We received this eloquent comment very recently: “Im terribly vexed by your untoward negative attention to the Library. The qualified and well-educated librarians are thoughtful and diligent. They harness the unwieldy world of information; insofar they help in its quest to accessible relevance for our young minds. You sound like middle-aged women on social security. Find a better way to express your frustration concerning LHS. Its not hard to not chew gum, moderate your voice, or place your flashy new Sigg at the door. Whalen and Anderson are human, and understand our struggle to adapt – we are all susceptible to a short temper, even folly . I think TSQ has a stellar forum to better the slanted image of the library. Please take advantage of this, and realize how fortunate we are to have such a wonderful and useful asset as the anchor of our school. Additionally, your slamming of LHS’ technology as a morass, festering problem is asinine. Our new machines that deployed across the school are now over three years old (Oct. 05 G5 PowerPC) and the server is burdened and quickly pushing obsolescence. Your cavalier disrespect for our students with visual impairment and learning disabilities stands out wonderfully when you deride and mock the SmartBoards, and related accessibility peripherals. Our school is behind the idealized, utopic alternative they boast, laminated on every wall. More-so, they hinder our collective advancement socially and professionally at the constrictive bounds of less than optimal technological outfitting. In an accelerated and advanced informational age, we ought to be equipped to the extent that our parents, teachers, taxes, and hopes would want.”
Let us respond:
-Our library is the crux of our school. The breadth of knowledge that the librarians possess is irreplaceable. Often times, this fact goes amiss. We’d like to point out a recent poll we took on TSQ. Few students were pleased with the situation in the library. Others were nonchalant, but the majority, 65% of students who voted, believed the library to be a bit hectic. We attribute this chaos to the students. You bring up the point that we can adapt, and “Its not hard to not chew gum, moderate your voice, or place your flashy new Sigg at the door”. Certainly the students have a choice to make: either help make the library a better place by adapting to the rules, or resist these rules and make the library run less smoothly. While we believe we have the ability to adapt to the rules, there is a general consensus of discontentment with the library system. It is not the librarians, usually, that people are having problems with. It is the over-bearing sense of babysitting that has to go on in order for one to be in the library. Those that have been at LHS for multiple years have seen an evolution in the library. This year was drastically different with the new rule of signing in, to the bill passed by Senate for students to go directly to the library from study halls. For some people, the scrutiny of keeping track of where students are is a pain. In the end, we should be grateful for the incredible amount of freedom our school provides us, from open campus to the different courses offered. TSQ merely was making commentary about the library based upon general consensus. We, perhaps, should be appreciative a bit more about what we do have, and not what we don’t have. Which brings us to our next point….
-Technology: Often times at LHS, we do not stop to think about what we do have. We are fortunate to live in a community that supports its students whole-heartedly. We are fortunate to have computers in every classroom. We are fortunate for the access to databases, digital camcorders, projection screens, and what have you at school. The NEASC survey called our technology “inadequate”, and we were exemplifying that perhaps NEASC overlooked what we do have and focused more on what we don’t have. The administration has identified this technology gap and has in the works many projects to mediate such a gap. A new Internet server is being worked on for faster connection speeds. In the next coming year, an electronic system will be installed in the cafeteria to eliminate lunch tickets. Our tax dollars are hard at work paying teachers, paying for school maintenance, as well as for updated technology, albeit a worsening world economy. Not once did we “mock the SmartBoards” . For every subject taught at LHS, there is one classroom for the hearing impaired, each with sound-proofing and other acoustic-enhancing products. This may not be the most advanced solution to aid those who are impaired, but we should be grateful that we do have at least something. The administration is clearly showing us that they are attempting to fill this “technology gap”, and if they are attempting this, our technology should not be deemed “inadequate”. If you would like to read the NEASC report, click here: Lexington Public Schools. One thing this report does point out is that we have a mission statement but that it is not necessarily being fulfilled. You mention, “Our school is behind the idealized, utopic alternative they boast, laminated on every wall”. You are not alone in these sentiments, just as the NEASC Report showed.
To sum up: TSQ is your voice. We are glad to be generating thoughts as shown above.
On this note: remember, we are merely making commentary on life at our school based upon general student consensus. The articles written may not correlate to the writer’s opinion, so please remain respectful and refrain from attacking TSQ writers directly.
