25 October 1999

A View From Tupper - THE COMMENTARY

By Joseph Planta

I’ve been going to Sir Charles Tupper Secondary since grade 8, and unless something unfortunate happens, I intend to graduate from there in the spring of 2000. It’s no secret the school’s been getting a bum’s rap, not only from other schools, but from the press as well. Instead of the “serious” stuff I usually do, let me write something about Tupper. I’m a little split on whether Tupper is a bad or a good school. I guess I can’t accurately do a proper criticism, since I haven’t been to any other high school these last 4 years. What I can provide is the opinion of someone that actually goes there, not some jaded reporter who’s covering the school just like another lead on the beat. In the last year or so, we’ve seen: the school get the thumbs down from the Fraser Institute, had some unpleasant PR nightmares with a school stabbing and a swindling accountant, and that’s just the beginning of the morale decay that’s plagued Tupper for years.

It’s bad enough to have right-wing zealots or some blood-hungry press flacks, shitting on the school, but when almost-dissent sounding voices are being heard from within, it sounds disheartening. I will admit, I am not a dye-in-the-wool Tupperite. I’ve never felt impassioned to participate willingly in school based pep rallies or things of that nature. Tupper is not a bad school, at least it’s not like the high schools depicted in a movie by John Singleton or Spike Lee, thank goodness. It’s a school, just like any school, in this city, this province, this continent; it has its problems, but they are minuscule problems, things we can fix, but things we think we can’t fix or just don’t fix, at all. The problems lie in the leadership, and the damned cloud of bureaucracy that somehow made it’s way to 419 East 24th.

We’re far better off than some of our fellow schools in this district. We seem to get along with everyone, no matter the colour of skin or religious conviction. Tupperites reading this, will find that comment redundant, because to us, it’s so damned normal. Van Tech, on the other hand, the crown jewel of this city’s east side, can’t keep their student populous in a peaceful, and positive environment. We happen to excel sometimes, and we manage to carry oursleves without the negative pomp and anal-retentive behavior exhibited by other schools.

I’ll be perfectly honest, I am sometimes known to bitch publicly about something about Tupper that irks me. It’s usually a useless, insignificant thing, because there’s nothing major to complain about. But, that doesn’t mean it’s all happy and wonderful. We have a long ways to go in making the school work together. The powers that be have to realize that students need to play a role in major decision making, as well that they the leaders do not always know best. When properly evaluating something, you have to look at the bigger picture. Tupper is lucky, in that it doesn’t have metal detectors at its front door, or something degrading or autocratic like that. It’s fortunate that we have such diversity, in the teachers and students. We may not measure up to Churchill or Kitsilano academically, but when groups of students are fighting at other schools, constantly, on such dick issues like what colour bandanna they’re wearing; I’m happy going to Tupper.

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An archive of Joseph Planta's previous columns can be found by clicking HERE .