Undercover High - General Discussion

[Wildeman]

On 2/9/2018 at 5:23 AM, Whimsy said:

Still not really in love with this show, but this is the topic I was most interested in hearing about.  I have personal experiences with bullying.  First, I was bullied all through elementary school through 9th grade.  Also, my daughter was cyber bullied.  I feel like bullying is practically an epidemic now that kids can literally keep up their torture 24 hours a day with social media.  Kids just can't get away from it.  It breaks my heart that it's such a problem and I feel there needs to be stricter and enforceable laws about online bullying.  When my daughter was being bullied online I was told that the administration for her school couldn't do anything about it because the kids bullying her didn't go to her school.  The other school said they couldn't do anything about it because my daughter didn't attend THAT school so it was a real clusterfuck.

Did Erin look way too pleased with herself that she was the bully?  She should've been a bit more careful with her words.  She seemed a bit too smug. 

I also noticed several people smirking on camera.  I mean, I get that they're kids and they may be kind of hamming it up for the cameras anyway, but it just comes across as scripted with bad actors. 

Gloria at least seems to know how to get in with the kids without trying so hard.  But, again, cameras.  I don't know.  I just don't think we're getting anything real out of this show because no one is going to be really open and honest in front of these cameras.

I was pissed off with Erin's smugness also, i bet she was a bitch of a bully too

[gunderda]

The show makes a little more sense now that we were told that all these kids know that they have spies among them.  You think they would be able to figure it out based on who they're filming the most. I think it was stupid they told them but i guess that was probably the only way to make parents give consent to their kids being filmed. 

[PityFree]

 The students and undercover adults attend prom.

[PityFree]

 I thought Shane and Nikki made a cute friend couple for prom.  I wondered what would happen if they started getting pressure or hints from the actual teens about prom. That was a good solution. 

 Today show really made me realize how tough it is for teens when they can’t afford things like prom.  I’m going to find a prom dress donation place here in Denver and donate some cash. 

[gunderda]

I was also curious if any of them would agree to go to Prom with a student.  I kinda feel bad for the guy who did a promposal for Nikki and he got rejected! Poor kid.  I'm kinda excited for next week's episode where they spill the beans.  I wonder how many will say they kinda had their suspicions that their new friends were the plants. 

[woodscommaelle]

13 hours ago, PityFree said:

Today show really made me realize how tough it is for teens when they can’t afford things like prom.  I’m going to find a prom dress donation place here in Denver and donate some cash. 

Great idea!

And we are neighbors: Denver here, too ?.

[PityFree]

2 hours ago, gunderda said:

I was also curious if any of them would agree to go to Prom with a student.  I kinda feel bad for the guy who did a promposal for Nikki and he got rejected! Poor kid.  I'm kinda excited for next week's episode where they spill the beans.  I wonder how many will say they kinda had their suspicions that their new friends were the plants. 

 I’m nervous for them! But I am very relieved that they got the opportunity to tell the students with whom they had a closer relationship in private first before they made public announcement about being undercover.

[PityFree]

1 hour ago, woodscommaelle said:

Great idea!

And we are neighbors: Denver here, too ?.

*waves!!*

There are a few “prom help” organizations. I picked Bella Boutique. 

If anything, this show has really opened my eyes to the privilege I enjoy simply by being having been raised in a middle-class home. 

[Bridget]

15 hours ago, PityFree said:

 I thought Shane and Nikki made a cute friend couple for prom.  I wondered what would happen if they started getting pressure or hints from the actual teens about prom. That was a good solution. 

 Today show really made me realize how tough it is for teens when they can’t afford things like prom.  I’m going to find a prom dress donation place here in Denver and donate some cash. 

I never even thought about this - you're so smart! I guess I assumed because they all hung out in strong friend groups, that they'd show up with friends. 

