It is disturbing to me that the last hour my class has been discussing the recent news about our city. Our college ready rates are the lowest in New York. This is a disturbing concept, but instead of discussing the ways we, as a community, can solve these problems, our main focus has been our school. We are a school of arts. We have dancers, artists, writers, actors and tech majors. We are a unique society, and our graduation rates are superior to the entire district.

Yes, this is great news. We are proud of ourselves. We show a direct correlation between success and art programs. We prove the point of art and progress. But so what? Congratulations. We rock. What about everyone else? Our superintendent has a problem on his hands. He needs to figure out how to create more success in our district. No, he is not focusing on this school. We already stand as a success story. We are a mission already accomplished before he arrived. He has a lot more to deal with.

Unfortunately, this frequently leads him to think budget cuts should be deducted from arts. I agree. This is terrifying. We strive off of the arts here. We have new Mac computers which aide us in our creative writing learning. We have dance studios. We have art supplies, tech supplies, stage props, etc. Our programs are constantly challenged, and frankly, it sucks.

The superintendent obviously needs to figure something out. Something that does not harm us significantly and also helps the rest of our district. Let's figure out how. Maybe we should train our teachers a new way to teach. Maybe create tutor sessions, free of cost, for struggling students. We should gather, as a community, and fix this problem. We should not be pointing fingers and whining that we are not being recognized.

Aside from how frustrated I am by the last hour of discussion, I am also frustrated by the news. I don't know how things have escalated to the point where our "college ready" percentage is 5%. That is terrifying. I remember standing on the stage in 6th grade and listening to my elementary principal tell our parents that those graduating then were extremely unlikely to ever graduate high school. Since then, the problem had only progressed.

Who knows what the solution is, or if there is one? I don't. But we have to try. Our economy is in ruins. Oil is running out. Global warming is changing the world. We need new minds to get a chance to find solutions and to aide the world around us. If they are stuck searching for scraps
of money because they couldn't get a job, then how are they ever going to make a difference?

The youth is the future. Our future isn't looking great right now. We have to find a way to help. If the administrators of the district can't do it, then maybe the students can. Someone has to take a stand. Motivate yourself. Succeed for yourself. Do what you have to. Don't let these ridiculous statistics control you.