The Benefits of Attending an Inner-City School :: Personal Narrative Essays

The Advantages of Attending an Inner-City School Imagine having a gun stare you straight in the face. What do you do? How do you react? Luckily most people do not have to face a situation like this in their lives. However, this happened to me once while walking to my high school which is located in the middle of a large city. Another young man who was walking past me decided to show off in front of his friends and show them how "manly" he really was. Without saying a word, he walked up to me and began punching me. Once I began fighting back, he pulled out a gun and pointed it straight at me. After seeing this, I ran as fast as I could towards my school, hearing the group of boys laughing hysterically behind me. While this occurrence by no means typifies St. Ignatius High School, going to school did prove to be dangerous at times. While most people hold the belief that inner-city schools can only hinder the learning process, I would argue that these schools provide experiences which enrich one's education simply because of their loc ation in the city. To clarify this point, I must first describe the ways in which Saint Ignatius High School is different from the typical inner-city school. Most people define inner-city schools as institutions which are in the city and have a comparatively inferior education system. This private, Catholic institution consists mostly of white students who come from wealthy families. Although Saint Ignatius is in the city, it also gives its students one of the best educations in the state. In fact, the surrounding city contrasts the school in almost every way. Robberies and fights occur almost daily in this poor area of the city. Mexicans make up the majority of the residents in the surrounding neighborhood. The minute I stepped off the campus of the school, I realized I had entered an entirely new world. Society usually tends to focus on the negative side of inner-city schools. Many people like to stereotype these schools which, while these generalizations may be true in some cases, tend to be exaggerated most of the time. People think that the students of these schools receive inferior educations. My school is regarded as one of the best in the state. People also believe that violence occurs on a daily basis, both in the school itself and in the surrounding city.