Maybe it's Shane and is overly nice "Canadianness", but I thought they actually dug one another once Shane asked Nikki about being a participant. It did make sense for them to go together to remain appropriate about their 1:1 interactions with the teenagers, but they seemed like they were on an actual date and having fun. At a prom. As an adult does. ?

I wonder if they can make a long distance relationship work out?I

I'm glad Danni got over her lifelong depression & eating disorder long enough to show up to prom. IN A TIARA!

The more I see of Danni on camera, the more I see something about that girl that screams "I need attention" or " I'm a compulsive liar. " I'm around high schoolers all day long & I thought it was odd that she showed up to Nikki's girl group, but once she started sharing, she didn't remind me of any of the clinically depressed students I see Mon-Fri. I think she's got some serious self esteem issues,  but doesn't know how to handle those. Remember how depressed she was when we first "met her"? Did she strike anyone as someone who would ever even think about the prom, let alone attend? (She didn't even wear black to prom!)

 

[rmontro]

I kind of find Michelle (high school student) interesting.  Next week is the big reveal, so we'll see how that goes.  But I get the impression that she knows, or suspects at least, that Erin is one of the adult plants.  She seems to be so uncomfortable on camera, but also seems to have mixed feelings about it.  I think she is flattered by the attention of the cameras, and is aware she might be able to gain some advantage from it, but at the same time is puzzled by why anyone would bother with her.  

A lot of Erin's conversations with her are just a series of questions trying to get her open up for the show, to which she either evades or gives short one word answers.  She doesn't seem to take much of an interest in anything, I'm not sure what is going to happen to her.  

The second hand prom dress shop was a great idea, and it was nice to see some of the girls able to dress up who might not have otherwise been able to,  Ditto with Gloria letting the girl who liked to fight borrow her dress (can't remember her name).  

The only thing I thought was odd was that it seemed like there was a lack of real couples at the prom.  I don't know if they just didn't show them, or if it is a reflection of some sort of change in the culture since I went to high school.  I know people in my day were looking more to get married (eventually), while it's more of a "swipe right" hookup culture today.  The age of first marriage has gone way up in the US.

[rmontro]

On 3/10/2018 at 12:39 AM, woodscommaelle said:

I think these fake relationships are going to fuck with these kids' minds.

I'm concerned about that as well.  I also wonder how much of Jorge pushing Dante to come out is for his own good, and how much is to push his own agenda?

I thought at the beginning of the series that the kids weren't told there were spies among them.  I thought they explained the filming by saying they were filming a documentary on high school (which is true enough).  I don't know why anymore needed to be said than that.  And I'm not sure why they had to be told there were adults among them.

Ultimately, that's where this series fails for me.  The adults seem to want to fill some sort of parent type of role in the lives of these kids, we're not really seeing real friend to friend type relationships.  I almost get the impression the participants are trying to outdo each other by demonstrating on camera how much good they can do, it's like a competition.  But the real problem is it's just kind of boring.  I'm not sure I'll be watching next season, assuming there is one.

[Ladystardust]

I can't imagine going back to high school (I graduated in the early 2000s). $600 average for prom?? Jesus. And don't even get me started on "prom-posals". So much pressure. 

I didn't notice Dani with the tiara, but I was a little surprised that Michelle picked out a sparkly pink dress. I thought that store they went to was great though. 

I wonder if they paid people like Dani and Michelle to go to prom for the show. When I was in high school, generally only the popular kids and people with boyfriends/girlfriends went to prom. The more "fringe" kids didn't bother (I was a depressed-loner type and had zero interest in prom). That might have changed since then though - I was impressed at the diversity of the prom court. My school it was always the same skinny, white, popular kids on prom court (...and homecoming court...and class officers...basically the same 5 people did everything).

Also, that dude who tried to out Jorge and Lena as plants last week is going to have a field day when he is proven right next week.

[rmontro]

On 3/16/2018 at 11:42 AM, Ladystardust said:

Also, that dude who tried to out Jorge and Lena as plants last week is going to have a field day when he is proven right next week.

