A REPORT FROM CHICAGO’S KIDS: ONE IN AN OCCASIONAL SERIES
School is cool! (AT LEAST MOST OF THE TIME)
CHICAGO KIDS ON BULLYING, BELOVED TEACHERS AND BEING IN CHARGE FOR A DAY BY CAITLIN MURRAY GILES
T
he average student spends about 1,400 hours in school every year. That’s a lot of time devoted to mastering reading, writing and arithmetic. But any student (former or current) knows that school is
about much more than academics. During the school day, kids interact with teachers and peers, eat together, engage in extracurricular activities, explore their talents and navigate lots of new life experiences. Today’s kids are busy.
We wanted to hear what Chicagoarea kids really think about school (the good and the not-so-good). So we assembled a panel of 14 kids between the ages of 7 and 13 to talk about what goes on at their schools. This is what they had to say.
THE PANEL
GABRIELLA ROSE AVILES, 7
HRISTINA BOZHINOVA, 12
DYLAN HEYDENBURG, 10
ALTHEA COLLEEN R. LAQUI, 7
ALEXYS MICHELLE PARAMO, 12
NORMAN A. BRIDGE SCHOOL, CHICAGO
OLD ORCHARD JUNIOR HIGH, SKOKIE
TRIPP SCHOOL, BUFFALO GROVE
CLINTON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, CHICAGO
CHICAGO QUEST, CHICAGO
First-grader
Sixth-grader
Fourth-grader
First-grader
Sixth-grader
JAMANI Y. REED, 10
Fourth-grader
HUNT CLUB ELEMENTARY, OSWEGO
ELAINA REZABEK, 8
Second-grader COUNTRY TRAILS ELEMENTARY, ELGIN
46 August 2013 ChicagoParent.com
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