Marvin Ridge Compare And Contrast

Having gone to two different high schools I got to experience, firsthand, just how different two schools in the same county can be. Marvin ridge and Weddington High School are completely different in their appearance, their students and their academics.
Marvin was the first high school that I attended. Its nickname was " Marvin Rich". The Ridge had a certain feeling to it when you stepped foot in its doors, almost as if the air was filled with exhaust from pricey cars and cologne from name brand stores. Flat screen TVs and Smartboards were part of every classroom and were in most of the hallways. It was pointless to have all these TVs because all they played were announcements that no one ever read. The newest laptops and textbooks decorated …show more content…
You were in a constant battle for the top. Being the only school that offers the IB program, Marvin Ridge was determined to have the smartest kids with the highest GPAs. The IB program is one step above the AP classes that most schools offer their students. With this program it was almost impossible to have a social life but it guaranteed you that your GPA would rise significantly. It was almost impossible to rise up in your class rank when in came to academic placement. People would do whatever it took to get a good grade, even going as far as printing the answers to a test onto water bottle labels. When grades were passed out, you could rest assured that every eye that could catch a glimpse at your score did so. Whatever it took to get to the top. Many students were caught plagiarizing, cheating and lying in order to get a higher grade. The competitive atmosphere there was almost more harmful than it was helpful to the students.
I couldn’t stand the competitive and pretentious atmosphere of Marvin Ridge, so my sophomore year of high school I transferred to Weddington High which was just a few miles down the road. Most of the students that were at Marvin had come from Weddington after the school became over populated. I was nervous to see if the schools would be all too similar, however Weddingtons nickname was Weed-ington, so my fears were not too great. I was pleasantly surprised at what I …show more content…
No one flaunted their grades or checked to see how many AP classes you were taking that semester. Everyone moved at the pace they were comfortable with and no one said anything to them about it. You could put in as much or as little effort as you wanted. And that was okay. People smiled more in class. We watched more movies and had more discussions, even if they were not on topic. For example in my psychology class, my teacher told us all about his life when he was in high school and college, and all of his crazy adventures. He taught us many life lessons in that class, and even though I learned nothing about psychology, I can honestly say that it was my favorite class that year. I took his class twice more before I graduated.
After my first year at Weddington I knew that I belonged there. The overall atmosphere compared to Marvin Ridge was so much more relaxed, with how the building looked, how the students interacted, and how much the teachers cared put me at ease. At Marvin, it felt like an academic prison. At Weddington, it felt like