Smart kid, he might have a future as a detective.  Although I have a feeling that by now, it's probably common knowledge who the plants are, or at least strongly suspected.  Kids aren't stupid.  I imagine there will be some feigned surprise though.

It's funny how there's all the emphasis on social media being such a big part of today's high school culture, and they basically got busted because their Facebook pages didn't have the right prior history.

[Bridget]

On 3/16/2018 at 8:42 AM, Ladystardust said:

I can't imagine going back to high school (I graduated in the early 2000s). $600 average for prom?? Jesus. And don't even get me started on "prom-posals". So much pressure. 

I didn't notice Dani with the tiara, but I was a little surprised that Michelle picked out a sparkly pink dress. I thought that store they went to was great though. 

I wonder if they paid people like Dani and Michelle to go to prom for the show. When I was in high school, generally only the popular kids and people with boyfriends/girlfriends went to prom. The more "fringe" kids didn't bother (I was a depressed-loner type and had zero interest in prom). That might have changed since then though - I was impressed at the diversity of the prom court. My school it was always the same skinny, white, popular kids on prom court (...and homecoming court...and class officers...basically the same 5 people did everything).

Also, that dude who tried to out Jorge and Lena as plants last week is going to have a field day when he is proven right next week.

Preach!!

I wish that the students I see doing crazy crap for a promposal would put 1/2 as much effort into their assignments!

Did you know there are entire yearbook pages devoted to the best HoCoProsals (homecoming) and promposals now? 

[Rlb8031]

On 2/23/2018 at 4:43 PM, Bridget said:

I have been thinking about this a lot lately, especially because he's always talking about helping the members in his youth ministry. If he has struggled with this learning disability (that's what it is), I'd love to know what, if anything, he has done to continue practicing his reading skills. I wonder if he  tried to prepare prior to heading into the experiment?

Surely there is a reading component involved with his job? Reading is one of those skills everyone needs in life. The need to read never goes away and it can't be avoided. From my professional point of view, it's a tad bit hypocritical for him to work with teens and try to motivate them if he's not working on his own struggles to read. (That's how it comes across to me. "I have always had a problem with reading. The End." No mention of him getting help or practicing by reading a little bit each day.)

There are tons of classes available at community colleges that are taught by instructors who have specialized in teaching those who struggle with reading.

I know you can't study to beat dyslexia (or any other reading impairment), but if he was a regular reader, or had taken a few specially designed college reading classes, his entire life, along with reading out loud in class, would be smooth sailng. I hope he walked away from this with a desire to work on his own personal struggle.

It wasn't clear to me whether he had a problem reading (actually translating the words on the page) - or simply was unable read aloud (I think its called aphasia). From some of the things he said, I thought is was the latter. That would explain how he could have a job and work with teens while still having this disability. I had a friend who had that problem and she said that life got appreciably easier as she got into college and grad school because the numbers of times she actually needed to stand in front of people and read anything decreased substantially from elementary and high school. As an adult, she has a whole bunch of coping skills including having other people record speeches for her so she can memorize them, but it was a lot harder in high school.

[Bridget]

12 hours ago, Rlb8031 said:

It wasn't clear to me whether he had a problem reading (actually translating the words on the page) - or simply was unable read aloud (I think its called aphasia). From some of the things he said, I thought is was the latter. That would explain how he could have a job and work with teens while still having this disability. I had a friend who had that problem and she said that life got appreciably easier as she got into college and grad school because the numbers of times she actually needed to stand in front of people and read anything decreased substantially from elementary and high school. As an adult, she has a whole bunch of coping skills including having other people record speeches for her so she can memorize them, but it was a lot harder in high school.

Aphasia (there are a few types) typically stems from brain injury/damage and impacts verbal language when one is trying to express themselves.

