20 minute read
In school learning
academics
Extracurriculars prepare for extraordinary year
Advertisement
Jingyuan Chen ’23 curiosity continues to grow over the fate of extracurricular programs. In the meantime, major club organizations have already started their planning for the year. Connor Pinsk ’23 the way things are done. No coats and ties to reduce the spread; temperature-checks every morning; answering questions about our health on a daily basis. All students who have decided to return this fall will have to comply.
All of this poses the question: what will happen to the students who decide to stay home? There really is no answer yet, because we are not nearly far enough in the year to see if there is a drastic difference in the learning environment. The concern is that students who stay home will fall behind because the education style is so different. Not only is virtual learning different from in-person learning, but it is also different from the online learning that Haverford went through in the spring. As we dive headfirst into the first quarter, about 35 upper school students will stay home. These students will attend online classes, which will consist of a live stream of the in-person lessons. The teachers will have to take both online and in-person students into account and make sure everyone is learning at the same speed. “I am fortunate enough that my parents can drive me and that I don’t have to use public transportation so that I can get to school easily,” Fourth Former Joey Kauffman said. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, there is still public transport, but it is limited as a part of Pennsylvania’s response to COVID-19. Even though transit is still up and running, buses and trains are enclosed spaces that house many people, so even with masks, some people may not feel comfortable or safe using these modes of transportation to get to school. Kauffman went on to say that the decision to go back to school was “pretty much up to my parents.” Even though this was a decision that Kauffman agreed with, some students might not agree with their parents, which may lead to a bad learning experience. Kauffman said, “A lot of the things that made online school harder were the technical difficulties.” In some class periods, time was wasted due to poor connection or audio malfunctions. These problems may be just as prevahistory and we’re going to be documenting this in a book that will be around in the archives,” Ms. Brown said. In order to attract new members and maintain community activities, the yearbook will be making adjustments to improve its attractiveness. “Our new thing is going to be that every student who purchases a yearbook, along with all the seniors, get two free pages to customize themselves so they can put photographs of their year in the yearbook,” Ms. Brown said. The speech and debate team has some new plans as well. “A couple of the coaches have a really good idea of setting up scrimmages between the schools. So we would all have a place where we would post our availability and what teams we had,” Mr. Lluch explained. “If those local tournaments don’t happen due to the pandemic, I think we’re gonna take matters into our own hands and try to make it happen.” Aside from clubs that the school is familiar with, students also started new clubs to build connections and combat exhaustion and boredom. lent this fall. “I think that it will be easier for people to fall behind if they are doing virtual school, but it is possible for everyone doing virtual “I’m a big football guy,” Fourth Former Harvey Pennington said. “I started fantasy football five years ago because I know a lot of people who like football also like fantasy. They had fantasy football at Haverford a few years ago but then they kind of stopped. So I said ‘You know what, I’m gonna start this club.’”
The Index staff meets virtually on August 30, 2020
TThis September, the school year tual environment. Speech and Debate cobegins with some unprecedented advisor Mr. Javier Lluch said, “The most fun adjustments. The pandemic reparts of debating are going to the national mains an obstacle in the school’s reopening tournament and going to the hotels. The process. With health and safety in considerThursday night practices were also really fun. ation, the school has determined an approBut all of that is going to look and feel very priate academic calendar for the year. Still, different.” “We are still trying to figure out how some of the programs are going to look, so we’re in the works of trying to figure that The yearbook will be making adjustments out,” Dean of Students Mr. Luqman Kolade to improve its attrac- said. tiveness. “We are still trying to see what would Mr. Lluch suggested that this can be very be best for the majority of members that difficult for recruitment. “What I want to we have in the Haligoluk, and when it will put in the captain’s mind is recruitment,” fit their schedules,” yearbook advisor Ms. Mr. Lluch said. “I think that’s going to be a Kristin Brown said. “We will still be meetreally tough one this year.” ing. There still will be a yearbook. We will Ms. Brown agrees. “I don’t think we had be missing our breakfast sandwiches, which any freshmen on the yearbook last year. I think are everyone’s favorite thing about Hopefully, we will be able to capture some yearbook meetings.” freshmen this year and interest them in get Unfortunately, clubs will have to make ting a really nice look at a very historic year. some accommodations to suit the new virThis has never happened before in Haverford
THE INDEX THE INDEX
Pennington started the Fantasy Football
MS. KRISTIN BROWN
League at the end of this summer and has begun recruiting. “We got twelve people so far, which is perfect for a league. We got a few ninth graders. And we got all age ranges from new guys to seniors, which was cool,” Pennington said. “Everyone is kind of into it.” While many decisions and changes are happening in progress, the school certainly encourages community-building under the primary condition of ensuring a safe school campus. “The biggest part is getting everyone together in a space, whether that be virtual or physical. We can’t do the physical spacing, so we got to figure out how we can do a virtual one,” Mr. Kolade said. “The school wants to try and provide as many opportunities for you guys to engage with each other as possible. We want to do that. It’s just a matter of
Opinions vary on school in session
With a pandemic attacking the globe, Haverford is adjusting its curricula and reorganizing
how we can do that. We’re figuring that out.” school to stay up to the level of in-school students,” said Kauffman.
