The So So Supporter

The other day when I was watching the local news, I made a connection between TV and my 11 AP English class, which is odd because it seems like those two things would be the last to associate with each other. After reading “The Partly Cloudy Patriot” in class, I noticed how the author, Sarah Vowell, takes an intermediate stance on a particular topic and realized that I relate to how she positions herself while I listened to the news that evening. She considers herself a “partly cloudy patriot” since she supports patriotism at times, but does not agree with every aspect, such as how patriots will “shrink from the service of their country” in crisis, but she will not (Vowell 1060). I hold a similar position regarding the reputation of schools with all of the recent terrorism. Schools definitely have beneficial intentions, yet they also cause me to fear for being critically injured while simply trying to further my education, which has led me to becoming a so so supporter on whether schools are actually as beneficial as they seem.

My supportive side claims that attending school is essential because students can acquire a significant amount of knowledge, meet many friends and learn appropriate behavior throughout their experience. This applies to my own education, as it has been relatively pleasant so far (that is if I disregard all of the stress I've recently developed). However, my opposition associates with the increased danger in schools within the last several years, which has raised serious concerns for families, staff and administrators. This is exactly why I have settled for the position as a so so supporter. On the one hand, schools cannot be blamed for the violence and are improving their approaches to maintaining safety, but terrorists might also be able to manipulate their way around these new plans, thus leading to danger. Another option is for students to just learn at home instead of school, providing a less likely chance of terrorism, but then they would lose the beneficial communication with peers and teachers that attending school offers. These troublesome contradictions are why I consider myself a so so supporter on the true benefits that schools provide.