Jones teachers fear speaking out will threaten reputation under current LSC*All interviews are kept anonymous to protect the identities of the sources
With recent controversy at Jones surrounding the Local School Council (LSC) and allegations of the LSC’s attempts at undermining Jones’ administration, many teachers have found themselves caught in the crossfire. In a time where multiple teachers have cited tensions at Jones to be higher than ever and some are even questioning their futures at Jones, much remains up in the air as to where the true problem lies. However, many teachers are hesitant to speak out on the issues at hand, in fear of damaging their reputations. According to one teacher who requested anonymity due to a fear of retaliation, the split climate between faculty members at Jones stems from the school’s LSC, who started their tenure in Jan. 2021. According to their website, the Jones LSC is a “13-member democratically-elected public body” and their primary powers are “budgetary oversight, approval of a school’s plan for improvement and the selection, evaluation and renewal of a principal’s contract.” More broadly put, “LSCs are a form of school governance specific to Chicago Public Schools.” “I think that the LSC and people in the LSC have a very specific agenda,” said the teacher. “And I think that they’re trying to fit events at Jones into that agenda in a way that uses students and staff as a kind of prop for a larger end goal.” This teacher believes the LSC’s agenda is forcing Jones faculty members to choose sides on the issue. “The staff seems to be dividing themselves into camps and it seems that a lot of staff members are uncomfortable talking to one another openly or uncomfortable with sharing views that diverge from perhaps the loudest and most vocal views in the room.” The two sides were explained as follows: “I think there is a side that generally views Jones as a progressive space that, with its problems, still is one of the top schools in the city that still is doing right by the vast majority of its students,” said the teacher. “And then I think there are people that think Jones isn’t really functioning well as a school at all and that it’s constantly discriminating against its minority students in a way that puts them at a disadvantage.” For those teachers who are in support of the school’s current administration, many worry for a future in which the LSC might overhaul the entire administration and go for a severe change in scenery at the school. Of those teachers, some have even marked concerns regarding their future at the school if that change were to occur. “I've heard people talk about the changing Jones dynamic and a concern about the future, especially about the future if Dr. Powers were to leave and what the next administration could or would look like, or what that would mean for Jones,” said the same teacher. “There are definitely teachers that are concerned and thinking about leaving, and I think maybe rightfully so.” This teacher also noted a widespread fear of speaking out in today’s societal climate and how, specifically, showing support of the current Jones administration could heavily damage one’s reputation. “I think that if you try to present alternatives to people's truths, you can get typecast as racist or discriminatory yourself, and that's not a label that I want to live with. The faculty who disagree just tend to not talk to each other.” However, some teachers agree with the views of the LSC and don’t believe the LSC poses any threat to teachers’ futures. Some of those teachers also don’t see tensions at all between faculty members or notice any fear of speaking out. “I haven't personally noticed anything. I don't think the LSC has the power to do anything to teachers though,” said another teacher. “So I would say I do think there's a bit of misinformation going around in terms of what the LSC actually has the power to do.” On top of that, this second teacher supports the influential involvement of the LSC and believes it is overall beneficial to the school. “I do think that, in a lot of ways, [the LSC’s] involvement is a good thing because I think there needs to be more involvement and oversight in some areas.” The teacher also discussed their concerns about equity issues and Jones and how those issues had been handled by the school’s administration. “I would say that there are some long-standing issues, particularly with equity amongst our student population. I think there's room in terms of all of our curriculum to really reflect and think about the ways in which our curriculum is accessible for all students and genuinely progressive.” However, there is still an abundance of teachers who think change shouldn’t have anything to do with the dismissal of the current administration. In fact, over the course of just one day (as of Nov. 17), 79 Jones staff members signed a letter stating that “any attempt to abruptly remove Dr. Powers from his position of our principal would cause tremendous disruption and is not in the best interest of the Jones community.” The letter also notes several of Dr. Powers’ accomplishments and upstanding morale as a principal. Of the teachers who signed the letter, one noted their reason for joining the petition was because of how Dr. Powers was being treated. “We felt that the way that [Dr. Powers] has been portrayed and treated isn't fair and that not all sides were being expressed as to how we appreciate positive things he does. You’ve got to give credit where credit is due.” That same teacher noted their rising concern and fear of hateful accusations when coming out in support of Dr. Powers. Some teachers chose to sign anonymously in fear of retaliation and intimidation from the LSC and/or other faculty. “If you come out in favor of saying I support Dr. Powers being here, there are going to be some people who interpret that as, ‘then you're a racist.’ And I think, unfortunately, that's the jump that sometimes is made and I think that is a concern of people.” Specifically, the teacher noted what they believed to be unethical behavior by the LSC in past meetings by calling out specific teachers and their classes. “What is the concern was that in past meetings, it was unethical and irresponsible for [the LSC] to be addressing personnel decisions,” said the third teacher on the LSC’s addressing of specific teachers and classes. “It's just not professional to be naming specific classes and it’s tarnishing those teacher’s names. Relationships can be destroyed.” All-in-all, many teachers, including the anonymous teacher who signed the petition, fear a future at Jones where tensions could potentially get too out of hand and chaos might ensue. “I just hope it doesn't get to that point where total communication breaks down.”
