October Newspaper

Decisions, Decisions, Is Our School Making t he Right Ones?
By Kaylynn Brum baugh
Maybe you?ve seen t he Snapchat filt er or w ondered w hy you can see t hrough t he high school library?s
w indow s, but not from t he out side Maybe you?ve heard t he band st udent s t alking in hushed voices about t he
disappearing m usical art program and t he t eachers w hose jobs are on t he line. I bet you as a st udent or
t eacher have seen t he pow er go out or felt how cold it w as in t he library for a couple of w eeks. I?ve gone
around t o st udent s and t eachers alike t o gat her as m uch inform at ion as I could, from overhearing
conversat ions t o asking direct ly, all in order t o find out if our school board is m aking t he right decisions, and
if not , w hat can w e do about it ?
I st art ed Friday t he 7t h of Oct ober, and w ent around t he school gat hering inform at ion (aka I w ent t o
t w o st udy halls). Brandon Rodgers, Cody Moore, Ira Mercer, Carlie Gizinski, w ho are som e of m y fellow peers
at Knoch, w ere m ore t han happy t o give m e som e inform at ion. I st art ed by asking a broad t opic quest ion,
?What do you t hink of t he recent school board?s decisions, m eaning anyt hing t hey've done recent ly?? and t he
answ ers w ere m oderat ely t he sam e: ?Trash.? How ever, as w e got int o m ore quest ions t hat w ere based off
single choices, such as how and w here t he school is spending m oney or w hat t hey're doing in concerns of
bullying, t here w as som e favor on t he school board?s side.
The second quest ion w as about t he m usical program . Recent ly I?ve heard som e rum ors about t he art s
program slow ly but surely disappearing. You m ight not rem em ber if you w eren?t in band or orchest ra, but
m usic st udent s used t o have sm all classes about t hirt y m inut es som ew here in t he day, once a w eek. This
assured confidence and m ade sure every kid received t he t im e he or she needed t o learn slow ly, carefully, and
confident ly. Now , how ever, t he school board is t aking out t hat t im e and m aking t he groups bigger in order t o
give t he kids m ore t im e for educat ion. It m ay not seem like t hat big a difference, but w it h bigger groups and
less t im e, it ?s going t o hurt confidence in st udent s. This is going t o hurt m usical educat ion in t he long run.
?True, t hat it is bet t er t o use t his t im e for educat ion,? Moore said, w hen asked about t he t opic. Educat ion is
im port ant , for kids and for school, w it hout it w e can't get good jobs or a subst ant ial am ount of m oney.
How ever, Rodgers gave a very good reason w hy slow ly t aking out t he art program m ay not be such a good
idea: ?We have t o give st udent s t he chance t o becom e a funct ional part of societ y.? Som e people just aren't
t alent ed at m at h or science. It 's t he sam e as som eone w ho m ay be am azing at m at h, but not as good in
English or reading. There are kids w hose ent ire lives revolve around m usic. If w e w ould t ake t hat aw ay,
w here w ould t hey go? Parent s w ant t o send t heir kids t o school w it h high rat ings, and having good art
program s is a good w ay t o have t hem . We need m usic as m uch as m usic needs people t o creat e it .
The t hird quest ion w as very narrow and one-sided: ?What w ould you say about t he snapchat filt er??
Snapchat is a new and rising popular social m edia app. One of it s feat ures is all kinds of filt ers t hat can m ake
your face look disorient ed, or give you a flow er crow n and perfect skin t one for an epic selfie. The school paid
for a filt er of it s ow n w it h t he t ext below it saying: ?Proud t o be a Knight .? I didn't get a very clear answ er at
first on t his one. It w as m ore a chorus of disapproving t hought s. ?It 's st upid,? ?it 's expensive,? and ?w e could
be put t ing t he m oney som ew here else w here it 's needed? w ere t he m ain opinions on t he subject . Not t o
m ent ion, half t he t im e people use t he filt er for disrespect ful reasons t ow ards t he school. For inst ance, one
individual could have a pict ure of som eone st anding on a desk w it h a bot t le balanced on t heir head,
capt ioned ?Proud t o be a Knight .? How ever, t he filt er does bring hum or and laught er t o t he school. We do use
it . For exam ple, aft er t he foot ball or soccer t eam w on a gam e, t hey w ould t ake a pict ure w it h t he filt er. In
som e sense it does bring a feeling of pride.
Anot her recent decision m ade by t he school board w as t o t ake out French. One of t he t eachers w as m oved t o
t he high school, and t he ot her ret ired before he finished t eaching years four and five t o t he st udent s w ho
w ere current ly t aking it . They never got t o finish t he course, w hich affect ed t hem in t heir search for colleges.
Som e colleges require five years of a language, and w e don't even offer t hat anym ore since French is gone.
Learning languages is a very im port ant part of our societ y. The w orld is enorm ous, and t here are hundreds of
languages out t here. If som eone w ant ed t o learn French now , t hey w ould have t o get a privat e t ut or, w hich
could cost said st udent or st udent ?s parent s even m ore m oney, and even m ore t im e. Tim e t hat w it h m ore and
m ore act ivit ies t o do as a young adult is quickly running out .
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The school has also lost various t eachers, From phys ed. t eachers t o art t eachers. One t eacher w e lost w as
Mrs Schaw l, a personal favorit e of m ine. Last year t he art room st art ed t o sm ell a lit t le w eird w hen w e w ent
in. It t urned out she had t o heat up t he clay for her Art of Clay and Wire sculpt ure in her ow n m icrow ave! So,