Editor’s Note: Negotiations made students truly think for themselves

By Danny Kelleher
Editor-in-Chief

Amid the hostility that swept Costa in the first weeks of school, the two fundamental presences in the maturation of so many students, our teachers and our parents, were pitted against each other.
The internal conflict I’ve gone through personally can best be illustrated through my political views. My parents planted the liberal seed in me before I could even consciously think, and although I had maintained those standpoints through my sophomore year, I was for the most part uninformed. Then I started junior year.
I know some students complain when teachers insert biases into their lectures, but I must say, I enjoyed every second of Mr. Fauver’s left wing-slanted rants. He showed me history as not just a series of interconnected facts, but instead a series of interconnected stories. I already believed a lot of what he had to say, but I still gained an interest in current events and politics that hadn’t been there before through him.
Who’s responsible for giving me the thoughts that are in my head, my parents, or my teachers? My parents most definitely laid the foundation for my liberal leanings, but at the same time, would they still be there if I hadn’t had someone like Fauver to reinforce them? I don’t think there’s a right answer, but I know that if specifics and names are removed, this becomes a pretty common story for Costa students.
Whether or not it was intentional, the teachers’ tactics made enemies of pretty much everyone but, well, the teachers. District parents were outraged that teachers were denying privileges to their children, and many district teachers were indifferent in the face of overwhelming amounts of anger and criticism.
I think it goes without saying that I love and appreciate my teachers more than I can express in words. I harbor no resentment toward them for using scare tactics to grab the community’s attention, and I’m definitely happy to see they got a raise. At the same time, though, I understand that the district also genuinely cares about the students, which makes the fact that we were constantly pressured to choose between the two all the more tragic. Our loyalties and cares were torn in two opposite directions.
But to me, the saddest part through all of this was how the students responded. Not to say I wish more students had taken one side or the other, but it’s sad that although students stood up and asked for a quick end to negotiations, hardly any took the time to learn about the issue and form factual opinions for how to actually bring the dispute to an end. Students banded together to plead for a fast resolution but never attempted to propose how to actually bring one.
As a member of the Class of 2013, I’m getting closer and closer to my entrance into true independence. I constantly strive to think for myself, but I try even harder to not just think about myself. As I prepare for adulthood, I’m starting to understand that no matter who taught me how to think, I’m the one that’s thinking now. And I owe it to myself to think independently by having opinions that are informed, no matter what those opinions are.