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“No way, Matt slipped on the stairs yesterday in school.”
“And Mr. Adams accidentally said orgasm instead of organism in biology.” “Did you see Jacob got rejected by his crush during lunch?” “Wow, and Lily air-balled TWICE in the basketball game last night.” The morning paper was out. Nathan leaned back in his scratched-up denim-colored school chair observing as the crowd of students rushed the front of the cafeteria. Not a single student sticking out, the herd of black ants marched to grab their daily edition of the Transparent Times. Alone at the back table of his high school’s cafeteria, Nathan tried his best to pose as one of those marching ants, even if he wasn’t marching. Although their school didn’t have a uniform, almost all boys wore khakis and a t-shirt with girls donning their own leggings and shirts. Nathan avoided engaging in class at all costs, too scared of what might happen if he were to answer a question wrong. The fear of appearing in the Transparent Times outweighed any positive recognition Nathan could possibly receive through participation. No one knew his name. On the way out of the cafeteria, Nathan continued to hear conversations about the Transparent Times down the narrow halls. The more he heard people talk, the more he feared doing something wrong to earn him a spot in the next edition. His life would be over if he ever got called out like that. As he continued walking, Nathan noticed Matt approaching the cracked-limestone stairs. His body appeared to be trembling as he clutched the rail tightly in his sweating right fist. Before he could start walking, a mass of students slowly crept upon the staircase, pointing and laughing. “Hey Matt, having some trouble over there?” “Those stairs looking a little too slippery again?” “If you want I can call Mr. Adams to carry you down!” Matt continued to shake as his face reddened to match his copy of The Catcher in the Rye, still rumpled from his last tumble down the stairs. He now looped his entire right arm around the railing, still yet to take a step. The group of students continued to observe and commentate on Matt’s struggles, keeping a solid several feet’s distance from his wrinkled khakis. Nathan continued to observe from the other end of the hall. Although he had never spoken with Matt, he had taken several classes with him and knew Matt to be a strong student. However, his popularity had always made him too risky to interact with. Now, with Matt’s friends seeming to have turned on him, Nathan couldn’t help but feel remorse for the poor kid. As he leaned with his back against the lockers focused on the other side of the hall, Nathan suddenly shook up. No longer zoned out, Nathan’s head shot up as he took a few steps forward to get a better look. There was no doubt… Matt’s left shoe was untied. Stressing for not only Matt’s safety but also the agonizing pain he would go through for another trip down the stairs, Nathan was unable to resist his usual impulse to sit back and do nothing. As Matt slowly began to take his first step down the stairs, Nathan thrust his back off the lockers and began sprinting forward. With only 10 feet separating him and Matt, Nathan began the short sprint across the hall. The crowd of students to the left of him remained focused on their taunts at Matt, oblivious to the sprinting student heading toward them. With his eyes still focused on the shoelace, Nathan knew he needed to get Matt’s attention before he took that first step. “MATTTTT.” Matt paused himself and slowly turned his head. The entire crowd of students also turned towards Nathan upon hearing his voice-crackling, high-pitched scream. Nathan continued to throw his body forward at full force, ignoring the bundle of attention set on him. As soon as he saw Matt’s pleading eyes facing his direction, he began to slow down, knowing he had stopped Matt’s first step. Using his left leg in an attempt to stop his momentum, Nathan suddenly felt his foot give out. The copy of The Catcher in the Rye was sent sprawling in the air, as Nathan too went flying forward. Down the stairs, Nathan went. Arms flailing back and legs in the air, Nathan could do nothing as his momentum took him down the limestone. When he finally landed at the bottom with a loud thud, all Nathan could think about was the dread of tomorrow’s edition of the Transparent Times. The crowd of kids observed in shock as they witnessed their second victim to the stairs in just as many days. --- Nathan timidly stepped into the cafeteria the next day, repping baggy sweatpants and a sweatshirt, hood pulled so tightly his eyes were barely visible. He shakingly pulled out his same scratched-up school chair and sat down. The herd of black ants approached the newsstand, eager to grab their newest edition of the Transparent Times. Sweating up a storm inside his sweatshirt, Nathan clenched the sides of the chair with both of his hands. He rocked back and forth, preparing for the torment he was about to receive from his school. Nathan knew he would never live this one down. “It says here that Nathan slipped on a book and fell down the stairs… Just like Matt!” “Who even is Nathan?” “Eh doesn’t matter then I guess. Who’s next?” On Thursday, July 29, over 100,000 people packed into Grant Park for Day One of Lollapalooza. After being canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Lollapalooza returned in stylish fashion for 2021 with a lineup headlining Miley Cyrus, Post Malone, The Foo Fighters, and more.
