Ask The High School Student

[zoid]

Like most of the threads he starts I suspect Qin isn’t returning.

That may not be particularly egregious in most cases but I think if you start an “Ask The…” type thread you should be ready to respond. It’s been 9 days now with no sight of him; apparently he once again lost interest after the first few hours.

[corkboard]

In his defense, the OP just solicits the questions. He never said he’d answer them.

[Qin_Shi_Huangdi]

Sorry I’ve been busy with school so I’ve been unable to answer till now. But I do try to come back to the threads. I think this is all the questions…

@Spoons

What languages does your school offer? What others would you like to see offered, and why?

French, Spanish, and Japanese are offerred. I’d like to see German and perhaps Mandarin offerred because the former is a Germanic language and is an important European language and the latter due to the sheer importance of China.

@Eve

Do you envy or pity us old-timers who went to high school 40 or 50 years ago? I am grateful the internet did not exist then–it was bad enough being bullied and teased in front of my class; being bullied and teased in front of the whole world would have been insupportable.

Though I must admit doing research must be easier now–in my day we went to The Library and took out The Book. If someone else was using The Book, we waited.

I kind of pity those who went to high school forty or fifty years ago-not just because of lack of tech but because in many cases fights, bullying, abuse etc. seemed to be less noticed then.

@corkboard

As the parent of two pre-teens who will be starting HS in the next few years, I’m curious- are HS kids having as much casual sex as the reports will have us believe? Is sexting as commonplace as it seems? Is oral sex as freely given as makeout sessions were back in the day?

Not that I know of. I don’t know one high schooler who is sexually active (at least that I know) or engages in “sexting”.

@olivesmarch4th

Are there any out LGBT students at your school? How are they treated?

A few and they aren’t treated differently. However that said lots of kids do use terms like “gay” or “fag”.

@lorene

What time are your lunch periods? The last time I worked with kids in junior high and high school, some of their lunch periods were absurdly early, even given the early start to their day.

About thirty minutes from 12:14 to 12:46.

@Nawth_Chucka

What single thing (item, idea etc) would make your school day more enjoyable than it is right now?

Probably having a short break in the morning like in elementary and middle school.

@YogSosoth

Do you have classes where you get to debate your political views, either as part of an assignment or through feedback to the teacher? How were your expressed views taken by the rest of the class and the teacher?

Not this year so far but in Geography last year we often discussed the news and major world issues. And they mostly at least tolerated my views when I was being serious. But I often intentionally engage in anachronistic, hyperbolic, ultra-partisan rhetoric which makes me look like Joseph de Maistre which just amuses people.

@septimus

Do you and your schoolmates worry about loss of privacy in the Internet age?

Your privacy is partially protected by posting here with the pseudonym Qin. Do you worry that answering specific questions here will lead to your identity with Qin being more widely known?

(I’m old enough that in that not-so-distant future, few will know or care about anything septimus wrote. But you’ve got decades ahead of you…)

I don’t see anyone really concerned about privacy. My parents are but not the kids. And I don’t see any harm if my RL identity were revealed.

@ZipperJJ

How much did the recent shootings at Chardon High School get discussed at your school?

Do you guys have a “lockdown” procedure like they had in Chardon? That is, a practiced procedure that goes into effect when there is a violent person/shooter in the school.

I don’t think the shooting was discussed at all but we have a lockdown procedure. It’s been used a couple of times in elementary and middle school once because a fugitive was nearby and once because of a “water sprout”.

@DrumBum

Got a date for the prom ?

I never did…

No. Although I don’t see anyone really suitable at my school (and it has 3,300 people).

@Autolycus

What’s the Facebook culture right now? Also, I know Twilight was big a year back or so. What’s the big “in” thing these days?

@Katriona

My WAG would be “The Hunger Games” books, what with the movie coming out this week.

This. Hunger Games has a far broader base of fans too.

@dalej42

Do substitute teachers still assign busy work that is never even looked at by the regular teacher when he/she gets back to school? That used to annoy me. I’d spend an hour writing about an article I read and then the essay was thrown in the trash.

The teacher usually gives the sub a video to show us and has us take notes. A few points of easy EC.

@drdrizzy13

Do you see much racism in your school? And, what are the race divisions?

Not real racism but people make lots of racial jokes (usually about their own race). What is meant by race divisions exactly?

[zoid]

Gald to see you back.

[Tristan]

@Qin_Shi_Huangdi

Not real racism but people make lots of racial jokes (usually about their own race). What is meant by race divisions exactly?

This makes me happy.