To Be Black at Stuyvesant High

New York Times ^ | February 25, 2012 | FERNANDA SANTOS

[Boogieman]

My strategy was a mohawk, steel-toed combat boots and a bad attitude. Most of the time, they’d look for an easier target because they are usually cowards.

[Right Wing Assault]

What I meant by average or below average student was brains not grades. Obviously you are very bright. Stupid people do not get good SATs. No amount of tricks or training will get them good scores. Raise them a few points, sure, but not any large amount. Sister John Thomas taught you to use the brains you already had.

[patriciaruth]

Fascinating. Thanks!

[achilles2000]

I think you will find that whites with children for decades have been moving out of areas of NYC that you can reasonably get to Stuyvesant from. The reasons are the cost of living in the city and other lifestyle considerations. On the other hand, there are still a lot of first generation immigrant Asians living in tenement-like conditions who expect their children to work hard on academics.

[philman_36]

To let you know how unprepared I was for this school, I remember when the first time the math prof wrote "Sin_of_X " on the board I thought he was talking about sin in the spiritual realm.
How could you "eat up the SAT" when you didn't even know basic trig terminology relating to angles?

That's rudimentary 7th grade stuff and you didn't see it till you went to college!?

You're a veritable walking indictment of your school system, wherever that was.

[STARWISE]

Good for you. If all true .. you made an incredible
strides to improve yourself, and God bless you. It
takes such persistence and drive to succeed, and it
sounds like you took it upon yourself to put in the
work and time to achieve your goals.

As a Catholic, I’m SO sick of the twisted and
perverse nun and priest snickers and jokes and
about the Catholic church, when, in addition to
all the outreach and giving to so many, millions
of youngsters have been set on the right course
for life in Catholic schools, and taught discipline,
how to learn and thereby insure their futures by
these mostly wonderful, caring selfless servants
(discounting the outliers who like all groups of
imperfect humans can have questionable personal
character/moral issues).

Of course, now Obama has to damage the Church
and her compassionate outreaches, along with
everything else good and holy in this nation to
bully it and bring it to its knees for the
fulfillment of his monstrous, despicable, radical
mission.

God, help us .. hear our prayers. If you pray,
please do.