After a successful term last year, Oakland Serves is back at McClymonds High School for the 2018-2019 school year!
Setting this program apart from all other merit-based programs, Oakland Serves is a non-profit organization dedicated to serving students with the greatest academic needs or who are at-risk of dropping out of high school. We target students who are, under no fault of their own, falling through the cracks under the current educational system and provide support directly from the community.
If you are interested in joining Oakland Serves, it is not too late to sign up to be a mentor! Applications are continuously rolling all year and once clearances are completed (a few weeks process), a mentor will be matched with a student for the school year. Fill out our Expression of Interest form if you've thought about becoming a mentor or if you just want to know more.
Oakland Serves is a program that is currently active at McClymonds HS (located in West Oakland) and is building the partnerships and foundation to expand to many more schools across the city. We are always looking for more partners and persons experience with community outreach to build on our current momentum in the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD). If this is work you are also interested in, please send an email to oaklandserves@gmail.com and we would love to discuss more.
https://preview.redd.it/c67khn9xymt11.jpg?width=2603&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=89b809b719c8ff16135e92fa77ce12d95af6f900
Sorry/not sorry, but I have to vent to fellow parents about something. I'm a high school teacher. Today is the the last day before we start winter break. Students are taking finals, and the last day for my students to turn in any missing assignments was last Friday- December 10. As of right now, I have 72 out of 144 students failing my classes. Not because the work is hard, but because they made the active decision to not do the work. I have had five students show up at my door this morning begging to turn in missing work. Some of them have even lied to me about their missing work.
Here's my vent- PLEASE, TO YOU FATHERS OUT THERE- TEACH YOUR CHILDREN TO HANDLE THEIR BUSINESS. TEACH THEM TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR ACTIONS. TEACH THEM NOT TO CHEAT AND LIE. TEACH THEM A WORK ETHIC. TEACH THEM THE IMPORTANCE OF PUNCTUALITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY. TEACH THEM THAT THERE ARE REAL CONSEQUENCES WHEN THEY DON'T HANDLE THEIR BUSINESS.
There is an epidemic of laziness, irresponsibility, and apathy in this country; too many people don't give a shit about handling their business- this attitude is reinforced through social media and parental apathy, and it's going to further ruin the generation of kids that are growing up now. Please teach your sons and daughters to have pride in their work, to try their hardest to be successful, and most importantly to take responsibility for their own success in all things.
This has been my rant/vent/TED talk- please have a wonderful, safe, restful, healthy, and fulfilling holiday season.
It was called βWelcome Back Kataβ
8 injured and 3 of them are in critical condition. They arrested a 15 year old boy, he used a semi automatic pistol. This is a nightmare come true for parents, this happens too often. I don't know why he did what he did but people died because of it.
I don't have much to say but wanted to bring this to your attention. Leave your thoughts
https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/30/us/michigan-oxford-high-school-incident/index.html
https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/local/2021/11/30/oxford-high-school-on-lockdown-due-to-emergency-situation/
A YouTube video of the shooter five years ago. He looked so innocent. What the hell happened?
https://youtu.be/j0D4tyfl81I
Update: A 4th student has died. https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/oakland/2021/12/01/oxford-high-school-shooting-update-michigan-avondale/8819241002/
Another update: Suspect has been identified as Ethan Crumbley and has been charged as an adult. https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/local/2021/12/02/oxford-high-school-officials-met-with-suspected-shooters-parents-just-hours-before-the-shooting/
This sounds so evil but sometimes I kinda wish I lived in an area where high school wasnβt as competitive so I had a higher chance of getting in to better colleges. That sounds so ignorant but the college process has become so dirty that I find myself thinking about stuff like that :( itβs so sad how college has me thinking in the lowest of ways to try to get to the top. Anyone else feel this way?
Clarification: Iβm not proud of how I feeling. Originally an international, I have experienced both sides of the coin and having less is always harder. No doubt it. This post was more to highlight how even after going to a place with many opportunities, one can still feel like theyβre hard work isnβt gonna be recognized. This is in no way to take away from those who have experienced hardships with schools; it is just to show how the process makes people in any place sell the dream and makes the miserable.
For context, I have a 4.98 W and there are still like 15-20 kids above me going up to a 5.2, all because I took band and they took another AP class instead. Thereβs a toxic culture here of being very cutthroat, and all our faculty basically overly encouraging and borderline forcing us to take APs because more test takens/higher scores means better rankings and more funding. Weβve had 3 su*#@%*s at our school in the past four years and even though we have good rankings, we were rated one of the worst for people feeling a sense of belonging.
I am definitely a better placed candidate for college than most, but there are some kids here who have the most insane ECs and well rounded in every single aspect, outshadowing anyone no matter how much work they have put in too.
I think I'm far enough away from my high school years to be asking about this (24 now, graduated high school when I was 17). That's the age I was really getting into listening to music and also started learning guitar.
My favorite bands then were: Muse, Arctic Monkeys, My Chemical Romance, Iron Maiden, The Killers, Kaiser Chiefs, Daft Punk, and Duran Duran
The first four are still some of my favorite bands (Muse being first by some distance). The rest I still really like and will happily keep them on if they show up in my shuffle. I think the majority of people here will agree all the artists I listed here are "alright" at the very worst, so what gives?
Every time I hear about the words "music taste" and "highschool" in spaces like this its normally meant as some kind of derisive remark against an artist or a person aka "That's a band you listen to in high school" or "people who listen to the same shit they used to in highschool" as if there must be something wrong with them.
It's not like I haven't expanded my horizons. I've been listening to stuff adjacent to those artists: Bowie, Floyd, Ghost, a lot of power metal bands. I just started exploring Radiohead's 21st century catalog.
I've been listening to more out there stuff, like music in Finnish and Russian, Elliott Smith, a whole lot of folk. I also listen to way more contemporary pop than I ever did in high school.
I still listen to the artists I listed at the top the a lot though. Not to relive memories or for nostalgia's sake (I fucking hated high school and will be glad to forget about it), but because I think most of them are legitimately good artists worth being talked about.
Am I just noticing this more than it actually exists? Is there a whole bunch of people projecting their own shitty tastes from their youth on to other people?
After a successful term last year, Oakland Serves is back at McClymonds High School for the 2018-2019 school year!
Setting this program apart from all other merit-based programs, Oakland Serves is a non-profit organization dedicated to serving students with the greatest academic needs or who are at-risk of dropping out of high school. We target students who are, under no fault of their own, falling through the cracks under the current educational system and provide support directly from the community.
If you are interested in joining Oakland Serves, it is not too late to sign up to be a mentor! Applications are continuously rolling all year and once clearances are completed (a few weeks process), a mentor will be matched with a student for the school year. Fill out our Expression of Interest form if you've thought about becoming a mentor or if you just want to know more.
Oakland Serves is a program that is currently active at McClymonds HS (located in West Oakland) and is building the partnerships and foundation to expand to many more schools across the city. We are always looking for more partners and persons experience with community outreach to build on our current momentum in the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD). If this is work you are also interested in, please send an email to oaklandserves@gmail.com and we would love to discuss more.
https://preview.redd.it/uhexymx12nt11.jpg?width=2603&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=12155187396e6242355395964d4a472beb17954b
