Saturday, March 07, 2015

good, but not equal

Exactly a week ago i was doing some work at a cafe when i couldn't help but notice that some of the young people nearby were getting really excited about something. It wasn't hard to figure out what was exciting them - at least one, and possibly more of them were wearing ACS clothes, and one was remarking that there were six hours left to Founder's Day.

That has gotten me thinking - why do i still love the school as much as i do (even though i don't think i ever was nor will ever be as excited as those young people were)? There were plenty of good times over those six years, but many things that i didn't (and still don't) like. Perhaps things have changed for the better in the thirteen years since i've left, but i'm pretty sure that a lot of things still haven't - they're part of the culture, after all. Yet, even as this year marks the year when the school i'm at now takes over from the others as the school i've spent the most time at, i can't help but make comparisons, and have concluded that the extra eighty or so years of history does, at the end of the day, have a net positive impact on the school experience for the average student. The culture - both its good and bad bits - isn't something that you can expect to flourish overnight - or for that matter, over a few years. Regardless of the amount of effort that you put in, it still needs its natural amount of time to come of age, something which we may take for granted at so-called established schools like my alma mater, and which many regretfully and impatiently ignore at less established ones. I'm not saying that we shouldn't try, but let's not expect miracles either.

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