Canceling ARGS Exams

Hi! My name is Garvey. I'm a sophomore at Args. Class of 2016. I, as a student of a school that claims to be so understanding and open armed am just in shock. I mean really? To say you are ashamed of a student body that stands as one and comes together in a peaceful manner to suggest something that we all feel strongly about is... well..dumb. Why all this? For what? Its a petition. Not the Declaration for Independence. Personally, to the "alum", I could care less what you guys say. If you were in our shoes you would do the same thing. No matter what you say you might do, we all know what would really go down. You want to know what's upsetting? That the freshmen are spending their first year learning more about how great we all get along. Thats all, thanks. :)

My previous statement was without a doubt overdramatic. I did not mean to present the ARGS staff in a negative light, I was just trying to imply that they are in positions of authority and probably won't make drastic changes because of an online petition. I apologize for that mistake. My position is one of diplomacy. I'm not arguing that we should not take exams, they're an important part of the grading scale. I think that we're high-balling it here. Asking for a cancelation is a good jumping off point to reach a compromise. By asking for cancelation, we leave room to reach a middle ground: a revision. All that we ask is for administration to consider our position and make a few changes to the plan. We are not crusading for the opportunity to be lazy and just cancel exams, we are meekly begging a bit of leniency towards our workload. If the schedule isn't altered, there isn't anything any of us can do about it and because we made the choice to go to ARGS we are willing to live with it. I was worried when I fist saw this petition that the original tone of the argument would be lost to hot-headed students arguing for less work. I hope that we do not continue to that end. After conversing with the drafter of this petition, I know that he/she shares my goal (I'm not sure if this person is anonymous at this point so I'll play it safe) for this petition to act as a simple plea for a bit of slack. If it passes through administration unnoticed, oh well. But I can guarantee my peers that our position will be completely ignored and even sneered at by all of the ARGS faculty (as Dr. C and Mr. Stoneking have already demonstrated) if we continue along this route of destructive and aggressive protest. I for one hope that our cause has not already completely lost its credibility. And again, I apologize for my part in discrediting the faculty and administrative staff. That was not my purpose nor my intended tone. And to the alumni, Yes. Of course college exams are

It's obvious that even with an "extra" week to prepare for the tests that everyone knew about, some students are still not prepared. Lesson learned? You guys were given the gift of at least 7 extra days to take care of what you needed to. In "this" life, it's good to have extra chances to prepare. What else do you want handed to you? I find just the "idea" of having this conversation sad. If you remember how badly most of you wanted to get into this school as an eigth-grader, you will also remember the promises you made to yourselves and others - that if you got in, you would do everything in your power to succeed....not take the easy road. You'll find that the "easy" road leads to a place you wouldn't want to be....like signing a frivilous petition in front of peers, parents and elders that expect more of you. Mr. Bartlett

This is pathetic. I didn't write the goddamn beautiful The Well-Tempered Clavier to see this sort of thing. When I was a boy, we walked to school in Eisenach both ways in the snow because THIS WAS GERMANY AND THE GROUND WAS SNOW. But I didn't care; I was going to school so I could be a real artist. If there was snow, I didn't care. Exams never got canceled. We didn't even consider the concept. Ya'll are weak.

Indeed, other Courtney.

I would caution you about using the language of oppression and persecution in regards to this issue, particularly in how you relate it to the Civil Rights Movement and religious persecution. It has been a while since I was at ARGS (class of 2007), and I realize that throughout the years the pressures on high schoolers to get perfect grades and be active extracurricularly have only increased since I left. However, comparing having to take exams to the Civil Rights Movement cheapens the struggle that they went through. The moment you start acting like the requirement to take exams even during a week of long school days is at all comparable to a culture of fear where people of color not only were barred from cultural institutions, jobs, and /education/, but were subject to unprovoked violence and feared for their lives is the moment where people will stop taking you seriously. A little perspective goes a long way when working for negotiation and compromise. The other difference, besides the severities of the two circumstances, is this: ARGS teachers and administration are not trying to work against you. That is one of the most beautiful things about this school; the teachers are so DEEPLY committed to the students and their wellbeing in ALL aspects (both mental health-wise AND academic), that creating an us vs. them narrative actually pushes away your strongest potential allies. Approaching them with legitimate concerns rather than accusations and recognizing that there are situations beyond their control (in this case, I'd imagine they are facing issues of number of required class hours and whether or not the school year can legally be extended), rather than calling them persecutors, is likely to be more effective.

Class of 2012 here. This petition shows how much the culture of the student body has changed since I was there. To say our comments don't matter shows you don't appreciate how much the challenge ARGS represented meant to us. The teachers should make the exams harder since you guys have had more time to study.

Kia how do you know what we have or have not done? Did you know we have only ever canceled exams once in the entire history of ARGS and it was for the death of a dear member of our facility? So yes we have been in your position, we didn't complain about it and accepted it. At any other school system you would have no voice and the voice that you have now your alumni has fought to keep over the years. We have taken on the administration, the school board, and Chesterfield County on more than one occasion and have won. We have donated our time and our money to make this school at better place for you. Our dream was to see the White House completed, to see the school expanded, and to have the best for the future generations of ARGS. To say we need to be quiet when you (the student body) are so openly disrespecting everything that we stand for and have fought for is ridiculous. We will not sit by idly while the students attack our mentors and friends we have come to know and love over the years.

You're just exuding maturity there, bud.

If that were true, you'd understand why the alumni are so invested in the operations at the school.

Exams on top of regular school and homework will be so stressful on students, not to mention those who have after school commitments such as athletics and jobs. Also, students will not have an adequate amount of time to rest and study for their next exams. Please consider the needs and concerns of the student body. Thank you.

Powhatan also just canceled their exams. Also, exams going another week means one more week before I can send in my mid-year grades to the colleges I'm applying to, which is very very stressful.

Think about the student athletes and students who participate in after-school activities, without the half days, they will not be successful.

I based my studying off of the old schedule and now its hard to study based on the new schedule along with having full days instead of half.

We shouldn't have to go through exams like this. I'd be fine with taking them- I've spent this week preparing- if the schedule wasn't so messed up.

Don't be afraid to tell your teachers this stuff too. If they see that their students are worried about exams and how you want to be on schedule for the coming semester, let them know. A personal email might have more weight than an online petition (still in favor of the petition obvioisly)