Lollapalooza’s performances always draw a large crowd of high school students. Conveniently located in the backyard of Jones College Prep, Jones students were abundant at this year’s global music festival. “I did see surprisingly a lot of Jones kids,” said Hollis Severins ‘23. “That’s hard to do because of how big Lolla is!” With many students having gone a long period of time without seeing each other, Lollapalooza provided a great opportunity to reconnect with “old” high school friends. “It was so much fun seeing people I hadn’t seen in what seemed like forever!” said Severins. “I loved Lolla this year, it was a lot of fun and the music was surprisingly good for the lineup that they had.” Many other people also attributed their good times to the strong performances from artists. “I did enjoy [Lollapalooza],” said Alex Warren ‘22. “I thought a couple of performances were very good and there was a lot of energy in the crowd.” Warren also enjoyed the presence of fellow Jones students in the crowd. However, some students said it was their knowledge of the downtown area that made Lolla especially exciting. “Being a Jones student 100 percent affected my experience at Lolla,” said Severins. “I took the train to and from Lolla a couple of the nights. So many people were getting lost but I knew my way around!” Chloe Deforest ‘22, who also took the train to Lollapalooza, had a similar experience on the train. She believed her time at Jones well prepared her for the concert, allowing her to show others around. “I knew the train stops and where to get off, so yes, going to Jones definitely helped,” said Deforest. “I went to Lollapalooza with people who don’t go to Jones, so it was definitely interesting leading them around.” Deforest said she did not expect her stamina to hold up for the entire weekend. “I actually thought it would be really tiring going all four days, but I really enjoyed it,” said Deforest. “I had a great time.” Although many had an excellent time during the four-day festival, several people suffered the loss of a phone at the event. Joey Scalise ‘22 had to deal with the consequences of having a friend’s phone stolen out of his own pocket. “We were at Playboi Carti and my friend didn’t have zipped-up or buttoned pockets, so he decided to hand [his phone] to me,” said Scalise. “I assume someone saw me put it in the buttoned pants, because about 3 minutes into jumping up and down the phone was gone.” However, even with the guilt of having his friend’s phone stolen from him, Scalise said he still had a great time at the festival and his friend quickly forgave him. Similar to Scalise’s story, Warren also had his phone stolen from his own pockets; however, this time it was his own. “We were at the EDM [Electronic Dance Music] stage, and I was not paying attention to my phone for a little bit,” said Warren. “Next thing you know, I reached towards my pocket and noticed that [my phone] wasn’t there.” Warren claims he was lucky enough to have lost his phone on the last day of Lollapalooza and wasn’t too affected by the absence of his personal device. Even with no phone, Warren said he was able to enjoy the rest of his night and have a stellar time at the Young Thug concert. Altogether, Jones students appeared to have a memorable and fantastic experience at the return of Lollapalooza--with phones or without. French woke up in not the best mood today. Right away I should’ve seen his constant grogginess as a sign of bad things to come. He got out of his crate and almost immediately was whining and groaning seemingly every complaint imaginable. “My knees hurt like a bitch.” “This cereal is horse-shit.” “Why is it so damn bright out.” French knows he’s never supposed to talk to strangers when we leave the house, let alone be impolite to them. However, as soon as we left the house I could tell today might be different.
