Dear Reader,
That is the name of the article I’m featured in.
I posted a video a few days ago in which I voiced some concerns and opinions about the american school system. Shortly after, I got an email from a very nice lady named Paula who just so happens to be the associate editor at PJ Media. She then wrote a sweet article about me and posted it on her website.
When I went to bed last night, it had been shared 121 times and had just over 700 views. I’ve yet to check what it’s at now.
But I was lowkey freaking out yesterday when I began to realize what was happening. Now, it’s not like this video is going to go viral or anything, but it makes me kind of worried how many people are sharing it and how many Facebook and Twitter timelines it might be popping up on now. As I’ve said before, my blog and YouTube channel are relatively private. I know that posting content online runs the risk of having the whole world as a potential audience, but I figured I would never have to worry about that.
So now knowing that my parents or distant relatives or people form my high school could find out that sometimes I talk to myself in front of a camera and upload it for the world to see… well that’s kind of freaky.
Secondly, this audience that is viewing the video is very different. It’s not made up of the friendly faces that greet me when I log onto WordPress. It’s made up of educated, experienced, and opinionated adults. Many of whom have taught for years and have their own relative discourse when approaching this subject.
And here I am, a kid from Ohio, who thought “man, the price of college is annoying. Common core is annoying. You know what? The whole grade system is annoying!” And then I made a video.
Needless to say, some people didn’t take kindly to my “weird examples” and “ignorant questions,” and some of the things they said were just mean. My favorite exchange was this:
“She’s an intelligent, articulate young woman. But she won’t last as a teacher. I give her maybe five years.”
And then:
“I don’t find her to be intelligent and articulate. I find her to be a snarky smart ass who should be researching answers to her questions rather than pontificating on things as if she has some kind of great insight when she’s utterly clueless.”
But I still stand by everything I said and I’m actually learning a lot from this ruthless comment section. In fact, the meanest person (in my opinion) actually answered a lot of my questions. Now, he managed to get a few zingers in between them, but my questions have been answered. Thanks, bud.
So I thought I’d share this with you all because, hey, the article is actually really nice and I feel very well represented. Besides, I made this video to start this conversation, so isn’t it good that people are talking?
Or maybe I should just be more careful what I wish for.
Have a great day y’all!
Sincerely,
Sammy
SINCERELY, SAMMY 
Wow, that’s incredible that you were featured! While I’m sorry that you didn’t receive positive (even malicious) reception to your video, your video had sparked discussion on the current education system in the U.S., and perhaps people will start reconsidering the program.
Thank you! And after responding to a few comments, people certainly changed their tune. Even if they disagreed with certain things I brought up, I think once they realized that I was still a part of this conversation, they were much nicer and willing to have a mature conversation. It was pretty cool to see.
Definitely! Thanks for speaking up about the issue. 🙂