"Bad." That was the word Ryan chose to use when asked about the state of Juanita High School. Of course when someone speaks out against their own high school in a negative manor, something must be wrong. Earlier last week a threat made against students was found in the girl's bathroom of the high school, resulting in school being cancelled on Friday. "No matter where you go, school should be a safe place, not a place where your life may be in jeopardy," Ryan stated upon discussing Juanita's cancellation of school. As we discussed this topic, Ryan made it very clear that he's open to transferring schools not just due to the threats, but to also enhance his learning. Currently Ryan is taking the normal core classes, with a few honors courses mixed in, along with PE and Spanish. He enjoys his classes for the most part, but mentioned that a few teachers have "very dry lesson plans." Ryan feels that due to these unengaging lesson plans, he isn't learning as well as he feels he should be. Though the school aspect hasn't been great for Ryan, one thing he says he enjoys very much has been the sports. Growing up Ryan played Basketball, Baseball, and Football, but since entering high school he's chosen to focus on basketball and baseball. I asked him about his first year of high school basketball and he stated, "it was a great experience, I was able to meet new friends and most importantly grow as a basketball player." Ryan made the most of his situation and was 1 of 3 freshman on JV. With baseball starting at the end of February, Ryan seemed really excited to get back in the swing of things. "Hopefully I can contribute to whatever team I'm on," Ryan said. One goal he made clear was that he hopes to get some varsity playing time at some point.
As the sports talk began to get dry, I wanted to end Ryan and I's talk by seeing if he had any ideas on how to make Juanita a better place. "I'm not really sure what I'd do, I just know something needs to change," Ryan stated. Though Ryan was unable to come up with a solution to the problem at Juanita, obviously something needs to be done. School should be a place where students are safe, and a place where every student is able to learn. Going forward I hope Juanita is able to change and become a better school, especially for Ryan's sake.