We went outside and got on our usual 94 bus to downtown. Today, French and I had decided to take a day trip to the mall. In hindsight, I have no clue why I thought it could possibly be a good idea to take French to the mall given his current mood. Almost immediately, as we pulled open the large glass doors to the mall, French let out a large groan. One could hear the trembling vibrations of his vocal cords without even paying much attention. We got a few looks from strangers, but nothing too invasive came from the groan. Still, I decided to give French a nice tug and punch: “Get your act together French, we’re in public for god’s sake.” French just continued grudging along, mouthing some combination of nasty words to himself. Finally, we arrived at the movie theatre, where French and I grabbed our popcorn and went to grab seats in the front of the vast, yet very full theatre room. We managed to make it to the end of the movie without French saying a word. I had come to the conclusion that maybe he actually enjoyed the movie and it had cured his nasty mood. Unfortunately, I was quickly proved wrong. Upon the finish of the final scene, French turned to me with the same look in his eyes I had been stuck with all morning. With a voice even louder than his groan earlier, French yelled out “THIS MOVIE FUCKING BLOWS! NEVER IN MY DAMN LIFE HAVE I SEEN A SO-CALLED FILM THIS SHITTY.” The large crowd turned to us and almost immediately erupted in an out-roar. I gave French a quick piercing glance and began to question how I might be able to fix the situation. Rather uncomfortably, I stood up on my chair and turned back to face the rest of the theatre. I saw the entire crowd’s eyes fixated on French and me with rage. French tried to stand up, but I pushed him back down to restrict him from doing anything else crazy. When the ensemble of complaints finally grew silent, I addressed the angry crowd. “Sorry everyone, pardon my French!” Today is International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Today is a day to look back and make sure this world never forgets the horrors that took place in Nazi Germany. Today is a day in which the United Nations urges humanity to honor the 6 million Jewish victims of the Holocaust and educate each other so such a tragedy may never happen again. Yet, on this day, no one seems to remember.
As I have scrolled through social media, our modern-day platform for activism and awareness, it’s been scary to see the scarce amount of posts regarding Holocaust Remembrance Day. Even scarier--I haven’t seen a single post from a non-Jewish person. I immediately went to text my non-Jewish friends, asking if they happened to know what day today was. To my dismay, I received answers such as “Wednesday,” or “the 27th,” with an abundance of confusion. Even my Jewish friends seemed clueless about the importance of today. We wonder why so many people are becoming unaware of our horrific past, yet the answer sits right in front of us. We aren’t providing them with enough opportunity to become aware. America has so many other relevant holidays that successfully highlight and force us to remember our pasts, both festive and reflective of past tragedies. Even Groundhog Day appears to be more recognized than Holocaust Remembrance Day. Why is it that a day acknowledging one of this world’s most poignant events is less recognized than a day where an animal mindlessly pokes its head outside to give us false hope about the weather? Why is it that just three weeks after neo-Nazi flags were flown in our nation’s Capitol, we aren’t seeing our very own nation come together and pledge to “never forget”? Why is it that just three weeks after blatant anti-semitism was explicitly on display in one of our nation’s most sacred buildings, there has yet to be an outroar from society at-large? The answers to these questions lay in the foundations of our culture and our education system. Not once in school today has a teacher mentioned the Holocaust. Not once have I received an email from anyone today acknowledging this global holiday and shout for remembrance. Not once have I had a friend even understand the significance of today without a friendly reminder. Even in Illinois, where Holocaust education is required in public schools, it seems to lack on the one day where it should be the most prevalent. What’s the point of requiring Holocaust education if it’s not even present on on a day the United Nations urges it to be discussed? Holocaust Remembrance Day needs to be a pillar of our nation, a holiday that every citizen grows up knowing and discussing. If we hope to fight hate, we must first show where hate has existed in our past. There is no reason that our lives shouldn’t be flooded with discussions about the Holocaust on this monumental day. These conversations can start on social media, but must move past the simple urges from our phones. We must move past the easy repost from social media and take further steps by discussing the Holocaust with our peers. Today must be a reminder, waking people up from their ignorance of anti-semitism in the past and present. We tell people to never forget, yet it appears that humanity is in fact forgetting. As the last of the Holocaust survivors are sadly dying out, remembering is becoming more important than ever. In a poll of 102 countries and territories done by the Anti-Defimation League, it was discovered that 35% of people in the polls had never heard of the Holocaust. We must urge not only ourselves to remember, but also the rest of society. Today must be a day where the entire world can come together--a day where we can honor those we lost, remember the horrors people faced, and envision a future where history is not repeated. Make sure you know what today is, and make sure others know what today is. This time, let’s truly never forget. As this utter chaos has been breaking out across America, I’ve been witnessing all of it in the house of the kids I babysit. With an 8 and 12-year-old, it’s certainly been interesting to hear their thoughts as this news erupts. The sad part- they only seemed to be able to speak of politics in terms of violence, as if that was just the norm for America’s Government. The 8-year-old marked his disbelief in the fact that Trump was still alive, finding it shocking that he hadn’t been shot yet. He then went on to predict Biden’s time in office, expecting it only to last very few days as Biden would “probably get killed too.”
