Ahron Seeman<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s look at the real conflict at NT.\u00a0 Surprisingly, perhaps, I\u2019m not talking our
\nrivalry with Northern. Or our beef with the mall cops at the food court (who,
\nin other news, on page 32, refused to be interviewed by Graffiti). It\u2019s a kind
\nof conflict within our school, between many students and several teachers. It\u2019s
\nnot the usual bickering \u2013 about cell phones, late slips, exams or marks \u2013 but
\nyou could say it\u2019s all-inclusive. It\u2019s about the power of a conventional wisdom:
\nthat NT is the hardest school around.<\/p>\n
If there are two things that most of us students really learn to believe, it\u2019s that whatever else we\u2019re learning is overly difficult and that students at other schools have it much easier. The belief goes like this: we have the most work, the most competition, and the
\nmost demanding schedules, and this leaves students stressed. And there is no
\ndoubt about it, some say, because this claim is supported with reason. Many
\nstudents point to EQAO scores, Fraser Institute rankings and student-census
\ndata to prove it.<\/p>\n
Teachers don\u2019t buy it. By and large, they believe that such a divide \u2013 between NT and other schools \u2013 is as nonexistent as winter exams at Lawrence (or practically any other non-semestered school). Every teacher disagrees with students on slightly different grounds, however. Some of them argue that the students\u2019 belief is a product of inflated egos. One teacher attributed it to asbestos from the old building taking its toll on the
\nhead\u2019s of students, but I suppose that excuse no longer makes sense \u2013 as if it
\never did. A few teachers even lecture on how much harder students have it in
\nKorea and Singapore where, they say, rigorous curriculum seriously damages the
\nlives of students. Others suggest that NT students are just really
\ndramatic.<\/p>\n
Intrigued, this issue of Graffiti set out to answer the question, with as little bias as possible: Is NT harder than other schools or are we just imagining it? In doing so, 5 writers went into 5 other schools in order to compare them to NT on a variety of different measures \u2013 standards of marking, workload, extracurricular involvement and more. Chloe Li risked her life reporting from Northern, while Sabina Wex chose to play it
\nsafe at CHAT, a private Jewish school. Anna Crombie tells us about Leaside High
\nSchool, and her experience transferring from there this year. Emily Dyer braved
\nthe Lawrence Park Goons, the visor-wearing, BMW-driving, self-named band of
\nstudents there (says Urban Dictionary), while Sarah Ratzlaff checked out St.
\nClements, where the \u201cClementines\u201d (..their name, not mine) prefer to rock red
\nblazers and frumpy blue dresses.<\/p>\n
Although these articles provide good perspective, this special does not pretend to be the final word on the matter. Instead, we hope that they inspire you \u2013 students and teachers \u2013 to look around, like these writers have, and form your own opinions. Maybe Northern really does smell as bad as I\u2019m told \u2013 someone spunky check it out and let me
\nknow. If this has proven anything, it is that there is only one final answer:
\nevery school is different.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Northern<\/a><\/p>\n Lawrence Park<\/a><\/p>\n CHAT<\/a><\/p>\n St. Clement’s<\/a><\/p>\n Leaside<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ahron Seeman Let\u2019s look at the real conflict at NT.\u00a0 Surprisingly, perhaps, I\u2019m not talking our rivalry with Northern. Or our beef with the mall cops at the food court (who, in other news, on page 32, refused to … Continue reading