My New School

My high school is a really nice place. The change between my current school and my old school is huge. Last semester I felt miserable. I knew the school did not want me there. They never lifted a finger to be kind or help me feel easy or relaxed. It was so stressful it is hard to describe.  I won’t go into details, but the administration was really making my life intolerable when all I wanted to do was access a normal education.

The fact is being disabled is hard enough without being rejected or made to feel awful about a disability you can’t get rid of. So the difference between that kind of environment and my current school is striking. The administration is kind and happy to have me there. The teachers really are respectful of me and nice to my aide. My stomach is not nauseous when I go to school now. I feel at home, so now I can just learn like everyone else.

My realization is that the attitude of the administration is incredibly important to a school’s culture. For some reason, my old school has a better reputation and is thought of as a better school out in the community. I know I’m in Honors classes so I am around the most motivated students, but my observation is that it isn’t better in instruction, friendliness, or student behavior. It is better at hassling disabled students though, and does have a reputation for that. The new school is like a hidden school because everyone wants to get their kids in the other one and I think this one is much better. Irony, for sure.