The Spartacus

Spartans Assemble; Rethinking our Community Gatherings

Thursday, May 31, 2012 By David Gonzlez

Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} It seems that at an assembly there is nothing to see but a sea of bored faces sharing a forced agony. The sea has many states, the angry relentless one making noise and jabbering about, the calm but distracted one dripping away at another (possibly just as noble) cause, and of course, the serene peaceful one tranquilized by sleepiness and tedium. No matter what condition the water is, there seems to be a common theme, it is not falling into place and following the controlled and predictable high and low tides. Rather, it’s going against the status quo much to the chagrin teachers and presenters that try to navigate the violent water. What conditions cause these wildly unpredictable and uncontrollable tides? How can these waters be safely treaded in the future? Of course, Director of School, Mr. Glen Turf, is not oblivious to poor conditions. Even he admits to thinking of other things during assemblies, “The conversation about the problem with our assemblies started in my mind during one of our assemblies,” he says. After this inner conversation he decided to run a series of meetings that included all administration, teachers, and even some students that might have had an idea how to save the dying system. Many interesting ideas were thrown about by all sections of the school. Marco Cartolano, freshman, suggested that some of the periods should be used for club meeting times, as meetings are poorly attended, unorganized, and rushed. Of course, the problem with this is the complexity of the system that would have to be implemented. Mr. Cabana, English teacher, suggests that we should focus more of our energy on showcasing student talent, because these types of assemblies are often the most remarkable and notable ones. Mrs. Dorn, English teacher, proposes that we should be more discriminating in our choice of outside speakers as they often do not know our community and the very purpose of gathering, strengthening our community connectivity, is being counteracted. The idea of an extended advisory period was also discussed extensively. Among the most exciting ideas about extended advisory belonged to Mrs. Sachs and was dubbed by Mr. Cabana as a “mini-minimester.” Each teacher would hold a short discussion or game playing session that pertained to their interests and students would pick which one to attend. Possibly the most promising idea came from Humanities chair, Mrs. Gallup. She proposed that students would have about half a dozen required assemblies and 10 or so choice assemblies. This way, people would be able to attend only the assemblies that pertained to them. Many people did not show up to Mr. Turf’s meetings. Not a single class sponsor was there to voice the opinion of their classes and only a few students actually showed up. In fact, only three students came to the meeting. Despite the consistent complaining, students seem to go to little effort to make their voices actually heard. This is an example of our slacktavist (a combination of slacking and activist) society; students love the idea of making a difference but would not dare put in the effort to actually do so. This is an absolutely essential demon plaguing the community that creeps into all facets of our life from any leadership position to donating to certain charities. Students constantly try to find deeper meaning in their actions and try to justify their life as a significant changer of the world and future generations. They delude themselves into thinking they help others to satisfy a biological need and give themselves a burst of serotonin that helps them make it through their stressful lifestyle. Of course, right now we do not have a final decision on what will be instituted next year, but one thing is certain, we will see some changes (hopefully positive ones) to assemblies next year.