What you don’t know
By Alvin Jin-Ung Kim
does hurtTHE first thing someone says to me when I mention I attend Iolani School is, "You must be very smart then."
I always give them the same meek reply: "No, not really."
I cringe when I hear this stereotype. Some people mean it as a compliment, but others spit the comment at me, as if they are cursing me. The comment that always follows is, "And you must be rich too."
Nothing could be further from the truth. I am angered that people outside of Iolani believe they can assume those two facts about me so quickly. Those two comments make me reluctant to tell anyone my school's name.
Even so, I must admit that before attending Iolani, I was equally guilty of believing the stereotypes.
My first schools were Lunalilo Elementary and Central Intermediate. As a product of public education from kindergarten to 8th grade, I entered Iolani as a high school freshman.
Before I started attending Iolani, I believed the school was a gathering place of geniuses, with all of them sporting their fancy cars and attitudes.
During my first weeks at Iolani for summer school, I was in shock. The people seemed so normal. Some of them were actually nice too.
By the time the regular semester started, I had a better view of Iolani and its community. I made friends with classmates who must have been as shocked as I was to find that there were "average" students at Iolani.
WHEN I finally became comfortable at Iolani, I received another shock. I would hear a strange rumor whispered in the hallways or popping up in lengthy conversations. All of the conversations were about public school students, either complaining about how scary they were, or imagining what kinds of drugs they did.
One frequent comment I heard was that public school students are outright stupid. When I overheard these comments, I was enraged again. It seemed to me that all stereotypes are born out of ignorance, and sadly it happens both ways.
The problem with ignorance is that it is not an easy problem to solve. You cannot tell a person your experience; you can only behave in ways that teach people otherwise, and hope they learn the lesson.
Not everyone can be as lucky as I am, in having been able to attend both public and private school, and seeing up close the positive and negative in both experiences.
Yes, I consider all of my years of schooling to be a blessing. Every school I have attended has taught me something that I could not have learned any place else.
I am glad that I am more aware than some people I know who are terrified of standing alone near a public school for 5 minutes.
I am glad that I am more aware than people who think private schools are full of rich kids.
Even though my awareness makes me glad, it also makes me sad that I am powerless to stop these stereotypes from going around.
The power of stereotypes lies in a small amount of truth. All stereotypes have some truth to them, even if they are not true for the group. Yes, there are some rich people at private schools. Yes, there are some bad people in public schools.
But you know what? There are also parents with money who choose to send their children to public schools because of the diversity they offer. And there are good people and good students everywhere. You just have to open your eyes and look around to see this truth.
Alvin Jin-Ung Kim is 17 and a senior at Iolani School. Rant & Rave is a Tuesday Star-Bulletin feature
allowing those 12 to 22 to serve up fresh perspectives.
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