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What's Up With C.F.? (HW #4 - Educational Essay)

     Five minutes is all that separates C.F. from where I live.  Since C.F. is literally right over the bridge that separates itself from me, I’m quite accustomed with the area.  In fact, I have friends who not only reside there but have also attended C.F. High School.  Although, C.F. is only about one square mile, its high school houses nearly one thousand students.

     Recently, C.F. has been in the news.  From what I remember, it something to do with the district letting go of a lot of the teachers within the high school.  I sure that test scores played and integral part in the reason behind the mass firing.  However, I don’t think I can imagine how all those teachers (those who were fired) felt. Usually, a school department will “pink slip” a teacher at the end of the year if they choose to let s/he go; this was not the case for teachers of C.F. High School.  If I remember correctly, the teachers were literally fired during the day and students were dismissed early from school due to the incident. CF High school was a low performing school when this happened years ago.  If the school department was basing it solely on test scores and graduation rates, doesn’t it seem unjust to punish the teachers for this?  I agree that some teachers are just not cut out for teaching kids, but to base the fate of their careers on a standardized test score doesn’t do any justice.  Most students have trouble with standardized tests and the scores shouldn’t be taken into account. 

 All this happened literally about ten minutes from my school. My school was at one point and may still be a low performing school.  The events that happened at CF could’ve easily happened there.  Overall, it must have been an embarrassing experience for all involved.  Besides this mass firing event, CF high school has also made the news with negative stories regarding violence in the classroom and that it’s a dangerous area. I just urge non-residents to give the city a chance because the media usually favors negative stories. 

 I’m expecting to go to a place where students are going to be students.  I don’t think that I will have a negative experience because there’s good and bad in everywhere.  If you go in with a bad and somewhat biased attitude towards the school then don’t seem surprised to reap a negative experience.  In my opinion, kids will respect you if you show them respect and if you find a way to connect with them.  If you understand the situations of these students then they will accept you.  I am a product of a city that is like CF so I know how it’s like to be a student in a somewhat similar situation.