There are many changes that have been instituted this year that I disagree with. For example, the color of the school: really, fire truck red? Like we don’t have enough fire trucks coming to our school as it is.
Then there is the placement of the office of our school counselor, Rachel Hecht. I thought that there was some degree of privacy and anonymity in what she does. Putting her office in the middle of everything where students frequently pass by and can see in the window is not very private at all. If I had an issue with something, I would much rather deal with it in her old room in the basement, which was completely detached from society.
Also, I feel badly for the teachers because they don’t have their own offices anymore. I mean, yes it’s great that they can now collaborate about things in this new room the size of a football field, but honestly when will Dr. Yoss ever try and give advice to Shlomit about how to help Hebrew run more efficiently? Better yet, will they understand what one another is saying?
On a serious note however, a real problem is that this huge collaborative room provides no privacy for the teachers in the event that they need to call a student’s parents. To accommodate this, the designers of the remodel made conference rooms that teachers (and students) can make appointments to use. These conference rooms would also be available for committee meetings, as well as to meet with teachers privately about their grades along with anything else they have to complain about.
I have to admit, it is a good idea to have these rooms. They can also be used for giving make-up tests. But they have a major flaw: When is a student going to have the courage to call a teacher from the Collaboration Room into one of the conference rooms? It would be embarrassing to do this.
The conference rooms might seem like a good place for a teacher to call a student’s parents. But if the parents do not pick up, then the teacher would have to wait in the room until they call back, which wastes everyone’s time.
Which takes us back to the Collaboration Room, where they also can’t do too much work at once because their books and papers aren’t kept there. It is possible that teachers will get into fights about which cubby space is whose and possibly even about “stolen” staplers or erasers. Also, if one teacher is trying to work, then he or she will need the room to be quiet, however if there are other teachers there, then the likelihood of quiet is slim.
It is also possible that teachers will only hang out in that area as opposed to watching over the students. Speaking as a student, this could be a good thing because it will allow us to vandalize lockers and do whatever we want (just kidding). However, this is actually the worst thing, because in the students’ area there will be hardly any supervision.
Finally, I would like to comment on the PA system that Mr. Yossie Frankel has brought back from the depths of Shalhevet history. When I was in 5thgrade at Shalhevet Middle School, we had a PA system that was one of the most annoying things I’ve ever experienced other than my sister singing. Now, it’s back. Also, a three-minute bell comes out of the PA system to tell students (and teachers) that they are now officially tardy for class, but it sounds like the beginning part of an announcement that the captain makes on a cruise.
I would just like to say that I have the utmost respect for Rabbi Segal, Rabbi Leubitz, Mr. Danovitch, Mr. Frankel and Eli Schiff, so I mean no disrespect with what I have said. I also really hope that they don’t take away the new student lounge because it is quite awesome.
