Blog Post 1
Cam McNearney
Dr. Jenkins
PS 101
March 9, 2022
Blog Post 1
In Kennesaw Georgia, there is a sub-city called Lost Mountain. Lost Mountain is the main sub-city that feeds into Harrison High School. Harrison High School is a 7A public high school that is in Cobb County. It is the only high school in Cobb County that does not have an apartment complex or townhomes that feed into it. This has made it to where only people who can afford housing in that area are able to attend public high schools. This has forced Harrison High School to be comprised of predominately white students. This lack of diversity in both racial and income status has led to Harrison High School becoming a sheltered school where students do not get a fully rounded view of the real world.
I have fallen victim to this education. Being a former student at Harrison High School and watching my little siblings grow up in that high school, I have noticed the difference between us and students who didn’t go to Harrison. The biggest eye-opener about this issue for me was when I first got to Birmingham-Southern College’s campus. Being now in a higher form of education, I am forced to learn more about what goes on outside of certain schools and communities. My mind is shown more of what goes on out in the real world. At Harrison High School, I never had to worry about politics or social issues that would occur outside of my comfort zone. I was always focused on other things such as baseball, finding colleges to play baseball at, and making the grades I needed to get college scout's attention. Even when in search of a college, I never took into consideration what the college’s community and aspect may be. I focused on what the coaches were like, what positions they had open on the team, and how good or bad they were. Birmingham-Southern College happened to be the best fit for me in the fact that I enjoyed every person on the team and the coaching staff and liked that we were a successful team every year. Birmingham-Southern College raised the bar for my education. This class specifically had forced me to think outside of my comfort zone and social issues to think about. Being a person who went through Harrison High School and seeing my siblings currently go through it, I see why it can be an issue for the future. Going to a public high school like that has caused us to be enclosed in a social bubble.
Looking back on my time back at Harrison High School, I remember all the support and staff, and resources I had to get to where I am today. Harrison High School is well known for producing athletes to the next level. A good reason for that is because of the money that schools can bring in because of the demographic that feeds into the school. Harrison has top-notch high school facilities for all sports teams with two weight rooms. The baseball team has a Junior Varsity and Varsity locker room with nice Adidas uniforms. The field is kept in great condition year-round for the players to get the best experience. Harrison High School can have an indoor facility for the players to use when the weather is bad outside. These resources put the players at Harrison High School at an advantage over other schools’ players. I was fortunate enough to have teachers and coaches in my life throughout high school to help me get to playing college baseball. I had coaches reaching out to recruiters for me, giving me extra help in the off-season, and making sure I was using my time wisely. At surrounding schools and inner-city schools, this kind of thing just doesn’t seem to happen the same. I can remember playing schools where the team had on old torn uniforms. Players were sharing equipment with each other that was handed down to them. The coaching staff clearly didn’t put any effort into their players because they simply didn’t have the desire or resources to. There were plenty of players that I witnessed to have the talent I had but didn’t have the resources and facilities and community around them like me to get them to what they desired to be at.
Harrison High School is a black sheep among the other surrounding high schools where resources and funding are pumped into the system to give students a chance, a better future. These social inequalities cause an imbalance in overall society and put students at different advantages based on their family’s income and where they are able to live.