In one of the largest and most influential moments in recent American Government history, these kids see nothing unusual happening. They see this as normal, something that can just be expected to happen in the world we live in. Rather than show disgust at the actions of their fellow citizens, these kids have been raised in a world where they can simply sit back and laugh: “not this again.” When it came to politics, these kids only knew how to talk about violence. Their version of “politics” is simply what most of us know to be as destruction and war. These words completely opened my mind, as I began to realize that these were most likely the thoughts fostered by the majority of younger generations. These kids grow up with the belief that their government isn’t safe, that their president will most likely be shot if some people don’t agree with their policies. With no other government to draw from, kids are setting a precedent of failure and chaos for their nation’s very own government. They believe politics are a place people go to die, a warzone in our own government. I’m still horrified and in shock from hearing these words, and I’m still not sure what exactly to do with them. However, one thing’s for sure- this isn’t the nation we want kids to believe they live in. This is a nation slowly growing to become one of hate. Have we not learned from our history? Hate is the center of every humanitarian crime ever committed; but once again, this is just how it is these days, isn’t it? We can’t let our younger generations get accustomed to a society full of malice and politics full of danger. This isn’t the world we want to leave them, nor the world we want them to build. Sports work in a hierarchy: professional sports up top, followed by collegiate sports, and then high school. This ladder-shaped system has been around for ages, shaping how our very own high school sports are run and played. Now, as we attempt to continue sports amidst a global pandemic, professional sports leagues only seem to trickle down pessimism to younger athletes. With desperate pleads from high school athletes to play the sports we love, it’s difficult to maintain hope in a world where even the richest corporations struggle to hold seasons.
Sure, each sports league has gotten a season off (with the NFL over halfway there), but every league has also met strife and a multitude of impediments in the process. How can high school athletes in depleted school districts remain optimistic when multi-billion dollar sports organizations are struggling to continue play through this virus? Trust me, I want to be hopeful- we all do. But how can we have hope for high school sports when there’s already minimal hope in the highest level leagues? For their 2020 season, the MLB completed a shortened 60-game season with solely in-region games and an expanded playoff system. Players were given strict COVID-19 protocols and tested every other day. Yet still, Major League Baseball saw their season jeopardized early on, with one team outbreak after another piling up in the news. Even after making it through a hard-fought season against the virus, the MLB faced the music on their last day of the season, allowing an outbreak after a player tested positive in the middle of Game 7 of the World Series. The NBA also attempted to shorten their season, clipping several games off the end of their season to set up for a complete playoff scheme. However, unlike other large sports leagues, the NBA decided to incorporate a bubble format. Even with what was seen as a successful end to their season, the NBA struggled with players breaking protocol and has chosen to ditch the bubble format for their upcoming 2020-2021 season. However, spending over $150 million dollars to keep athletes playing is out of the question for high school administrators, especially when even professionals struggled to follow the rules. And then there’s the NFL. After learning from both the MLB and the NHL, America’s football league decided to go through with a full season consisting of a traditional schedule. However, this NFL season has been everything short of normal. With games having been played on atypical Tuesdays and Wednesdays, new players forced to sit out with COVID-19 cases or exposures each week, and teams struggling to field a full team, the NFL has proven just how hard it is to play through a pandemic. Now, with almost every sports season in jeopardy, and no professional sports league to use as a solid example, high school athletes and administrators are left scrambling for a solution. We’re left questioning, is it even possible? If the most affluent people with a sole devotion to sports have struggled to contain the virus, how can