I suspect he’s dyslexic or has some other learning disability that wasn’t taken seriously when he was in school. As a teacher, I’ve attended many meetings with parents who have students who are eligible for Special Education services, but the parents are in denial. Student doesn’t get the resources or help and they aren’t able to become life long learners as anything academic becomes increasingly difficult, whether it’s reading off of a menu when working at a restaurant or trying to figure out how to assemble something from IKEA.

After thinking about how obsessed with socializing/fitting in/being accepted by the “cool kids” Daniel was during the semester, it only reminded me that it’s quite the classic coping technique for those who struggle with any type of an LD (learning disability). To avoid “standing out” or being different, many students with an LD try to be the class clown or be popular, especially the boys.

I had a 10th grade student just like Daniel last year. Black, social butterfly and played basketball, but couldn’t read. He had been diagnosed with an LD, but his reading skills were so below grade level (because he didn’t learn to read with his peers in elementary school and had an LD) that it was honestly painful to listen to him read out loud. I had to call on him to read out loud in order to maintain equity and accountability, but I always let him choose the passage he wanted to read ahead of time and he was supposed to practice it the night before. (He never did) He ended up moving out of my English class and into a smaller one, designed specifically to instruct at a level that wasn’t as rigorous as the “regular English classes.” I’m fine with that and if it was my kid, I’d want them moved too. 

The teacher in me finds it odd that Daniel hasn’t discussed more about his “reading problems.” If he were open about that part of his life, I think it would make much more of an impact by showing Ton (and anyone else he might’ve befriended) that everyone has their own challenges to deal with. Then again, it would have made the show much more interesting to watch, which was clearly not the goal of this series!!!

 

Update:  I just checked the A&E home page for the show now that it’s over. Not bragging, but my intuition was spot on.

DANIEL

PARTICIPANT

In high school, Daniel admits he acted as the class clown in order to draw attention away from his reading disability. He regrets pushing his teachers’ buttons and constantly being a distraction for his classmates.

Edited March 21, 2018 by Bridget

[gunderda]

I went to a pretty small school (my class had about 70) and I think a large portion of the kids (junior and seniors) went to Prom.  And we didn't do prom king or queen.  We only did homecoming queen/king.  It was kinda interesting that it was a completely different makeup of kids for those nominees vs their whatever king and queen they did during basketball season.   I graduated in 2001 and I splurged BIG TIME for my senior prom. I think my dress was about $400-$500 but I paid for that thing myself.  And my boyfriend at that time was a huge asshole that night and made me cry during prom.  Good times! ;) 

[Ladystardust]

On 3/19/2018 at 1:45 PM, Bridget said:

Preach!!

I wish that the students I see doing crazy crap for a promposal would put 1/2 as much effort into their assignments!

Did you know there are entire yearbook pages devoted to the best HoCoProsals (homecoming) and promposals now? 

NO! I did not know that was a thing...that's just crazy to me. Those things are more elaborate than my marriage proposal!

17 hours ago, gunderda said:

I went to a pretty small school (my class had about 70) and I think a large portion of the kids (junior and seniors) went to Prom.  And we didn't do prom king or queen.  We only did homecoming queen/king.  It was kinda interesting that it was a completely different makeup of kids for those nominees vs their whatever king and queen they did during basketball season.   I graduated in 2001 and I splurged BIG TIME for my senior prom. I think my dress was about $400-$500 but I paid for that thing myself.  And my boyfriend at that time was a huge asshole that night and made me cry during prom.  Good times! ;) 

Did we go to prom with the same guy??? lol. My date wasn't my boyfriend, but it ended in tears nevertheless. At least I only spend $40 on my dress (pro tip: If you buy the dress the week before prom, they're all already on clearance!).

Also, our only options for dresses were a few stores at a crappy mall a couple hours away. I don't even think they had dresses over $200 (I'm talking like off-the-rack JCPenney and Deb's). I know a few girls went to the big city (over 3 hours away) to get more expensive dresses though. So a lot of people had the same dress at my school (my class had 91 people). Of course NOW my hometown has an actual formal wear store smack in the middle of a 3,000 person town. That should probably tell me all I need to know about how prom has changed since I was in high school...

