Ravenswood Academy - your opinions?

[assault]

I'm currently mucking about with Ravenswod Academy, but my knowledge of the Michigan (and more generally US) education system is rather scanty.

 

What grades/years do people think would be offered at Ravenswood? How old would (most) of the students be?

 

Come to think of it, how many students, normal and super, would there be?

 

Presumably the intake of supers wouldn't be quite as regular as that of ordinary students. While most sixteen year olds, for example, might be in the same grade(s) academically, they might vary quite a bit in terms of how long they have been in the "special" program. One might have been there for years, while another might have just arrived. In addition, all of the super students would require a lot of individual attention, so they might not cluster into neat class groups, although such groups probably would exist to some extent.

 

A stray thought about some interesting cliques of students: how many students from Hudson City would there be? If Ravenswood is prestigous enough, there might be a few kids from Hudson City and ex-Hudson City families. These would mainly be rather upper class normals, although one of two of them might be potential vigilantes! ("Robin goes to Ravenswood.") Some of these might have been sent intentionally for special training, while others might just be normal students, with an aptitude for martial arts. This last group would probably start outside the supers program, and possibly unaware of its existence...

 

The other group of "Huddies", however, would be the "real" supers. It's quite likely that their social composition would be quite different from that of their non-powered peers, with fewer being from Hudson City's elite. They would be very likely to have attitudes rather closer to Huddie gang members.

 

It's quite conceivable that this group could be an interesting bad influence on some of the other students. Certainly any "rebellious teenager" types might well gravitate to the more streetwise elements.

 

But of course, most of the student body would be good old normal "rich kids" with some of them having attitudes to match.

 

All good fun.

 

Alan

[Nuadha]

As a product of the Michigan education system, I'll try to help you where I can. There is public education (funded by the government through taxes) and private education (paid for by parents or through grants). Obviously, Ravenswood would be a private school, which usually means better equipment and facilities (although not always). For an example of one of the more upscale Michigan private schools (or academies, if you prefer) look here: http://www.cranbrook.edu/schools/

 

Cranbrook Kingswood is a little different than most private schools, because it has one of (if not the) largest campus for any private school in the US. It's campus is larger than many college campuses.

 

The private schools usually follow the public school example as far as grade levels, although they may use different names for the schools. The earliest schools are the elementary schools (called lower school by Cranrook) and has kids from age 6 until about 12 (Grades 1-6). Then their are Midde Schools (also called Jr. Highs) which usually has kids for the years in between Elementary School and High School or aout ages 13-15. Finally, there is High School (as seen in Buffy, the Vampire Slayer....except not quite as many demons) which as Grades 9-12. Grade 9 is the "Freshmen", Grade 10 is the "Sophmores", Grade 11 is the "Juniors" and Grade 12 are the "Seniors."

[assault]

Originally posted by Nuadha

For an example of one of the more upscale Michigan private schools (or academies, if you prefer) look here: http://www.cranbrook.edu/schools/

 

Thank you. Of course I did a net search before I posted, but I didn't run into this one.

 

Finally, there is High School (as seen in Buffy, the Vampire Slayer....except not quite as many demons) which as Grades 9-12. Grade 9 is the "Freshmen", Grade 10 is the "Sophmores", Grade 11 is the "Juniors" and Grade 12 are the "Seniors."

 

Really. And there I was thinking that all US high schools were overrun with demons...

 

I appreciated the following quote from the Cranbrook website:

"Boys and girls, during their early teenage years, often mix like oil

and water. The girls grow a head taller and start on the path to

adulthood, while the boys still waver between childhood and the

road to maturity. The girls are ecstatic, and totally glum, the boys full

of false bravado and uncertain moves. And they fret about their

bodies and each other."

 

Anyway, thanks. Your post was exactly what I was hoping for.

 

Hmm. If I was going to play in a teen supers game, my character would probably be a "bad boy" version of a certain Kansas farmboy... Or, if I thought I could play a girl adequately, Faith, from Buffy. That's what happens if you were a nerd in real life - "bad" has a certain appeal. But, of course, having Hunteds would keep you on (near, anyway) the straight and narrow, and hopefully prevent you from being expelled.

 

Alan