I'm in high school. When you go to school, there always is something you don't like, whether it be a subject, people there, or other things. Some people hate the bus ride. My school goes from kindergarten to grade 12, so there are annoying kids of all ages, but I don't mind. I somewhat have learned to ignore it. However, today, there was something I just couldn't ignore. One of the kids in Jr. High was making a fuss about how the janitor had been looking at him for a time period a little longer than usual. There's nothing wrong with that, but the thing that ticked me off is that he was mocking the janitor for his mental disability. Our janitor is a pretty nice guy, and he doesn't have social problems, I don't think. He just has speech difficulties. But when I heard this arrogant Jr high student mocking the physical appearance of the man, I couldn't sit still. So I spoke up, and said, "you shouldn't speak ill of people like that. Its disrespectful". I mean, you wouldn't want to be talked about behind your back, would you? After that, he kind of sat back in his seat and went quiet. I have to admit, I didn't think he would listen to me, knowing his reputation. But when he did, I felt a little sense of power and satisfaction that I had done something a senior should but not a lot do.
Have you ever read the short story "Flowers for Algernon"? (I think that how you spell it). If you haven't, I recommend it. It really made me think, what would it be like to be retarded, and then acquire average intelligence? If everyone made fun of me without me knowing, I'd be pretty pissed. So how does our janitor feel? Well I think he knows he has a speech disability of some sort, and he probably knows that a lot of kids at his workplace make fun of him. When I realized this, I started to feel bad for him. Really, I would hate to be in his position. So I made a mental note to observe how much gossip there is about our staff (besides teachers).
I wonder if our teachers notice this stuff in the hallways?
No comments:
Post a Comment