So, I went out for coffee with two friends. One of them is a school teacher at a private school. I was amazed by the stories she told me about the students. My other friend worked in a school for a couple of months and then left to seek other challenges in the NGO sector.
My knowledge of students and schools is limited to two girls in my building and one boy; they are the only kids in school in our building. The three are in public schools, with the girls wearing green uniforms. I’ve never actually seen the boy in his uniform, but he’s about 14 and has recently taken up smoking.
Well, my friend has four kids in her 10th-grade class. One of them can’t read or write except for his name. There are two girls with learning disabilities, and the last girl is without disabilities. Just imagine, a boy in school who can’t read or write except for his name!
She called his parents, and his mom came the next day. The mom told my friend that her son is only in school because, when he grows up and wants to get married, they will ask him what his degree is. She said that his dad owns a factory and is very rich, and the boy already works there. He doesn’t want to go to school, but she made him just to reach high school.
In the 9th grade, she has a girl with many tattoos. Apparently, her parents are divorced, and she lives with her mom, who works as a flight attendant. The mom leaves her teenage daughter alone for days while she is away.
She has two girls in the 9th grade who are apparently lesbians. One teacher spotted them multiple times showing heavy affection to each other. The principal of the school said that the parents of these girls are people with means and power; “Don’t mess with them, or you will be finished here,” he warned. A few teachers were kicked out because of those girls.
One of the boys attends school from around 9:30 to 1:00; his mom drops him off and picks him up at those times.
She said that 75%-80% can’t read or write at the basic level, and they come from rich families.
With those horror stories I heard today, and seeing the habits of the teens in my building, her stories are highly credible. The two teen girls in my building have discreet parties on the roof with smoking and hookah when their parents aren’t around. As for the teen boy, he has a lot of female visitors himself, but nothing unusual about his activities, as far as I know.
Two generations down the line, the two requirements to go to university will be a check and a damn pencil.