high school athletes, balancing school and other extracurriculars along with sports, expect any better? This is frustrating for all of us; there’s no other way to look at it. In our most challenging times, we are often too quick to find someone to put the blame on. Sometimes, for our own mental sanity, we find someone to accuse of causing our troubles. Heck, for this article, I originally wanted to do a whole piece on blaming professional sports for their struggles. However, the fact of the matter is that we are currently living in a global pandemic that is making it near-impossible to continue playing sports. This is no-one’s fault besides COVID-19. No one was prepared to play sports in the current world we live in, and no one said this was going to be easy. Right now, no matter what sport, we all have one thing in common. We want to play. Let’s not use that desperation to start placing blame. Just to reiterate, us not being on the field is no one’s fault but the virus. I know it’s hard to blame something that can’t physically be seen, but right now it’s the only thing we should be blaming. Athletes, keep your heads up. Administrators, keep our hopes high. High school sports are the epitome of our youths, molding some of the most prominent memories of our futures. At some point, we will be back on those fields. Just be sure you’re grateful and embrace the moment when it happens. With the development of social media, activists have learned how to spread valuable information through the various platforms. Throughout quarantine, social media use has been on the rise. Along with this, America has also seen a sudden increase in teenage advocacy known as “repost activism,” or “slacktivism.”
This new trend, consisting of thousands, or even millions of reposted images intended to invoke change, has managed to involve more teenagers than ever in social and political issues. As great as it is to see social media used for a notable cause, in the grand scheme of things, this new trend is actually slowing various social movements. Every day, our social media pages are flooded with posts of activism. Yet, each week appears to bring a new issue with new posts. Just as we’re finally grasping and absorbing the information from one social issue, a new one arises, taking our minds off the old one. This cycle has been continuous throughout all of 2020 as new matters emerge and even at times, old ones return. However, this loop has proved to be ineffective at getting people to protests. In a study done by the Pew Research Center, 37% of adults admitted to sharing racial equality related content on a social networking platform, while as little as 6% of those adults actually attended a protest or rally and only 7% contacted a public official to express their opinion. Additionally, according to a study by Michigan State University, “slacktivists” proved to actually be less generous with donations compared to those who didn’t. Also, those who signed petitions only showed an increased intent to sign future petitions, not to participate in protests or other civic actions. Sure, social media has helped spread awareness to certain issues and causes. But to what extent has that awareness been effective? With no correlation to protestors or donations, slacktivism has proved to be a disservice to concrete activism and aid. Without enough time and effort to fully digest fresh concerns, people are left to just forget and continue. This has led to social media posts degrading social issues rather than truly expose them. Although topics may see the spotlight for a solid week, they are never truly looked into and researched. There is truly no solidified change produced, doing nothing for these quandaries. Signing an online petition may produce feelings of animosity at the time, but in reality, there is no actual change until you put in the effort to do so. Not everyone can be, or needs to be an activist… and that’s okay. It takes lots of time and effort put forward to fight for a noble cause and produce change. However, if you’re going to continue reposting for a new social issue each week, forgetting about past issues as each new one comes around, please stop. It’s not worth burdening your social media viewers with so many different issues in the world that they don’t have enough time to simply stop and look at one. If you want to be an activist, great, the world needs you. But please, pick one issue and stick with it. Dive deep down. Convince others to pursue it with you. Educate people in person, not with social media. Be the change yourself, don’t try to make social media do the change for you. And finally, most importantly, change the world… the right way. America, what are we doing?
