“Your grade is terrible,” was one of the first things I heard the then-freshmen say on my shadow day at Parker in November of 2022. As I looked around the alcove, I wondered how a unique, funny, and dynamic class of students like them could be followed by a “terrible” grade.
When I finally met my class, ‘27, I found that the people weren’t nearly as bad as I had been expecting. Still, I noticed that my grade had distinctive differences from the one that drew me to Parker, ‘26. I wondered if I had done something wrong, or if I had been cheated. After all, I had a vision, and meeting my grade shattered that ideal reality.After two years at Parker, I’ve come to realize that my grade isn’t “terrible” – it’s just different.
How do two grades’ cultures turn out to be so vastly different?
This year’s graduating class is part of the reason I decided that Parker was the school for me. I don’t have the full perspective on what it really means to be the class of 2026. What I do have perspective on is the fact that their friend groups are much more diverse than the ones in other grades. When I look in the alcove, I see a variety of faces sitting at that table, and those faces come from a variety of backgrounds. Cliques are unavoidable, but there seems to be an elevated level of inclusiveness in said cliques. Obviously, the seniors have their own grade-specific issues that other grades can’t understand. Even though problems definitely exist, the level of inclusivity in the grade remains a highlight. This kind of community fosters a comprehensive outlook on the world for teenagers, forming the culture of the class of 2026.
My class, the class of 2027, is one that I am ever so familiar with. In my humble class of 2027 opinion, my grade is hardly as bad as the stories I’ve heard in the hallways. There are stories about teachers quitting before they had to teach the grade, horror stories of bullying from Middle School, and countless others I’ve heard about. While I definitely don’t know if these stories are true or not, I do know that right now, my grade is certainly not that bad. The rumors I hear are consistent with one thing: the narrative that my grade is immature. I can’t deny that this is true in some situations, but still, I believe my grade to be fun, smart, and lively. Despite the list of positive adjectives I could use to describe my peers, it’s undeniable that my grade certainly has our low points. Perhaps the most notable fact is that the cliques in the grade are hardly as diverse as the ones described in the senior class. Especially as a new student in freshman year coming into Parker knowing nobody, this fact immediately jumped out at me, and it’s come to be a fact that my friends and I find ourselves discussing frequently. This stems from most kids being either Parker lifers or in the same friend group at their old school. It’s interesting to me to see how the person one was in elementary school stuck with them all the way through their years in Upper School. The same people have been friends with the same people their whole lives, and that determines their social status. There also seems to be a collective opinion – if someone does something or if someone is judged, the grade generally has the same opinions on the situation or person. If I was judged at Parker for how I was in middle school, I doubt I would have the friendships I have today. I want to believe that fact isn’t true, that the grade has progressed beyond that, but that would be a lie. The culture for the juniors hasn’t formed in the last three years – it was formed years ago.
Grade cultures are different. The students in those grades are different. There are a lot of differences. We do all have one thing in common, though: the broader Parker culture. Any issues in one grade could be applicable to the next. Who knows what goes on in the minds of every student? It’s impossible to denote every culture and subculture that exists. All we can do is accept the fact that no grade is perfect, sit down in our advisories, and clap along to the Corinthians MX.