con’t on p. 11
Ryan Rodack ’22
Throughout the summer, Interim Upper School Head Mr. Mark Fifer and his colleagues were presented with several potential schedules for the 2020-2021 school year, all of which followed CDC health guidelines. Eventually, they decided to go with the quarter-block schedule—three blocks per quarter and four quarters throughout the school year. Students will partake in the same three courses for just over two months, before moving on to three different courses. Classes run from 8:45-10:15, 10:30-12:00, and 1:15-2:45, with shorter classes on Wednesdays.
“You have this really intense experience for two months where you see three classes every day,” Mr. Fifer said. “We wanted to maintain the essence of our core programming,” Mr. Fifer said. “Some of the models that we were looking at would not allow us to do that, meaning that we would have to get rid of certain classes, or maybe even certain levels of classes in order to meet the health and safety needs of our community.”
MR. CHRIS DIBELLO
“We feel like [the quarter block schedule] opens up some new opportunities for teaching and learning. Having longer class periods leads to the possibility of a deeper dive into content and skill-building,” Mr. Fifer said. “Having the greater frequency of the meeting also leads to some new opportunities in regard to the content.” Although the plan is for classes to be held in person for the foreseeable future, the schedule is also beneficial to virtual learning
The new schedule features three rotating long blocks during an intensive eight-week quarter
On the other hand, Fourth Former Love McCune is not going back to school this fall saying, “I have asthma and I don’t really have the greatest past with it. When I get sick it really affects me and my daily life a lot.” According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, one in thirteen people in the US have asthma, upwards of 25 million Americans. It is well known that asthma is associated with shortness of breath, something COVID-19 complicates. These conditions absolutely make COVID-19 worse for people with asthma.
“I think that people who are doing online [school] aren’t doing it to slack off, but to actually learn.”
LOVE MCCUNE ’23
if need be at some point. Mr. Fifer said, “Having three classes at a time in a virtual world is much easier to navigate than having five or six classes and having to go in between those different subjects.” One of the schedule’s challenges will be maintaining student engagement and a positive classroom atmosphere as a result of the social distancing guidelines, the repetitive class meetings, and long classes. “We talked to the teachers about how we need to have different modes of learning; a mix of teacher-centered modes, meaning direct instruction, and student-centered modes, which would be collaborative tasks and individual work,” Mr. Fifer said. “Over the summer, teachers engaged with professional development and student-centered instruction; iDesign to really think about how we can maximize student engagement and learning, and what tactics we need to employ in order to accomplish that.” Chemistry teacher Mr. Chris DiBello plans to address the challenges students will face in terms of staying focused and engaged. Mr. DiBello said, “Nobody wants to sit real life, being able to talk and handle the work that I have to deal with,” McCune said. It is incredible that students are able to continue school even though they are not physically there, but communicating with people through Google Meet makes things in a chair for ninety minutes listening to a teacher talk. One thing [the faculty] will focus on is how to take that ninety minutes and break it up into more manageable chunks.” “We are not expecting anyone to sit there for ninety minutes,” said algebra and economics teacher Dr. Mark Gottlieb. “We are going to blend in activities throughout each class and use a much more hands-on, investigative textbook. So, much more of the work will be done by students as opposed to lectures.” Although the classes may be long and become repetitive, the schedule may take the stress off of students in some ways. Mr. DiBello said, “The benefit, which is probably being over-looked a little bit, is that [the students] only have three classes. So instead of, ‘Mr. DiBello, I had math, English, history, Spanish homework, and so much other stuff to do, now it’s just [for example] chemistry, history, and English.’” Another benefit of the long class periods, especially for a class like chemistry, is that classes will still be able to conduct hands-on labs while maintaining social distance and much more difficult than in-person learning.
McCune, like Kauffman, voiced his concerns with the local transit. “I do think that the cases will rise and we might get sent back home, only because of the commute some people have to make to COURTESY OF MR. MARK FIFER following health guidelines. “Obviously, we cannot have one group of kids use the same instruments as another group,” Mr. DiBello said. “We will either have to set up multiple different stations, or we can take a more simple approach and bring two kids into the lab who will be socially distanced while the other students work from our module based system in the classroom. Then, the teacher will clean all instruments and glassware in between, before the next two students come into the lab.” Teachers will have to adjust their teaching styles and methods throughout each quarter as they learn more about how the modified schedule affects students. And teachers are ready to get things going. Mr. DiBello said, “It’s exciting because
Opinions vary on chool in session, cont. from p. 10
A screen shot of an English IV- Page & Stage Canvas Conference on April 1, 2020
there is going to be so much continuity!” MR. THOMAS STAMBAUGH get to school. Some people take the train to school so they are around people and those people are around other people,” Mccune said. “I think that people who are doing online [school] aren’t doing it to slack off, but to actually learn.”
