Submitted by An Overachieving Bronx Science Student, Oct 13, 2007 01:32

This article leaves so many blanks.

How do you take the best and the brightest and not respect their voice?

I cannot remember the last time any student government branch made an actual impact on the school. In Bronx Science, the student feels suffocated by a dictatorship. This is not an ideal way to learn. We are taught not to use our own voices, but if we want something done to have our parents either write letter, after notorized letter, or actually come into the school and speak to the authorities. I was told, "there is no way to go over individualized cases." As I grow older, the lessons I learned in elementary school of speaking up and empowerment are overshadowed by the bells of authority.

The arbitrary rules that exist and the way they are enforced is a serious issue to my peers and me. There is no such thing as "individualized instruction." How can there be in a school with over 2,700 students? oxymoron? What happened to the outstanding college support program led by alumnus Brian Choi? How can individualized learning and teaching exist in an environment led by tests and overregulation? In addition, no one helps students create their schedules and learn of the different choices that exist to fulfill the graduation requirements to maximize individualized instruction.

In fact, trying so hard to compete with the actual number one school in the city, Stuyvesant, Ms. Reidy (no not Dr.) will not even level the playing field in terms of periods per day. Stuyvesant, with 10 periods a day of about 42 minutes each, affords students to take that extra elective or ap and still have a free period. At Bronx Science, with 46 minute long periods, and the same length school day we have 9 periods, prohibiting students from the extra class or valuable free time .

The administration thinks the way to change students is through punishment not reward. For a school claiming its NEW motto is "Put us first because we put you first" I cannot see how this holds true in any aspect of student life.

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