Anna Crombie

Changing schools from Leaside High to NTCI was a large step. I had expectations for greater amounts of work and tougher teachers, but the non-existing stress I felt at
Leaside cannot compare to the stress I feel as a student at North Toronto. So, when
comparing Leaside and North Toronto, I was expecting certain, clear results.

However, that was not the case. I had several questions prepared for a friend of mine from Leaside, who, not coincidentally, has the same average and courses. The
questions were fairly standard and straightforward, and consisted of questions
such as how many hours do you spend on homework per night and what is your
grade average. We also compared several of our tests, trying to determine which
was more difficult. To my disappointment, we found that the time we spend on
homework, our marks, and our tests were all fairly equal. I figured it was
possible that it was solely the switch from grade 10 to 11 that I found
challenging, but I was determined to get the results I was looking for.

So my friend and I began to talk about how we felt about our schools. We talked about our teachers grading and commitment, then we began to discuss some of our friends from Leaside’s grades. We began to see answers for my study. Many of the students we know from Leaside don’t work very hard. In fact, they spend near to none of
their time on school work, but manage to hold 70-75 averages. The majority of
the courses they take are what some call “bird courses”, the thought to be
easier, less academic courses. At Leaside, as I discovered from talking to my
friend, it is difficult to receive high marks, but almost anyone can maintain a
70 average by simply showing up to class every so often and handing in less
than mediocre assignments.

North Toronto, contrarily, does not have any easy courses. The so-called “bird courses” are very challenging. From my own experience, I spend more time studying for S.A.P. than I do on math. Myfriends at Leaside spend their S.A.P. classes watching movies. I
don’t believe that anyone at another school with a 90 average doesn’t work as
hard as a student at North Toronto with the same average. However, it can be
said that North Toronto definitely does not let students get by easily. What
makes North Toronto a particularly extra-ordinary school is the devotion of the
teachers and the hard working students.