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Funny thing is, I grew up in Acworth, 80's - 90's, went to North Cobb as my dad did. Last time it was a 'School of Excellence' was when I graduated, '96 and my sisters graduated in '00 and '01. My dad was '68.
There were plenty of 'white' redneck, white-trash people and many of their kids turned out like them. But hey, that's not 'racism', they're just white-trash so they're not included in the debate.
Instead of a social issue, clearly these dumb azzes are a result of 'Whites', even though there's just as many, if not more, dumb azz white kids!!!
Location: Mableton, GA USA (NW Atlanta suburb, 4 miles OTP)
11,334 posts, read 26,086,242 times
Reputation: 3995
Quote:
Originally Posted by aries4118
Why do you have a "sad" opinion of hip-hop, but a favorable (I think) opinion of rock and roll?
Because I don't remember anyone running around in gangs, seeing kids beat up, or having cops in our high school or neighboring high schools at all when I was growing up in the suburban Twin Cities during the 70's and listening to the Who and Pink Floyd, but the very same high schools these days apparently have both gang and crime problems and at least one full-time cop at most of the schools.
The prevalence of hiphop with the kids there might be purely coincidental, but I've somehow managed to associate one (hip hop) with the other (increased levels of violence and gang activity). I suspect changes in family values and a change in demographics is also part of the problem.
From a purely aesthetic view, my reasoning is different: first, keep in mind that my main/initial background was classical music, and that while I like melodic rock (Beatles/Floyd/REM/Semisonic) and sometimes more energetic stuff (Small Faces/Clash/VH/Green Day) and appreciate folk and protest songs immensely from any period, I don't get into chanting or non-melodic rhyming, and a lot of dance music makes me nauseous. The same electronic drum rhythm with a different voice. Good for inducing movement, but generally poor from an aesthetic perspective. IMO. I also don't see the point of rap. Is it entertaining? Yes. But music? Maybe, but I can't listen to it. My ears want something more ... musical? Although there are several rap artists I really like listening to when I hear them on the radio. They're few and far between, though. I think part of it is message content and/or vocab I simply can't relate to, also. Hard to say. I'm an old man at 45 these days, and the "newer bands" I know from First Avenue in Minneapolis are 15 years old now.
YMMV, of course. HTH.
Afterthought: I think most folks are biased towards the music forms they grew up with. In my case, I suspect that's very true.
Last edited by rcsteiner; 06-04-2008 at 11:24 AM..
Location: Mableton, GA USA (NW Atlanta suburb, 4 miles OTP)
11,334 posts, read 26,086,242 times
Reputation: 3995
Quote:
Originally Posted by JKendrow
It must be racism, of course...
Not so. I love the blues, for example (one of my many TimeLife CD collectons is a blues series which goes back to the 1930's), and I also have a certain amount of soul music in my largish CD collection. I don't care who makes the music, and I often don't have a clue -- it either clicks with me or it doesn't.
Some artists, like Kimya Dawson, click with me immediately. Others take a bit longer, like non-Dukes XTC albums [I love their Dukes of Stratosfear stuff] or Lush [which I thought was femine droning at first with very little melody].
I recommend going to the Cobb County Schools Attendance Zone Maps and taking a closer look. You will see that Teasley's zone also stretches up Atlanta Road...into "Outer Vinings."
That area is also expensive too, even Creatwood Trail and Campbell has high land value -- however the residents who have been there for 10/20 years may not be so wealthy, perhaps?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rhonda K
No, that's not it.....we don't want to send our children to poor performing schools....regardless of color. FYI, Nickjack Elem. is a very diverse school, mostly Black, with a wonderful Principal, they do fine on testing(we aren't in their zone).....other schools in Smyrna, not so well...
That's the school district we are in and I've read about the turnaround there since the last administration around 2003. What I don't get... Our house is about $300k and we are one of the most affordable homes in the neighborhood... So I don't get where all this "poverty" is coming from.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rhonda K
It's ironic, not sure if anyone here is aware, but Campbell High School was once again rated as one of the best High Schools in the Nation....I think number 212....
That's the thing... all Cobb county schools are pretty good in terms of what they offer students, so when judged solely based on services, etc, even schools that rank lower in terms of test scores will rank high if you are considering other factors. However, peers do have some affect on how well students perform.
Last edited by netdragon; 06-05-2008 at 11:42 PM..
That area is also expensive too, even Creatwood Trail and Campbell has high land value -- however the residents who have been there for 10/20 years may not be so wealthy, perhaps?
But, remember...there are still a lot of apartment complexes in that area.
That's the school district we are in and I've read about the turnaround there since the last administration around 2003. What I don't get... Our house is about $300k and we are one of the most affordable homes in the neighborhood... So I don't get where all this "poverty" is coming from.
Mrs Parks is a great principal!
I'm sure there are some home owners that aren't well off in Smyrna, but I've been very involved in the local schools, and I'm quite positive the poorer families are from the older, run down apartments in the area.....
I love living in my 1950's ranch in Smyrna, but the cost of living in an older home isn't cheap...let's see....new ac, new heat, new wiring, new duct work, new hot water heater, and lastly, my new kitchen...next, painting the exterior, and the bathroom remodel....(and yet, I've still made a pretty penny on my home!).....and we are no different than 90 % of the 50's home in our area as far as home improvements.....there's always someone doing some kind of remodeling in our area....
