Wow this feels new, I'm reviewing John Dewey High School, the high school I graduated from.
I'll be brutally honest with you. I've had some of the best, and some of the worst days of my teenage life in this school. It was teenager rebellion I guess, but I still made education my priority. There was so much freedom in this experimental magnet school, so many electives, after school clubs, activities, AP classes, and it was a school that had a different pedagogical philosophy, one where learning is hands-on, where learning is not just by looking up information from a textbook, but by exploring and visiting the real deal, and discussing our lesson, and how it connects with society. It was the public school version of the famous Phillips Exeter Academy. Obviously this belief derives from the man who this school is named after, John Dewey.
But you know what makes this school so prominent? The large, green, spacious campus. That's right folks! A high school with a campus, in Brooklyn of New York City!
Unfortunately... this school has also has a decline. Just one of the many public high schools in NYC to have a downfall. The budget cuts, and the corruption of the administration destroyed this school. It's still good, it still has a decent graduation rate, and it still has relatively low crime rates, but much (if not all) of the original philosophy and intentions of this school have disintegrated. The quality of the kids has gone down, and budget cuts have made it an insurmountable problem to get this school back on track. Many teachers left, Japanese and other language classes no longer exist, metal detectors have been installed, and many programs have been cut such as: the auto repair program, and music and theater programs, causing a lot of teachers to be fired.
This didn't have to happen, but it did because nearby schools closed causing all the troublesome kids from there to forcefully come to Dewey.
John Dewey High School has shaped me, it has shaped me into the intellectual I am today. It has made me become an open-minded person, because of all the great teachers I was lucky enough to have. Such as that special Oxford University graduate who gave amazing lectures in my global history class. I thank you.
However, through all that, Dewey still boasts decent grades. I take great pride in telling people that I graduated from here, and I would recommend you to send your kid(s) here. It's still a very nice school. read more