schoolyard subversion

2000-08-22 [< * >]

Today was the grand, "Freshman Orientation" (not just for freshman anymore). Another day of school, before school, except even more useless and boring than school generally is. It was supposed to be a day where we learned about the school, so we weren't dropped into an unfriendly environment and forced to (gasp!) discover things for ourselves.

8:30 - 9:45: Meeting in the Green

The day started out with us being bribed with doughnuts and juice, followed by one of the ubiquitous, annoying getting to know you activities. Then, we shuffled into the library for introductions/explanations from the teachers and our new principal.

9:45 - 10:15: Introductions

Head of Upper School

Our new principal (who I've discussed before) seems nice enough. He gave an interesting talk, but seemed rather nervous. Which made sense, after all, since he was so new to the school and in unfamiliar surroundings. However, it added an air of reality to his words, knowing they weren't some sly, cooked-up marketese designed to brainwash us. He made some great points and seems to understand the subversive philosophy.

He started out by giving us help on adjusting to the school. He told us it was important to learn about the many varied traditions we had. Also, he explained it was important for us to reach out and connect with other students and teachers.

Then he talked about his philosophy, which was the really interesting thing. He noted that the most important thing that the school taught was that of character, and how to make you a better person. School, he said, was a place to learn how to learn. People only remember 10%-20% of what they learn in high school, which "isn't a whole lot." Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner.

The question is, will he do something about it. He knows these values are implicit in the school, but can we make them explicit? That's the key to reforming the school.

Head of Athletics, Head of Arts, Head of Community Service

This trio introduced their respective programs. I'll share the highlights of each. Athletics: We have about 90% enrollment. [...] Even if we got rid of the sports requirement, I think our enrollment would stay about the same. Then why don't you get rid of it? Arts: We have something for everyone in the arts program here. Community Service: I encourage everyone to take an active role in community service.

10:15 - 11:00: Skits

Reading between the lines: When our new principal found out that freshman orientation didn't involve any he students, he threw a fit. He called up the student council president and asked her to gather together a bunch of older students to re-do orientation. It worked. The only worthwhile things in this orientation were the things the principal said, and the things the older students said.

As part of this, the students quickly improvised skits to allay our fears of going to high school. Of course, the skits did more to bring these fears back to mind than to set them to rest, but that was okay. they were funny (perhaps it was just because we were all so tense) and we actually laughed.

Talking with the Group

We were split up into smaller groups and paired with an older student to help introduce us to the high school. The leader of our group was a well-recognized face. She was a senior, she had gone to the school forever, she always participated in plays and the like, and she was always nice to younger students. That's why I was surprised at what she said.

No one was asking questions, so I decided to speak up. "How were you able to survive four years of such utter boredom?" Laughs. She said it was hard, the classes were awful, but you had to live with them. The non-class activities weren't so bad, though.

Her partner, aghast, tried to cover up. "That's only if your a student like [her]. [...] She never does her homework, or anything." But the secret was out, they weren't happy with their education. This was bad enough, but it got worse.

Later, she gave us tips on how to survive at the school. "It's all about working the system." She clearly had learned the system's ways. "You need to figure out about every teacher. [...] Some get really annoyed [at stuff] but others don't care." She too, had also been bitten by the system. "They're really annoying about lates. If you get to many lates they'll put you on Saturday early arrival [a form of detention]."

This was the message throughout the day, loud and clear: the system is broken, we try our best to cheat it. This is a serious problem, and needs to be addressed to make the school a positive learning environment. But I'm not surprised, it's likely the same at all schools. That's why we need to change.

Subscribe!

Like this entry? Subscribe to receive future updates by email: