by Tobias Van Buren

Created on: July 11, 2008

My reply to a newspaper article on this subject

May 27, 2008

Yoav:

I read your article on the situation between two schools - one a junior high (I mean middle-school - a grade difference), the other a senior high - Foundations Academy and Urban Environment. Interesting the names of these schools - perhaps part of the problem. But I am not going to elaborate on that now.

I was a student in junior high school during the years Fall '52 through June '55, entering high school September 1955 - when "Rebel Without a Cause" came out - a world of a difference between students of those two schools. What we have to realize here is that Middle School or Junior High School students are coming out of Elementary schools having reached the age of puberty - most certainly that by the time they are in these secondary schools. Both boys and girls are pumping up their hormones, and it goes beyond the sexual - the hormones acting like Adrenalin - affecting both mental and physical behavior. These kids want to 'prove' something, and it doesn't take much to get them doing it! It often goes even into violent behavior - against those who are outside their realm - picking on both younger and older students - adults too! - rebellion! When in great enough numbers, the younger students have no fear of older students, who by now have begun to slow down and get to work getting an education. Hopefully, it will happen with these younger students as well, but they need to get there - get over this period.

I was very much bullied in junior high school, because I looked meek - 'nerdy' - tall but lanky in appearance, blond - no substance to me. I also had a rather high voice - it never really lowering that much to this day (somewhat, being I'm 68 - that somewhat husky 'old age' voice now - thank God!). I dressed in accordance to the established 'norms' of the day - neatly pressed slacks, buttoned shirts, regular shoes/loafers, short hair combed conservatively. I was generally a quiet kid, friendly enough but otherwise shy. I took to the arts programs in school - choir and general drawing, painting, etc. I did better than average in my studies, but I was no genius - not quite of that crowd - no memberahip in special awards programs. But I averaged a 'B', got some As, a few Cs.

There have always been problem students in schools from as far back as America goes - I'm sure! Every generation has had its bad kids, good kids - movies made about it in the '30s, just when movies had begun having talkies. It

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