I've been meaning to write about my high school, seeing as this is the 30th anniversary of my first semester freshman year. I actually had something planned for the 30th anniversary of my first day at Stuy, but I found a job, so that took higher priority. There's a lot I could write; possibly I will as time goes on. Overall, I liked going to Stuy; it was probably my favorite school. But there's one thing I find it hard to imagine – that I regularly got up at 5:30 am to make it to zero-period (either Madrigals/Renaissance Choir or gym). I had a really long commute from southeast Queens to Stuy's old location (345 E. 15th St. in Manhattan). If I was lucky, it took an hour; most of the time, I was not. But the implication here is that I functioned quite regularly on less than six hours of sleep. I can't imagine doing that now; it is after 11pm as I type, and I am ready for bed. But throughout high school, I don't remember feeling really tired.
There's a longish review of Stuy at insideschools.org. Unfortunately, I don't have time to comment on specifics. I agree with many, perhaps most things in the article, at least as they pertain to Stuy of the mid-to-late 1970s. One thing that struck me as rather interesting was one alumna's comment that some Stuy students burn out in college and miss out on some of its joys. Seeing as I had a mixed (and disappointing) academic track record post-Stuy, and less fun at the 'tute than I would have liked, perhaps I shot my wad academically at Stuy and there wasn't much left for what came next. (Although regarding fun in college, I made up for it, partially, by singing in two choral groups while at UCLA.) I certainly remember putting a lot of time and effort into my classes, but a lot of that was because I really liked what I was doing (particularly in math, music, and Spanish).
Anyway, I'll close with a flashback to the top hits on NYC's highest Arbitron-rated music station 30 years ago today. If you wanna talk about stuff not played on the radio anymore, when's the last time you heard any Dickie Goodman?
There's a longish review of Stuy at insideschools.org. Unfortunately, I don't have time to comment on specifics. I agree with many, perhaps most things in the article, at least as they pertain to Stuy of the mid-to-late 1970s. One thing that struck me as rather interesting was one alumna's comment that some Stuy students burn out in college and miss out on some of its joys. Seeing as I had a mixed (and disappointing) academic track record post-Stuy, and less fun at the 'tute than I would have liked, perhaps I shot my wad academically at Stuy and there wasn't much left for what came next. (Although regarding fun in college, I made up for it, partially, by singing in two choral groups while at UCLA.) I certainly remember putting a lot of time and effort into my classes, but a lot of that was because I really liked what I was doing (particularly in math, music, and Spanish).
Anyway, I'll close with a flashback to the top hits on NYC's highest Arbitron-rated music station 30 years ago today. If you wanna talk about stuff not played on the radio anymore, when's the last time you heard any Dickie Goodman?
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Sadly, I also must agree that the students outshone the faculty rather dramatically. There were a few gems among the teaching staff, but the disparity between the staff and the students was quite stark.
In a large majority of my classes, I remember very few truly poor teachers, a slightly greater number of genuine academic and pedagogical stars, but mostly fair to middling (though usually quite professional and prepared) educators. In short, a much less right-skewed distribution than I found among the student body.
I remember being incredibly competitive in high school. But I felt like MIT was one of the least competitive places I've been. Everyone was always willing to help. And help "de-frosh" the underclassmen of any ego/overacheiving streaks.
Even though I worked so much at MIT (and never got any sleep), I think the place really helped me "un"-burn out from High School.
Although I can still get by on 5-6 hours of sleep, I don't really like it.
I consider Stuyvesant one of the only level playing fields on which I've ever stood. Because of competitive admissions, no one ever questioned my right to be there or suggested I got in through some unfair advantage. I didn't have to spend every day in every class being asked to prove myself, the way I did in college. It was a good experience to have at that age.
I recall once another student asking me why I didn't spend time around more Black students. Even though I did have several Black friends (including those I knew from junior high) I sort of felt guilty about it. So I participated in the Black Students' League sometimes during senior year. It met after school, and sometimes ran until 4:30pm, which put me smack in the middle of rush hour going home. You rarely were able to get a seat on either the E or the F trains heading into Queens. There were occasional delays due to subway trains getting stalled in stations or tunnels. Plus, you were also rarely able to get a seat on the #5 bus which I took to get from the 169th St station to Laurelton. All that extra commute time made me tired.