We’re living in a world where our youth has diminished hope as an output of adults’ actions. We fill social media with “sarcastic” remarks full of negativity and desperate calls for change. The people who are supposed to be the future of this nation are only envisioning a nihilistic future of bleakness and depression, not of prosperity and joy. Social media, the link connecting our younger generation, has forged a bond like no other throughout the pandemic. Yet, even with social media aiding our generation in communication efforts, we’re left reminiscing about the past and worrying about the future. These days, it’s nearly impossible to find social media posts acknowledging prosperity in this country. Kids are feeding off of the hopelessness of grown-ups, reading news headlines flooded with darkness and despair. It is so hard for us to find that light at the end of the tunnel, to find any reason for us to be optimistic. This is an issue that is more than politics, more than race, more than religion. This is our future. We’re a nation more divided than ever – what happened to that glorious patriotism we used to have? Tough times such as 9/11 and World War II proved to bring our nation together – why can’t that be the case now? What happened to the country we all used to be so proud of living in? People live ashamed to wave the American flag, embarrassed of the very place that made us who we are. Is that really the world we want to live in? Please, adults, you are our leaders. We look up to you, we want you to show us how to succeed. Yet, each instance of success in our nation seems only to be met by strife. It’s almost as if we live in a nation where we don’t want to see each other thrive. What type of model is that? How can you teach us in school to respect our peers and celebrate our achievements, yet, in the real world, the people who are supposed to be setting the example for us can’t even manage to utter a word of praise for the other side? We learn sportsmanship in sports, yet that’s where the animosity seems to end. From when in our history have we learned that hate solves issues? Never. Not once did hostility and division prove to be the solution. But, for some reason, we keep going around pretending that this is going to fix itself. That the right president will magically heal our nation. Societal change comes through the citizens, not the man in charge. Our Constitution tells us that we the people have the power, that we run this country. Now, such power may not come to all of us through the law, but it surely comes with our everyday actions and decisions. You may not believe it or notice it, but the kids will follow your lead. Choose joy, not gloom. Show us your optimism, not your pessimism. If you trust this nation, so will we. It may be hard at the moment to see that light at the end of the tunnel, but, together, you can be that light for us. Bestow on us the images of accomplishment, the beliefs of faith in a strong nation. Give us hope for a brighter future. We’ve all grown up asking the enigma of the glass of water. Is the glass half empty or half full? Please, adults, show us that the glass is half full Sincerely, The Future At the beginning of June, founder and teacher of the Blueprint, John Lund, announced his departure from Jones to go teach in Michigan.
After six years of hard work to establish the Blueprint and build it up to the level it is today, Lund decided to return to his family in Michigan and hand the keys over to fellow social sciences teacher, Ryan Maggid. “Lund really tried to sell me on [the Blueprint],” said Maggid about Lund’s search for his successor. “He wanted to keep the program with someone who had an idea for the general feel of the class and wanted a teacher who was a little more laid back.” Maggid, who didn’t have as much of a traditional path to the journalism realm, was actually a political science major in college at Oakland University. However, school didn’t always come easy for Maggid as a kid. “I hated high school,” said Maggid. “I struggled in school as a student. I really wanted to do well and really wanted to work hard, but I didn’t necessarily understand how to do it.” Growing up in Farmington Hills, Michigan as a kid, Maggid said he spent a lot of his time outside of school playing hockey with friends and rooting for Michigan sports teams. Maggid’s struggles at North Farmington High School were not too uncommon for other kids, as the school strained to provide proper educational help to students in need. “Overall, I feel like North Farmington’s education system struggled to offer support to kids that school didn’t come as naturally to,” stated 2019 North Farmington graduate Jordyn Kravitz. “However, they did do a great job preparing students for success in the real world and job market.” Graduating college in 2006, Maggid then attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago from 2007-2008. Making the decision to become a teacher after that, Maggid stayed in Chicago to get his Master’s degree in Education from DePaul University. Maggid finally wound up at Jones in 2014 where he quickly became a teacher esteemed by students and faculty. “I love sitting in his classrooms because there’s always so much energy,” said fellow social studies teacher Norah Bingham. “Things are always fun, it never seems stale. There’s always a comfort, preparedness, and excitement to his teachings.” In terms of journalism, Maggid said he feels very prepared to run a class on something he is already familiar with. As someone who is very adept with the media and understands how the press works, Maggid knows he is the right man for the job. “My favorite part of teaching is interacting with students,” stated Maggid. “I think Journalism is perfect for my personality.” Bingham said she also believes Maggid fits the perfect mold for a Journalism teacher. Although she said she was surprised when he initially took over the job, she soon realized how much sense the fit made. “Mr. Maggid has a lot of experience in media because of his own academic background,” said Bingham. “Now that I’m thinking about it, it makes sense.” Maggid said he looks forward to the challenge as he plans to continue what Lund started. With no plans for any radical change, the Blueprint should remain under the strong foundation Lund worked so hard to build. “My biggest goal is to try to continue the class with the same structure Mr. Lund set up,” said Maggid. “I want to keep the basic format moving forward and try to keep that very strong foundation established.” |