I am a senior this year, which means I’ve already spent almost four years here and I’ve seen all the different types of administrators and teachers that have come and left our school. Not all are created equal, but all students should be treated equally no matter who is in these positions.

Contrary to popular belief, some adults at our school play favorites and stereotype some students and treat them unfairly based on their perceptions about students. Some of these stereotypes could be warranted, but many are not. Stereotyping should not be a factor in our day-to-day school life, especially when it comes to enforcing rules. This should be equal, especially coming from adults.

Not all, but quite a few teachers have certain students they like better than others, so they treat them differently. When a teacher uses a stereotype to pigeonhole a student in a certain category, they sometimes treat them differently than students not in this “category.” Some teachers don’t realize this could affect students because a student notices when a teacher is kinder to the ones they like and colder to the ones they stereotype. 

Some will let certain students get away with things because of organizations or sports they are in. I’ve even had teachers who were only nice to the smart students, which prevented me from understanding a lot in their classes because of the fear how annoyed she’d get if I asked questions. There are a lot of students who have similar fears and lack of understanding about certain subjects and that will cause our collective perfornance on tests to decline.

 Even administrators have their favorites, some will allow specific students to help them in their offices or just hang out in there. I’ve seen administrators with what seems like bias against certain body types or certain appearances. This has not been about the dresscode, but I feel that students shouldnt be seen as an unsuccesful student for their appearance. 

There are so many different types of people here and we can always improve ourselves and how we view others. I’ve seen the separation of students with a higher income from their family and students who need financial aid. They are not treated the same, students that can’t spend three dollars on regular balanced lunch, but are given food that is less filling and worse than the food students typically pay for. 

Students deserve to be treated fairly, no matter their gender or their income. Most of us spend four years here and we keep trying. High school is not the same as it used to be. It’s not as cliquey as in the movies or the past. Teachers can have favorites, I know some who do, but that doesn’t mean students should be treated differently or better. We are all here, we don’t usually choose to be, but we are still here. We’re just looking for an even playing field.