When I was asked to write this article, I asked, “Why me?” How was I someone who was qualified? There are countless other individuals who could do just as good of a job (or better) at writing an article illustrating their high school career. So, instead of recounting my high school experiences in a mini-memoir, I have chosen to focus on a different question, the most “LM” question I can think of: “Am I good enough?”
I’m not just referring to being good enough to get into one of the many universities that our expansive country has to offer. We ask ourselves if we are good enough for the countless clubs and sports that make LM what it is. Am I good enough to make Varsity Soccer? Am I good enough to make the Science Olympiad States team? Am I good enough to be School President? Am I good enough to be The Merionite’s Editor in Chief? There are countless others, but these are just a small sampling of the various questions that LM students ask themselves. And that same “am I good enough?” question provides for the cancerous reputation that LM clubs have steadily (and deservedly) earned.
The need to stand out by being ‘good enough’ has stifled creativity. Achievements like a Varsity letter or a TSA Photography medal should reflect passion and skill, not just enhance a college application.It’s perfectly reasonable to see events through the path of progression, especially when you are attending a school where the majority of students will graduate to a form of higher education. What’s unreasonable is to see all the achievements that LM students earn over four years placed into a single basket, chiefly that of future careers. High school is supposed to be about preparing you for your career, but what too many people overlook is that a future career will almost always require some element of passion. Does LM nurture that passion? Or does it nurture “being good enough?”
LM’s college culture might be a bloodbath, yet it’s simultaneously uplifting. The University of Southern California Center for Higher Education Policy Analysis states that “a high school with a college culture expects that their students will attend college and students share those goals. Once expectations are set, students engage in a lengthy process of completing the appropriate courses, taking all required exams, and exploring various college options.” The college culture of LM, deemed a positive quality of our school, is a critical reason why students of diverse backgrounds are encouraged to pursue higher education where previously they may have thought it to be out of reach. However, this college culture has simultaneously fostered an environment where the majority of LM students pursue activities almost entirely for the purpose of higher education. I don’t say this as someone who hasn’t engaged in this myself to some extent. I joined the ultimate frisbee team in my sophomore year to be in a sport with my friends. And while I have come to love it since subconsciously I surely understood that joining a sports team would help my resume.
College culture might be a weapon against the wealth gaps for women, people of color, and other historically marginalized groups, but it can also be understood to serve as a weapon against creativity. The two key elements of our college culture, the attaining of money and the stifling of creativity, do not need to be mutually inclusive. The choice is not between equality and creativity. It is between confronting the clear issues that LM has with its clubs and culture, or ignoring them and emphasizing our high number of university acceptances and/or commitments. Is LMSD truly preparing its students for the future? Or is it engaged in short-term window dressing?
In the future, LMSD (especially its high schools) must prioritize both preparing students for higher education and/or the workforce and helping them find their passions. LMSD cannot be allowed to succumb to a deep slumber of dreams about future employment opportunities alone. It’s a district with a wealth of knowledge, resources, and passion passed on from parents, teachers, and administrators. It must be a district that provides this academic passion to its students as well.