[rmontro]

The underwhelming conclusion to the first season, the participants reveal themselves, and the students graduate.

This episode revealed what I was afraid of.  I think it was pretty clear that a fair number of the real high school students were hurt on some level by the deception.  That's not to say that they didn't also gain benefits, but they thought they had gained a close friend, only to have the adults go back to their real lives.  You could see the pain on some of their faces.  I don't think any of them were irreparably harmed though, it wasn't like that.

Guys like Dante took it well, but he would have done well anyway.  He was a popular student, for whom high school was an overwhelmingly positive experience.  So much so, that he wants to return as a teacher.  

It was nice that the school started several programs to deal with the problems the participants dug up.  Unfortunately, you can't solve everything with a program, training, or a class.  It's good that they are trying though.

[Bridget]

3 hours ago, Ladystardust said:

NO! I did not know that was a thing...that's just crazy to me. Those things are more elaborate than my marriage proposal!

Did we go to prom with the same guy??? lol. My date wasn't my boyfriend, but it ended in tears nevertheless. At least I only spend $40 on my dress (pro tip: If you buy the dress the week before prom, they're all already on clearance!).

Also, our only options for dresses were a few stores at a crappy mall a couple hours away. I don't even think they had dresses over $200 (I'm talking like off-the-rack JCPenney and Deb's). I know a few girls went to the big city (over 3 hours away) to get more expensive dresses though. So a lot of people had the same dress at my school (my class had 91 people). Of course NOW my hometown has an actual formal wear store smack in the middle of a 3,000 person town. That should probably tell me all I need to know about how prom has changed since I was in high school...

I agree - it's just so wrong in so many levels. I was talking to some (primarily male) students after school and the topic of prom came up. I asked (because I had questions) and they answered. There's a lot of pressure to constantly outdo everyone else in campus, so a lot of the boys don't even bother asking anyone or even think about going because they get overwhelmed trying to put on a parade just to ask someone to be their date for the evening...and every single person invariably ends up using their phone the entire time because they are so nervous to be next to each other for several hours (photos, dinner, the dance, after party). Chaperoning the prom is always a highlight for us teachers, most likely because almost everyone I work with/know had a crappy prom, myself included. As adults, we enjoy getting dressed up, having dinner & drinks (don't tell the principal!) before we end up at the venue and dance the night away while encouraging our "kids" to relax and have fun. ( I'm the one telling the kids to get off of their phones - and proud of it!) 

Did you guys know they play songs from when we were in high school, random 90s music or other songs that were popular at the time? The kids know all of the words and then ask how we know the words. It's crazy! One year the DJ played "This Is How We Do It" by Montell Jordan. It was insane that everyone knew the words - just insane! 

Re: outlandish promposals

Is it wrong that I enjoy pointing out the grammar & spelling errors on the signs that I see?  (I don't point it out to the people involved, just to the students who I know will know I'm not being cruel. I'm simply wondering what the other English teachers are doing all day?) 

Edited March 21, 2018 by Bridget

[Bridget]

You said it best: underwhelming. No other word for it.

I'd have liked to have seen some sort of update from the HP Admin team about what's changed, especially since it's been almost an entire year that the program ended. An update about what happened to Tone, Michelle or Nae would have been interesting. I'd even watch a reunion where the participants were revealed to each other (how did Gloria react when she found out Nikki was an adult? Something like that!) and discussed their observations about being a student. 

I'm still not sure why the students were ever told about "participants" unless they needed an excuse for the camera crew to film with students off campus, which would have been a huge red flag for me. Having lunch with my "new friend" and a camera crew was always tagging along? No surprise there.

In order to get an accurate "inside scoop", it's too bad they couldn't have shot almost all of the content on campus to really keep the "experiment" as authentic as possible .

