school' in the quotes was just great. I completely agree with you though, we need to work with the administration together to solve this issue. If the school just exerts power without having students have a say, then school no longer becomes enjoyable. Great post once again!
ReplyDeleteIt was very impressive to me that you could relate this to something so immediately related to your life and lives of your audience. I agree with your point that their rules and regulations are only encouraging bad behavior. One thing I would be interested to see, however, is how you personally would go about fixing this problem.
ReplyDeleteI really liked how Thoreau's quote was embedded so naturally to the context of your writing. I agree with with you on the point that the banning of TC line and increased supervision won't make much of a difference, but neither do I think that loosening the regulations will always solve the issue. In Thoreau's perspective, everyone should be following their morals and what they believe in. But he also implies that those people must take responsibility of actions, which was going to jail for him. I believe that the regulations and the "rebellious acts" are not in a proportional relationship, but something much more complicated. Like what Caelan said, I'm curious about your solution to fixing the teen drinking issues.
ReplyDeleteReally nice blog post. I really liked how you related it to the TC line and something so close to us as students. Also, nice use of quotes and incorporation of your viewpoint. Looking forward to more posts!
ReplyDeleteI don't believe it's the schools problem to solve alcoholism in teens. If anybody wants to drink, they will drink. The school does what it does to protect its own reputation, because they are aware of how costly and ineffective it would be to try to help the kids stop drinking. Also, schools aren't merely "expedients" because they do so much for us. They aren't a means to reach an end nor are they convenient; they give us a path for success.
ReplyDeleteAs for the gum issue; one, look under any desk and you will find a piece of gum 70% of the time; two, the reason gum is "allowed" in high school is because teens are more mature than middle school and elementary students. I say "allowed" because there are still teachers who don't allow gum in their classes, and there are still punishments for breaking those rules.
And a random side note, I don't feel obliged to drink purely because there are rules against it, and I think many would agree with me. For kids our age, it's typically peer pressure from "cool" friends. I don't think you'd find anybody who chooses to drink just because they want to "Break the rules"; there are so many other reasons that you have to take into account.
Anyways, I do like your blog post as it does bring to light a very interesting topic and I like how you incorporated Thoreau into it. Even though I may not agree with everything, I do think you bring up a good point about our school system and the problems at hand.
Nice blog post, Richard! I liked that you connected the dots between Thoreau's message and an issue that directly relates to our daily lives. Your manipulation of Thoreau's quote merged the ideas almost seamlessly. I do agree that since acts of rebellion are appealing to many teenagers, banning the TC line in an effort to inhibit underage drinking will only have the opposite effect.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Richard! I really liked how you used both Civil Disobedience and the Troy High Chariot newspaper. Also, I agree with you about how more rules will not control this underage drinking problem, but will instead make the problem worse. You also did a nice job imbedding Thoreau's quotes into your blog post.
ReplyDelete