Oct21 Public Schools in need of an interior decorator?
Education experts are saying that a school’s appearance can affect a student’s performance. This comes as no surprise to me. I’ve always found it easier to get my work done when my bedroom is neat and organized. But it’s interesting, considering how many schools in this country are old and run down, and how our test scores are not always something to brag about.
I walked into the local high school for my choir class after being out of public schools for five years and was rather disgusted by its state. Even though our high school was one of the newer buildings in our school district at the time, the walls and floors were dingy, the halls were stuffy with no natural light, and the whole place smelled awful!
I could not believe anyone could learn in that environment. I still can’t! I don’t even enjoy taking choir in that environment. I shudder to think, “When was the last time they scrubbed the bathroom tile?” and “How much mold could be lurking in those walls?”
And yet, students are expected to learn six subjects a day in that place. George Jackson, a spokesman for the American Federation of Teachers, said this:
“A lot of our schools are in terrible conditions, and we know that corporations wouldn’t tolerate that in their offices.”
How right he is!
Do you think schools will start cleaning up their facilities, in light of the results? Unfortunately, I don’t believe so. Many will likely write off the study as a novelty. Even if they do think a little redecorating would help, they probably will not be willing to shell out the money. It’s no secret that school districts handle their money like a five-year-old in a toy store.
Can you imagine? Perhaps the key to fixing our test scores is Trading Spaces.
(Of course, that still wouldn’t solve problems such as school violence, self-esteem issues, disruptive students, absurd school policy, and the occasional indoctrination of students, but hey, at least they’d learn how to read! As for me, however, I’m still home schooling my kids.)
Photo credit: kmac at stock.xchng.
This entry was posted on Saturday, October 21st, 2006 at 9:02 am in General, Politics. You can subscribe to the comment feed to follow replies or leave a trackback from your own site.
Brittney says...
It sure would be nice, but I’m not seeing it happening, either. With so much tax money going to war and inflation making the remainder less valuable, school budgets are the first things to be cut. The only way they could afford renovation is by cancelling teacher raises.
Oct. 21st, 2006
Shawna says...
Actually, the only way to afford renovation is by canceling the outrageous sums they spend on sports and frivolous items.
When I was in 4th grade our middle school purchased a bunch of kiddie laptops for a huge sum so that they could teach us how to type. A few years later, those laptops were collecting dust in a cabinet.
In 5th grade, the student government voted to construct a play structure in the playground. The area where the play structure would go—the area where many kids used to play basketball and tag games—was closed off for a few months while the play structure was built.
The kids swarmed the play structure for a week after it was done and then abandoned it permanently after deciding that sitting on the pavement singing a song entitled “We’re freezing our butts off” was more fun.
Both of the elementary schools were remodeled this past year. One of them added a second story so it could accommodate K-6. They planned on moving the Jr. High kids from the high school to the middle school, which is being remodeled right now.
Since they planned for a Jr. High, the school is going to have smaller classrooms and a smaller gym. But now school officials have said that enrollment is so low that they need to close a school. Since the high school is the oldest school they will have to shut it down even though the high schoolers need the gym, the larger classrooms, the track and the football field.
Enrollment in our school district has been declining at a steady rate for several years. Surely school officials could have noticed the trend and estimated how many would be enrolled in the next few years if the trend continued! Why on earth are they building bigger schools when enrollment is declining?
My answer: They don’t know the meaning of the word budget, and they don’t know what their school district really needs.
It’s not pay-raises that cause schools to go broke. It’s poor spending habits. They could afford renovation by cutting things other than pay-raises, but we both know that that’s the first thing they would cut.
Oct. 21st, 2006
Brandy says...
My high school was pretty bad, but I guess it would prove that our budget wasn’t all that great either. Not to mention, during the spring and summer, our schools got so hot, and we didn’t even have AC.
Oct. 21st, 2006
Manda says...
I’ve attended public school for one year and two months of my life, all the other times I’ve attended private schools… so needless to say, I don’t have much personal experience on the matter. I do, however, agree that disgusting environments are detrimental to one’s learning environment (there was some big expose on TV the other day about how American students basically suck nowadays) but I don’t think things are going to change anytime soon. I felt like I was in jail when I was going to public school, albeit however briefly, and it didn’t work for me at all.
Oct. 21st, 2006
Shawna says...
You know, I wonder if all of those run down looking schools are even safe. I remember seeing water damage on the ceilings all the time when I was in public school. I don’t know if those problems were allowed to get worse or if they repaired the leaks, water damage, and bleached everything to prevent mold from growing.
Some old schools probably have mold problems. That’s not good for anyone. It’s especially dangerous for kids with asthma and allergies. It’s one thing when kids have to learn in an ugly environment, but I fear some kids are forced to learn in an unhealthy environment.
Oct. 21st, 2006
Corinne says...
I’m evil… I say the blame lies at the hands of the government and mismangagement (wrote an essay on this at my site).
It’s not about programs because there are tons of schools who actually have little to any programs. It’s about the fact that these governments care more about catering to business than the needs of it’s students.
I shan’t rant on your site because I’ve already done it at mine. But suffice it to say, I think it’s pathetic that our greatest institutions (our school systems, as opposed to government or international organizations like the UN) are treated with such a lack of respect. (My link points to my essay if you’re interested.)
Oct. 21st, 2006
Brenda says...
When it comes to the design of schools, I am pretty much impartial, because I always try to filter out the environment which I work in and merely concentrate. :P
The only thing that gets to me is the school toilets, though.
Oct. 23rd, 2006
Jordie says...
Is that picture of your school? I can’t help thinking how that looks more like the entrance to a max-security prison.
Oct. 23rd, 2006
Shawna says...
No, no, no, Jordie! Hehe, that’s not my school. That’s a stock photo of an abandoned school, but I can’t imagine it looked much more friendly when it was being used.
Brenda, I concur wholeheartedly. Those bathrooms are so terrifying I don’t even dare use the sink. I carry Purell!
Oct. 23rd, 2006