No Doubt: Schools Need Some Changes

Mon., Nov. 1, 1999

Jake Farley Mead

If you could change one thing about your school, what would it be? Students, teachers and others in the Mead school district got a chance to answer that question recently at the Mead Education Summit.

The two-day summit was better the second day, when I and other students actually got the chance to discuss what we wanted for our schools. So, without further ado, here are some of the most popular ideas from students:

Smaller class sizes. Everyone thought this should be the top priority. Who wouldn’t like Mr. Math Teacher to pay a little more attention to their problems?

* No Physical Education requirements for high school. In the Mead district, you have to take P.E. to graduate and a lot of kids would like to take classes they feel would be more suited to their needs and interests.

* Technology, technology, technology. Almost all students would like more computers, Internet access and teachers who know how to use these things in their classes.

* Bring back support for AP/Honors classes. Support for Advanced Placement and Honors courses has been cut in recent years and many people want it brought back in full force.

* Focus on the arts. A lot of support goes to sports and that’s great, but the arts (band, drama, pottery, painting, choir, photography) need funding, too.

* More field trips. Let’s see, would I rather sit through a lecture on the solar system and maybe get to watch a slide show when I could ride the bus downtown to a planetarium or see the stars through an observatory telescope? Everyone likes field trips, so why aren’t there more of them?

The ideas presented by the students may not be cost-efficient or cheap, but I think we know what is going to make us want to go to school and learn, and I thought that was the point of school all along.

The summit was a step in the right direction for students everywhere, but I don’t know if it will change anything. We’ll just have to wait and see.

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