By: Kevin B. Banks Jr.
As a future Lindblom alumni, I will spend a lot of time reflecting on all the things that made my time at Lindblom memorable. But one thing that will always stick out in my mind is why so many teachers during my six years came and left. Their classrooms quickly replaced by the new teacher, connections and communication seemingly lost to the student. The only true connection will be the teachers name printed on the second semesters transcript with the grade following swiftly afterwards. Like LeBron James and the decision, some of our teachers have moved their talents to the South Beach of CPS, Whitney Young High School. Teachers such as Neil Tejano, Danna Dotson, an outstanding math teacher and first year academic center coordinator and Kayley Hennessy. I know you’re probably thinking, who cares, why does it matter and what’s the point. Here’s the point. Our teachers have been “taken” from us, just to bring their expertise to a school that is known for its high quality students, because at the end of the day, schools and teachers are around because they have students to teach. If schools can be allowed to make offers to teachers just to get them to come to their school, shouldn’t it be quite possible to take something from other schools, in particular their curriculum and administrative habits.
Whitney Young is the number four ranked high school in the state. Number four. Lindblom, thirty seventh. Why is there such a difference between us and them? It certainly isn’t because of the students in my opinion, because we have a lot of incredibly smart students roaming the halls here as well. It also isn’t the administration because we have teachers that will push you, but if need be, will hold your hand through the process to make sure you understand. I believe it is because of the way our curriculum is structured. At WY, students have six classes and a study. They do not take seven classes unless they earn the right. Students that want to take seven classes must have at least a 3.0 GPA. On top of that, with this responsibility comes the expectation that students will attend all classes and if they have poor attendance they will drop the class from the students schedule and the student will receive an F in said class. With this policy at Lindblom, it will discourage students from taking on more than they can chew as well as encourage those that can handle it to keep working at a high level. I recently asked a Whitney Young student what they thought made WY better than other selective enrollment high schools and they said, “Because WY is a selective enrollment school, I think it encourages students to work harder in their academic lives. Students put so much emphasis on getting into our school, that they feel like they have to succeed here. I believe it is all about the environment the student is in as well. When you take the top students from around the city and put them in a setting, a healthy competition evolves from it. And everyone is trying to get an A in that class, it pushes you mentally and academically as well.” Lindblom can be king of the hill, but we have to work at it. I think if we look at this high school thing as a competition it will yield great benefits. The better we do as a school, the more funding we will receive and the more opportunities we will have as a student body.
As a future Lindblom alumni, I will spend a lot of time reflecting on all the things that made my time at Lindblom memorable. But one thing that will always stick out in my mind is why so many teachers during my six years came and left. Their classrooms quickly replaced by the new teacher, connections and communication seemingly lost to the student. The only true connection will be the teachers name printed on the second semesters transcript with the grade following swiftly afterwards. Like LeBron James and the decision, some of our teachers have moved their talents to the South Beach of CPS, Whitney Young High School. Teachers such as Neil Tejano, Danna Dotson, an outstanding math teacher and first year academic center coordinator and Kayley Hennessy. I know you’re probably thinking, who cares, why does it matter and what’s the point. Here’s the point. Our teachers have been “taken” from us, just to bring their expertise to a school that is known for its high quality students, because at the end of the day, schools and teachers are around because they have students to teach. If schools can be allowed to make offers to teachers just to get them to come to their school, shouldn’t it be quite possible to take something from other schools, in particular their curriculum and administrative habits.
Whitney Young is the number four ranked high school in the state. Number four. Lindblom, thirty seventh. Why is there such a difference between us and them? It certainly isn’t because of the students in my opinion, because we have a lot of incredibly smart students roaming the halls here as well. It also isn’t the administration because we have teachers that will push you, but if need be, will hold your hand through the process to make sure you understand. I believe it is because of the way our curriculum is structured. At WY, students have six classes and a study. They do not take seven classes unless they earn the right. Students that want to take seven classes must have at least a 3.0 GPA. On top of that, with this responsibility comes the expectation that students will attend all classes and if they have poor attendance they will drop the class from the students schedule and the student will receive an F in said class. With this policy at Lindblom, it will discourage students from taking on more than they can chew as well as encourage those that can handle it to keep working at a high level. I recently asked a Whitney Young student what they thought made WY better than other selective enrollment high schools and they said, “Because WY is a selective enrollment school, I think it encourages students to work harder in their academic lives. Students put so much emphasis on getting into our school, that they feel like they have to succeed here. I believe it is all about the environment the student is in as well. When you take the top students from around the city and put them in a setting, a healthy competition evolves from it. And everyone is trying to get an A in that class, it pushes you mentally and academically as well.” Lindblom can be king of the hill, but we have to work at it. I think if we look at this high school thing as a competition it will yield great benefits. The better we do as a school, the more funding we will receive and the more opportunities we will have as a student body.