Help "Slackers" be leaders

Editor,
This letter to the editor refers to the March 6 issue of the Crimson&Gray; "Slackers, please drop out," by Adam B. Cleaveland. As a student at W.F. West I would hope that my fellow classmates would disregard this article. As interesting and thought provoking as it was, I thought it was a narrow-minded, inconsiderate, "snobbish" editorial. As much as you didn't want it to sound so, it did. Your general theme I agree with but your way of putting it is out of line.

Instead of encouraging "slackers" to drop out, we as leaders should encourage them to do better, get involved, and make a life for themselves. Just because a person is unmotivated or bored doesn't mean they will spend their life collecting welfare checks and milking the system. This is the kind of whiny attitude that makes our school sound like we are stuck up. Also, under your definition of "slacker", most of the population of teenagers today (including you) could be classified under the category at one time in their high school career. We often get side tracked with other things that would hinder us in our achievement of excellence. And I strongly believe that everyone wants to achieve excellence in one way or the another. Some of us would just rather have success handed to us on a silver platter, but I'm afraid that won't happen. That is why I urge the "slackers" to change.

Dropping out of school will not solve problems for someone who's struggling to be motivated. In fact it will create problems not only for the "slackers" but also society. A "slacker" with a diploma has a lot better chance of getting a job than one without. And Adam, if you honestly feel like your education is being ruined simply because of this reason, I would urge you to count the privileges that you have here at W. F. West. And if you honestly think that dropping out will help them in the future, you're wrong.

-Chris Judd

Some of us really want to learn
Editor,
I was very impressed by Adam B. Cleaveland's article "Slackers, please drop out." Student apathy is one of the major problems of schools in the U.S. Students who consistently goof off in class disrupt the learning enviroment for their fellow students. They truly do ruin the educational experience of those who go to school to learn. Teachers have to spend their precious time disciplining one student while the other twenty plus students in his or her class sit, their concentration lost. What is even worse is that most teachers don't discipline their students enough. Many students disrupt class on a regular basis, and teachers do nothing about it.

Students who go to school strictly for social purposes negatively effect those who are there to learn. While dropping out of school might be a bit drastic, disruptive students should grow up and take school seriously. School is a great opportunity to better prepare yourself for the real world. Those who don't take school seriously are just hurting themselves in the long run. Your boss is certainly not going to tolerate disruptive antics at work, so why cut up at school? Your co-workers would definitely be better off if you took your job seriously. So why not give those of us who enjoy learning in school a break, and try staying serious for just one day, and see how much you learn. Take a class from Mr. Bannow, Mr. Fay, or Mr. Schaeffer. They make learning easy and fun. And they aren't the only ones. The whole school is filled with teachers who make school interesting if you just pay attention. If you actually enjoy learning, you'll know how the rest of us feel, and why we get upset if someone interrupts our learning experiences.

-T. J. Underwood

Adam, please shut up
Editor,
This letter is in response to Adam Cleaveland's article "Slackers, please drop out". I think this article is discriminative towards students he calls "Slackers". He sees those students as worthless and a waste of his time. If he doesn't want to see or acknowledge our presence, why, I ask you, why, doesn't Mr. Smart Adam Cleaveland drop out and go to the college full of people like him who actually give a rip about education. We may not be perfect students but we're here aren't we? Some of us might not have a high of a want of learning like Adam, but they do come to school when they don't have to. And in my opinion, Adam is wrong about most people. He just slaps a stereotype on us and tells us to get out of his school because we're making it look bad. Does he even look at those of us who really do try to make it here? Does he even care? The answer to both of those questions is no, he doesn't. Now, I tolerate his stereotypes and his impatience... to a point. When I first read this article, I was hurt that a fellow student could call me a name and make a whole bunch of accusations towards me. If Mr. "Perfect" Cleaveland doesn't like us he can just, drop out!

Because he stereotyped me and my friends I will say this. This is about who's better than who. I'm better than those people who call people names and put them down. I'm better than that because I don't call people worthless and mean it. I may call someone stupid, or dumb, but they know I'm joking. So Adam, please, shut up!

- Jeremy Painter