Schools
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Debunking myths and confirming realities of elite high schools
Most of the problems high schoolers face in Silicon Valley are first-world problems, but that doesn’t make them any less painful for us. As I prepare to start my first semester of college—online, of course—I’ve been joining countless group chats to talk with my future peers about what their high school experiences were like, and to my surprise, they were drastically different from mine growing up in Silicon Valley.
This has given me time to reflect on what my high school experience was like at Cupertino High School and how it may be different from that of others. Most people…
A lesson plan for losing
It’s time to head back to school! Have you gotten your children all the basics? New pens and a new lunchbox? Sanitizer, masks, and a Paw Patrol–themed hat that circulates air at the speed of light around your child’s face?
Sorry to break it to you, but your kid won’t be needing any of that stuff this year: There’s no way you’re sending your kid back to school this fall. You know that, right?
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Don’t worry about the wasted supplies…
My family’s struggle to measure school quality by more than just a number
The day we committed to enrolling our firstborn in a “5 out of 10” public elementary school in California, I walked probably a hundred laps around its grounds. Thinking and praying, with my eyes peering through the metal fence at the kids playing in the yard, I looked for some sign that we had made the right decision, consumed by the battle my tiger-mom instincts were waging with my idealistic side.
I weighed the warm tour we had with the thoughtful principal against the mediocre test scores we saw online. I feared that the decision my husband and I made…
The average wage in the San Francisco tech industry is now $176K a year. While this certainly is cause for celebration if you’re in tech, such a wage largess comes with a number of consequences. As neighborhoods get face-lifted and rents skyrocket, longtime San Francisco families are being forced to leave their homes. Homelessness, evictions, outrageous rent, displacement: these are the issues that are debated in passionate (and sometimes entitled) conversations. Clearly, the tech boom is causing serious shifts in San Francisco communities.
San Francisco’s public schools are being rocked by these recent economic and social shifts. Public-school teachers are…
By Ashley Harrell
I was recently at a bar with a friend when I told him something I hoped would impress him.
“I’m going to become a clown,” I said.
“What?” he asked.
“A clown. I’m going to a weekend clowning workshop.”
“Why?”
“Because I’ve always wanted to be a clown.”
My friend looked at me like I had molested his children. When the bartender came over to refill our drinks, he reported me.
“She’s going to be a clown,” he said. “What do you think of clowns?”
The bartender made a lemon-suck face. “Scary,” she said.
When I brought up my plan with another friend, she told me about a clown who works in a hospital where she gets regular treatment. “He’s horrible,” she said. “I’m trying to get him fired.”
…
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