Is Westside Really That Bad?

Westside has a bad reputation in the minds of others but I’m here to today to challenge is the school really that bad?

First, let’s take a look at school that gets a lot of praise for being a “good school”. Paxon the school of advanced studies is a top school in America, however the working conditions and discrimination between students and teachers should be intolerable. Rumors about teachers messaging students in an  unprofessional manner which are still seniors is absolutely jaw dropping. Students getting shamed by teachers for what they wear with a sexist reaction. “it leaves too little for the imagination”. Racism is also quite prevalent between students and teachers both. It creates a unsafe place for people of color. But let’s compare that to westside who has a club reinforcing the leadership of poc students. Westside the said “bad school” has solutions to these issues but the “good school” doesn’t?

But let’s compare that to a school in a nicer area. Fletcher high school is located in the Jacksonville beach area which is incredibly high end. Ranked in the top 200 high schools in America you would expect it to be good and have a healthy environment. According to former student Haleigh Tatman that is not the case at all. Student discrimination and segregating into groups with labels. “Goon Lagoon” is a place deemed where the “nerds” and or “losers” stayed and were shamed for their interest. The “cool kids” would say insults and discriminate against their fellow students who are deemed a “nerd” it’s not just a cool kid vs nerd dynamic, band kids, art kids, and everyone who doesn’t fit the cool kid stereotype got insulted and bullied. Where were the teachers during this? Nowhere. The students showed no respect to the teachers. They couldn’t hold any respect with the students and couldn’t keep them calm of any kind. There was a rule the sub has 15 minutes before everyone left the class and went to do their own thing in the halls. “Throwing trash everywhere”, The way Haleigh describes the school is hellish and unfair. The amount of fights mentioned are unbelievable. There is a social media dedicated to the fights that’s how out of hand it got. Westside has fights as well but faculty is cutting down on it. Enforcing stricter rules and punishment to the people who fight. Unlike Fletcher, Westside strives for a better future. We are no longer Forest high school, it is Westside. We strive to move forward from our controversial past and move on into a better future.