[configdotsys]

I had a hard time with this show. It just doesn't make sense. The kids were told that there were undercover "students" among them but no one noticed that all these new people were the ones that were filmed closely the vast majority of the time both in and out of school? Does not compute.

I will say that when I watched the very first episode that shows such disrespectful kids on their phones in class and being such jerks, that I could only imagine the reaction if that episode was shown in in another country. What a sad state of affairs our education system is in. Then again, as the show moved on and I learned what these kids have to deal with on a regular basis, I felt for them, but wonder what could possibly change this whole mentality that these kids have. The disrespect for girls was appalling. How are these boys ever going to be husbands and fathers? Not to just skewer the boys: the girls being pleased about fighting and drama is also scary for the future. 

I was bored by the finale and disappointed that they did not give an update on the girl that was friends with Lina who had no desire to go to college until she met Lina's mom (don't remember her name) and no update on Dani. 

Edited March 21, 2018 by configdotsys

[woodscommaelle]

5 hours ago, Bridget said:

Is it wrong that I enjoy pointing out the grammar & spelling errors on the signs that I see? 

Haha! No. It's very, very right ??.

[Snickerdoodle]

What happened with Dani?  The show kind of forgot about her and focused on the other student that Shane befriended. 

[woodscommaelle]

I love that the one kid was already calling the other kid Pastor.  Very cute!  I can totally see Michelle as a phlebotomist. Good for her.  Hope she sticks with it.

Edited March 22, 2018 by woodscommaelle

[rmontro]

2 hours ago, woodscommaelle said:

I can totally see Michelle as a phlebotomist. Good for her.  Hope she sticks with it.

Was that a pun?  :)

[woodscommaelle]

12 minutes ago, rmontro said:

Was that a pun?  :)

Kind of. Pretty happy with that one :)

[gunderda]

5 hours ago, Snickerdoodle said:

What happened with Dani?  The show kind of forgot about her and focused on the other student that Shane befriended. 

Yea I was shocked Shane's reveal was to the other girl that we barely saw him with except for the radio group. 

Girl with the blonde hair and kid... she didn't make any close friends except her girl's group?? And how in the world did this info remain a secret after she told like 10+ girls???

I was SUPER sad with the Erin/Michelle reveal.  That one stung. And I may have shed a tear when she hugged Erin and said "i'm so glad you didn't let me drop out"  I hope they stayed in contact.  They're still close enough in age that they could remain really good friends. Michelle had to lose two of her best friends within like a 6 month period.  Nice to see that she went onto college though. 

 

I was also really confused by the group things.... I thought this was a pretty large high school but the senior classed looked pretty small to me. and the 'all school meeting' at the end... they didn't even fill the gym?? Looked like they didn't fill half of one side. 

[Bridget]

21 hours ago, configdotsys said:

I had a hard time with this show. It just doesn't make sense. The kids were told that there were undercover "students" among them but no one noticed that all these new people were the ones that were filmed closely the vast majority of the time both in and out of school? Does not compute.

I will say that when I watched the very first episode that shows such disrespectful kids on their phones in class and being such jerks, that I could only imagine the reaction if that episode was shown in in another country. What a sad state of affairs our education system is in. Then again, as the show moved on and I learned what these kids have to deal with on a regular basis, I felt for them, but wonder what could possibly change this whole mentality that these kids have. The disrespect for girls was appalling. How are these boys ever going to be husbands and fathers? Not to just skewer the boys: the girls being pleased about fighting and drama is also scary for the future. 

I was bored by the finale and disappointed that they did not give an update on the girl that was friends with Lina who had no desire to go to college until she met Lina's mom (don't remember her name) and no update on Dani. 

Good point. I saw Lina's friend Vanessa "graduating", but after all of the "yes, I'm going to college because of Lina's mom" crap, we get nothing? What a waste.