As far as the topic of the schools and poverty, it's well known in Smyrna that the hope is to get rid of the old apartments, and the poorer residents will leave too(there's no goal for building entry level housing in Smyrna that I know of)...my guess is with the slow housing market, it will take longer than thought......I'm not saying this is right way to handle it though.....
That's the thing... It's not a hope -- most of the affordable housing in Smyrna is gone! Some people must have stuck around when the taxes on their home doubled. There's also virtually no affordable apartments anywhere in Smyrna South of Church Rd. A lot of them were converted to condos or torn down.
rcsteiner: It's either hip-hop or goth/punk for most teenagers in the US right now, and rap was popular even when I was in highschool in the 90s. I used to listen to rap mainly because I liked the beat and we used to go to school and show off how well we knew the newest rap songs (which were generally from one-hit wonders because they got "old" fast). Now, I don't really like the message of a lot of the songs because I've realized it's exaggerating things for money (e.g. I've been to Compton, Long Beach, Inglewood, Watts, South Brooklyn, Harlem, etc and most people there are just honest people trying to scrape by, not cause trouble)... I still like the beat.
Kids listening to rock in the late 70s/80s used to get into lots of trouble during the arcade generation and there have always been youth gangs. Granted suburban "gangs" were generally punks that got into fist-fights, not gun fights.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rhonda K
I love living in my 1950's ranch in Smyrna, but the cost of living in an older home isn't cheap...
I was first looking for Bungalows right near city parks that I'd probably replace the roof on and add some dormers, gables, and vaulted/cathedral ceilings -- essentially gutting it but not doing a teardown -- which could be gorgeous (you can see some of the renovated bungalows around W. Paces Ferry or Paces Ferry in Buckhead and Vinings to see what I mean), but I realized that with the "large" lots they had, they weren't much cheaper than a larger home and with a baby recently born we were looking for a significant jump in space from our condo without wanting a large lawn to mow. Therefore, I opted for a home in one of the densely packed mcmansion swim/tennis communities. I made out well with a home where the previous homeowners had almost finished all the ducting and electrical to finish the basement for about $300k off Camp Highland. It also came with a nearly finished basement and wetbar (luckily, not sheetrocked or with ceilings yet so I can make adjustments) and an extra furnace and A/C for the basement (currently switched off) and extra stainless steel range (I'll probably sell and use a counter-mount model instead) and stainless steel dishwasher. It also has one of the largest lots in the neighborhood, just most is currently useless because it's a hill. Between being able to finish the basement and expand the yard out over the hill (if we build a retaining wall), I like that the house can grow with us.
Last edited by netdragon; 06-07-2008 at 10:04 PM..
That's the thing... It's not a hope -- most of the affordable housing in Smyrna is gone! Some people must have stuck around when the taxes on their home doubled. There's also virtually no affordable apartments anywhere in Smyrna South of Church Rd. A lot of them were converted to condos or torn down.
I was first looking for Bungalows right near city parks that I'd probably replace the roof on and add some dormers, gables, and vaulted/cathedral ceilings -- essentially gutting it but not doing a teardown -- which could be gorgeous (you can see some of the renovated bungalows around W. Paces Ferry or Paces Ferry in Buckhead and Vinings to see what I mean), but I realized that with the "large" lots they had, they weren't much cheaper than a larger home and with a baby recently born we were looking for a significant jump in space from our condo without wanting a large lawn to mow. Therefore, I opted for a home in one of the densely packed mcmansion swim/tennis communities. I made out well with a home where the previous homeowners had almost finished all the ducting and electrical to finish the basement for about $300k off Camp Highland. It also came with a nearly finished basement and wetbar (luckily, not sheetrocked or with ceilings yet so I can make adjustments) and an extra furnace and A/C for the basement (currently switched off) and extra stainless steel range (I'll probably sell and use a counter-mount model instead) and stainless steel dishwasher. It also has one of the largest lots in the neighborhood, just most is currently useless because it's a hill. Between being able to finish the basement and expand the yard out over the hill (if we build a retaining wall), I like that the house can grow with us.
There's still a couple complexes left...one of the worst is near my house, it has several owners, all convinced their land will make them mega millionaires...the developer that tried to buy them gave up....however another complex by my house is now a beautiful condo association! I've owned my home since 2000, taking a chance on Smyrna, I've done very well, although I could do better without my taxes increasing over 200 % since I've owned the house.
Well, I have to say, I'd love to have a small yard. I love the swim tennis communties in Smyrna like yours, but my husband loves having a big yard..... We have around .40 acres, about 6 blocks from the Village Green. The last owners did allot of landscaping, bushes, bulbs, extra stuff in the back.....I swear, my next house will be some grass, and maybe a couple of bushes, nothing more! It's around a 2 hour job to cut the grass, that doesn't include any trimming, etc....(ugh, I'm getting tired thinking of the yard!). As long as we are in Smyrna, we will stay put, and continue to update our home...with my step children being 14, & 17 and only coming over a couple days a month now, and my child being 11, it's perfect for us.... althought I'd love a basement! I guess our next project after the bathroom will give us the added space(enclosing our screened in porch on the back, it's a huge room, it will be the 2nd living room, with wall to wall cabinets for storage on one side)...
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