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Straight outta Weston

By adamg on Mon, 02/11/2008 - 9:00am

Larry Davidson, who teaches at Weston High School, recounts a couple of student discussions he overheard recently, including two kids discussing life in Compton:

... Why do the people in Compton think they have it so tough? Life is actually much harder for us in Weston. We have all this pressure to get good grades and get into the top colleges; they don't have that kind of stress in Compton! ...

Free tagging: 
Weston


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Comments

By Andrew on Mon, 02/11/2008 - 10:17am.

Good post, wrong subject line. The line we were looking for was "Straight Outta Weston."

By adamg on Mon, 02/11/2008 - 10:20am.

Indeed! I should have this taped to my monitor: Never blog before coffee! I have, of course, changed the headline because that sums it up much better; thanks!

By Gareth on Mon, 02/11/2008 - 10:45am.

Deuce it, old chap, when do I ever get to kick back with a Forty Ouncer? Where could one even buy a Forty Ouncer in Weston, I ask you? And what is a Forty Ouncer, anyway? I'd drink one, I really would! But I'm certain the folks would hold up my trust fund somehow.

By Mark on Mon, 02/11/2008 - 11:43am.

Sounds fishy to me. Do kids - even Weston kids - really say "Certainly not"? It sounds like a line from a movie. And the quote from "a girl" in his class. If it just happened recently, then the kids themselves would immediately know who she was. And kids today are internet-savvy, no? And quoting her publicly would come back to bite him in the ass, with her Weston parents pissed that he put her up to ridicule, no?

When the unverifiable story sounds too good, it usually is.

By tblade on Mon, 02/11/2008 - 12:15pm.

...the meat of the story is true but it is paraphrased. Plus, kids say what their parents say. I'm in my 20s and I still use some phrases I remember my grandparents using,

By ljd on Mon, 02/11/2008 - 2:05pm.

Yes, indeed, the meat of the story is true but paraphrased. However, while I don't remember for sure, I think that "certainly not" might have actually been her exact words, since that phrase sticks in my head. Although some Weston kids do talk like illiterate teenagers, a remarkable number can talk like the Ivy Leaguers they hope to become -- or even more pretentiously. For an extreme case, consider this email message (with all personal identifying material removed):

Today, at 1:26, my last block free was taken away from me by an event of utmost importance and non-negotiable timing. This presents difficulty in that I had hoped to rescue my math grade during that particular Block. I have noted that you do not teach during F Block, which occupies Lunch Block tomorrow, and hope that the quiz might be short enough that it would be conceivable for me to finish it during my lunch that period. If this is deemed an impossibility, I implore of you that you come into school early, that I might meet you and accomplish the quiz before even first block begins.

If Gareth wants "bizarre, archaic elocution," this is certainly it!

By stephencaldwell on Mon, 02/11/2008 - 2:07pm.

ensues.

By tblade on Mon, 02/11/2008 - 6:06pm.

Too bad it doesn't close with a "dictated, not read" and a cc distribution list, lol.

By Gareth on Mon, 02/11/2008 - 1:14pm.

Because somebody can't tell us who it was and provide a sound recording, it didn't happen? And this is suspected because of the bizarre, archaic elocution "Certainly not." Ooookay...

Publicity? Universal Hub, yeah, that's publicity off the charts. Repeating some random person's comments here is outing them - it's just like being on TV... except without the people watching. It's like shouting it through a megaphone ... except without the sound.

Man, you must have taken two ridiculous pills this morning instead of just one. You should wait until you have your coffee.

By MT on Mon, 02/11/2008 - 11:32pm.

Compton is a city, not a neighborhood in Los Angeles.

By Ron Newman on Mon, 02/11/2008 - 11:40pm.

as currently written, this is like referring to "Boston's Quincy neighborhood".

By adamg on Mon, 02/11/2008 - 11:46pm.

Fixed.