Over the course of my three years at this school, I was blindsided twice when I learned about changes right at the beginning of the school year. Both revealed the disconnect between our school and students because in both scenarios, the school didn’t ask for any student input.
The first change that happened recently was when the administration exchanged Advanced Sports Medicine’s old curriculum with a Pasadena City College dual enrollment class taught by PCC baseball coach Steve Allyn and Mt. San Antonio College water polo coach Adam Roth. The semester-long class is Kinesiology 005, First Aid and Responding to Emergencies, and is completely different from what the Student Handbook describes.
For context, the amount of Sports Medicine sections rose from two to five in the span of a year, simply because of Sports Medicine teacher Anthony Garcia’s teaching style and experience in the field. However, students found out during registration that Garcia would no longer teach Advanced Sports Medicine.
Even more so, counselors moved all seniors registered for Sports Medicine into the advanced class as a result of the school’s decision, without asking for student input, believing that this was the best option.
The second change was when former German teacher Judith Graunke retired before the 2018-2019 school year and the administration did not ask for student input on the matter before deciding to introduce Apex Learning for German 2 and LanguageBird for German 3/4.
Administration assumed that students would prefer to take Advanced Sports Medicine class since it provides college credit. The school understands that students value college credit. Student interest and fixation on Advanced Placement classes show the high regard held for it, so the school found an additional option: dual enrollment classes from PCC. Students earn college credit by simply ending the semester with a passing grade. However, in the case of Advanced Sports Medicine, it was bad practice to not ask for student input before implementing the change.
Students deserve the right to know about changes to their education as well as be given opportunities to voice concerns or suggestions. The school is responsible for providing an education and preparing students for adulthood. To not trust the students’ opinions on matters means failure on the institution’s part to develop educated decision-makers.
Our school needs to proactively seek student representation on issues that involve them directly. When a problem occurs and changes need to be made, the administration can contact students through their school email to provide an avenue for feedback and to take student opinion into account before making a final decision. Not only does this process clue students into their own future, but it also creates the opportunity for students to get involved and interested in their learning.
When it comes to educating our future generations, there is nothing more important than ensuring that they participate in changes that affect them directly.
TCHS School Newspaper