Dani was probably busy sleeping when anyone tried to contact her. The cameras were gone, as were Shane and Nikki, so she didn't have anyone to hold her hand. That particular student bugged the crap out of me. Co-dependent, needy, lazy and self-diagnosing herself with depression and eating disorders. She either needs a lot of help or someone didn't pay enough attention to her when she was a child. I'm thrilled to have her off of my TV.

[gunderda]

I thought we did get an update on Lina's friend?  Although I couldn't tell you what I thought I saw.... 

[rmontro]

On 3/22/2018 at 1:26 PM, gunderda said:

I was SUPER sad with the Erin/Michelle reveal.  That one stung. And I may have shed a tear when she hugged Erin and said "i'm so glad you didn't let me drop out"  I hope they stayed in contact.  They're still close enough in age that they could remain really good friends. Michelle had to lose two of her best friends within like a 6 month period.  Nice to see that she went onto college though. 

I was also really confused by the group things.... I thought this was a pretty large high school but the senior classed looked pretty small to me. and the 'all school meeting' at the end... they didn't even fill the gym?? Looked like they didn't fill half of one side. 

Maybe since it's supposed to be a "bad" high school, half the kids had skipped the presentation and were out smoking or freebasing or whatever kids do these days.

I also really felt for Michelle, that was a lot for her to go through in so short a time.  I actually found her the most interesting character on the show, for whatever reason.  Maybe because she was in such a vulnerable place.  I hope life goes well for her.

[SuzySmith]

On 3/22/2018 at 12:26 PM, gunderda said:

Yea I was shocked Shane's reveal was to the other girl that we barely saw him with except for the radio group. 

Girl with the blonde hair and kid... she didn't make any close friends except her girl's group?? And how in the world did this info remain a secret after she told like 10+ girls???

I was SUPER sad with the Erin/Michelle reveal.  That one stung. And I may have shed a tear when she hugged Erin and said "i'm so glad you didn't let me drop out"  I hope they stayed in contact.  They're still close enough in age that they could remain really good friends. Michelle had to lose two of her best friends within like a 6 month period.  Nice to see that she went onto college though. 

 

I was also really confused by the group things.... I thought this was a pretty large high school but the senior classed looked pretty small to me. and the 'all school meeting' at the end... they didn't even fill the gym?? Looked like they didn't fill half of one side. 

4

I"m assuming it was not a mandatory assembly - either optional during seminar time or after school. And that they asked the kids who were going to be featured to attend, but not all.  The school has ~900 kids so it will fill that gym. They graduate about 200.

[August79]

On 3/23/2018 at 3:57 PM, rmontro said:

 

I also really felt for Michelle, that was a lot for her to go through in so short a time.  I actually found her the most interesting character on the show, for whatever reason.  Maybe because she was in such a vulnerable place.  I hope life goes well for her.

I feel like something happened with that girl.   Maybe depression/mental illness, drugs, or possibly a traumatic brain injury after the wreck she said she had.    Her affect was always off to me.   Also those pictures of her that were shown when Erin was talking to the principal were worlds apart from where she was while being filmed.   

[rmontro]

49 minutes ago, August79 said:

I feel like something happened with that girl.   Maybe depression/mental illness, drugs, or possibly a traumatic brain injury after the wreck she said she had.    Her affect was always off to me.   Also those pictures of her that were shown when Erin was talking to the principal were worlds apart from where she was while being filmed.   

That crossed my mind also, that maybe she had suffered some sort of brain trauma in the accident, maybe that changed her personality or something.  Doctors aren't flawless, they can miss things.

[August79]

30 minutes ago, rmontro said:

That crossed my mind also, that maybe she had suffered some sort of brain trauma in the accident, maybe that changed her personality or something.  Doctors aren't flawless, they can miss things.

Agreed.   It may have also been something edited away.    

[TGinKY]

I would like to hear from people who teach on the college level. Are these types of things (tardiness, not paying attention to anything but their phones), a problem that carries over into college classes? Or do these kids not make it that far?