Tenth Grade: A One Tracked Mind

My mind was consumed with one thought during my 10th grade year, and I remember very little else. The State of Kansas was consolidating small school districts into larger, unified districts. Everyone in my small town of Edna could see the handwriting on the wall that we would lose our high school; the only question was how soon.

Labette County Community High School in Altamont was ready and waiting to take in all of us small high school students because they had read the handwriting sooner and acted accordingly. Unfortunately, that didn't set too well with the other small towns. They feared that losing their high school would be the death of their town; this included Edna.

Since the larger LCCHS could offer a greater variety of classes with a higher level of difficulty, I really wanted to attend my junior and senior years there. I was a conscientious student who had college aspirations. My lifelong love of reading probably contributed to my love of education, and I wanted to achieve my best. I was not satisfied with the quality of instruction I was receiving at Edna High School, and I told my parents of my desire to attend LCCHS.

As the expression goes, "all hell brook loose" around me. My dad had been a school board member for the Edna School District, and he felt like he would be a traitor if he sent me to the county high school before our school closed. My dad also was not excited about my desire to attend college. Like many of his friends, he believed that I needed only enough education to be a wife and mother. My mom, on the other hand, held education in high regard. She wanted her 4 daughters to attend college, and she knew that the larger high school had a much better college prep program.

Knowing that there was already a lot of tension in my parents' marriage, I felt terrible about causing another rift between them, but being a normal teenager I also had strong feelings about my future. I knew that I would have more challenging academics in the county high school, and I yearned for that. Plus, I must admit, I was desirous of the greater social opportunities as well.

After several stressful arguments, my father relented and allowed me to attend LCCHS, but damage was done to our relationship and to their marriage. My 2 years at LCCHS were profitable academically and enjoyable socially, but I regretted the price we had to pay.