"Fast Times At Stonelaw High"

A review of Stonelaw High by Rabbiecon written on Sunday 18th of November 2007

Ah! What a time I had at Stonelaw. From the moment 200 pint-sized newbies, with their parents' enthused words still ringing in their ears, clustered in the main playground like a herd of abandoned sheep up until the time 60 teenagers hugged each other and said their thanks to the various members of staff who had affected their lives, I will never forget my times at Stonelaw.

When we arrived the school had been open for only 3 years; the walls were pristine white, playgrounds were chewing gum-free and the carpets were still 'carpety'. For a young boy who had come from a primary school last modified in the 70s, this seemed like a completely different world.

The teachers were all unique. From the down-to-earth english teacher who you could imagine down the pub roaring at the football on the TV to the stuffy history teacher paroling the corridors in a tweed suit and on whom the phrase "taking your work home with you" was probably coined. Having eight teachers in that first year seemed a luxury for pupils accustomed to the one-a-year we had had previously.

Then our fellow classmates: the guy everyone used to ridicule, whether it was for having a complete set of Pokemon cards, playing the trumpet (at that age, musical talents of anykind were thought uncool and I successfully managed to keep my own hobby to myself) or that time when, for some reason, his dad had trimmed his hair and given him sideburns that began halfway up his scalp; the Big Guy - fairly rotund (you only had yourself to blame if you said it to his face) and also a bit slow, but had a warm heart; the Neutrals - people who did not really have any classification, kept themselves to themselves but ventured into the conversations; the Nutty Kid - the person who would most likely be seen sitting in a desk outside the classroom copying down scribbling down vital points on behaviour and mannerisms, the guy you knew would be working in a supermarket in a couple of years; the Bootlegger - nice enough guy who, through a list of contacts, could get you anything at a cut-price discount; the girls were just as varied. You could tell who would do well and have a great future and who would find themselves pregnant at age 23.

However, Stonelaw seemed to help us all aspire to something more. The teachers challenged us, propelled us, made us think for ourselves, learn more independently, be our own masters.

Throughout the years our perception and attitute to it all changed as we matured and began to empathize with the daily, never-ending task our teachers had in moulding scruffy, snot-nosed kids into the hopes of the future. We went from hating the big step-up to regretting the day we would walk out those silver gates for the last time. There were ups and downs (Getting that 'A' you knew would take you to University and failing a test by the lowest of margins). Good times and bad (dancing with the people closest to you at the proms and then breakdancing - with a kilt on - in a drunken stupor). Joyous and depressing.

Even if you had been knocked-off your feet, a few days at the school would lift your spirits, get you back to full fitness. Make you ready for the next challenge and face it head-on.

"Teachers,

getting us ready for our future,

we get mad,

cry,

yell,

laugh,

and have some of the happiest moments we could ever experience with our teachers. If anybody deserves to be recognized, it is our teachers. But no trophy or award could ever express our gratitude. The best gift that we could ever give our teachers

is to graduate and succeed in life. That's why they are here today and have dedicated their lives to teaching children who are special, smart, gifted, tall, thin and husky. That is exactly what a child is to a teacher, and that's why we can touch the sky, and when, God willing, we sometimes go beyond the moon." Andrea V. Gomez.

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