neighborhood
Some students hesitant to attend re-opened theaters
Connor Pinsk ‘23
Everyone loves movies. Just last year the biggest film of all time, Avengers: Endgame, broke the box office record high, bringing in almost 2.8 billion dollars. Box offices, until very recently, were bringing in record lows of 0 dollars. This is obviously due to the fact that until very recently, no theaters were operational. To remedy this, certain networks set to release films when the theaters were closed decided to change their strategies and released their movies virtually. A great example of this is Trolls World Tour. This film was the second iteration of the first movie entitled Trolls and people were astonished that the virtual release turned out to be a good decision.
The only way that this was possible was the excessive advertising. Trailers, posters, and other propaganda for this film were everywhere. Because of all this, the movie brought in a whopping 100 million dollars. All this leads to the big question. Do studios really need movie theaters? The movies keep theaters in business, and if networks are withholding their films so that they can make all the earnings, the theaters will shut down. Despite this, many people don’t go to theaters just to see a movie. They go to buy overpriced water and popcorn. They go as an excuse to see their friends, but will people be going back in today’s current climate? COVID-19 is still prevalent and may deter people from theaters.
LUCIO ACCHIONE ’23
Fourth Former Lucio Acchione does not intend to see a movie while COVID-19 is around, but it is not because he is worried about being infected. “During COVID I won’t go, I don’t want to wear a mask while I watch a movie.” Accione’s main concern is about his experience at the theater, and his concern is totally valid. Many people will not want to have to wear a mask while they sit without moving for two hours. Who would? Masks are not particularly comfortable. We wear them to be safe and limit the Screening of Tenet on September 4th, 2020 at Regal Dickson City & IMAX
spread of the virus, but why go to a movie and wear a mask when you can just stay home and breathe freely as much as you desire. “Under normal circumstances, I like going to the movies. They have comfy seats and big screens.” Accione brings up the other side of the argument. Theaters offer an escape from home and let you get berated with extreme noise while you look at a huge screen. In other words, most people can’t get the same experience at home. Fourth Former Aidan Briddell, in a normal situation, one without a pandemic, would go to the theater, saying, “I like seeing movies in 3D.” Unfortunately for the theaters around Aidan, he went on to say, “No I would not go back now, because I do not trust the staff to clean properly.” Briddell is more worried about the spread of the virus, and people not properly cleaning. We have no way of knowing if theaters like IMAX are wiping down every seat exactly the same meticulous and thorough way. It is possible that employees are just giving the seats a quick once over and moving on.
AIDAN BRIDDELL ’23 MATTHEW SCHWARTZ ’21 collection of students at Haverford have one and those who do are obviously privileged. They maintain the comfy seats and the large screens that are so well known at theaters. Bridell said, “Yes, once there is a safe widespread vaccination I will go back to theaters,” a statement that many would agree with. In today’s day and age movie theaters are scary, and even before the pandemic, they were a germaphobe’s worst nightmare. It is possible that many students are avoiding movie theaters during the pandemic, if you are one of the people that decide to go, make sure that you wear a mask and take hand sanitizer.
campus opinions
Students must and will follow precautions
Tyler Zimmer ’21
We haven’t seen most of our brothers since March. We’ve missed our crisp handshakes, victory hugs, and warm embraces. Although vaccines have reached phase three, there seems to be no tangible end in sight. Everywhere we go, people complain about the uncontrollable situation at hand. Why can’t we eat inside? Aren’t they exaggerating the severity? Who needs these strict rules? At Haverford, it’s different. Our student body is much more willing to take the adaptations in stride, excited for the first taste of in-person learning since early spring. Rather than complaining about the extensive list of sacrifices, losing sports, dining-hall lunch, and the seven-period schedule, we remain thankful for the school’s opening strategy and don’t want to risk losing it. We respect the severity of the virus and see mask-wearing as a rule for everybody, not COURTESY OF QUINN LUONG ’’22 months for the Diversity Alliance, as we have been working with the administration and fellow student organizations to enact change within our school curricula, honor system, faculty, and community. Here are our ten demands:
1. Plan more forums to talk about experiences, ideas, and goals
We need all members of the community to dive into the discomfort and reflect on interpersonal racism through hearing stories and community perspectives. Through forums and reflections, we can bridge the gap between the racial divide of hatred, bigotry, and racism.
We can bridge the gap between the racial divide of hatred, bigotry, and racism.
2. Require faculty to attend SEED sessions or diversity training
Faculty need to take part in diversity training to guarantee that they will commit to making their classrooms a safe and equitable space. One that will help in elevating student voice, closing the opportunity gap, and providing equal access to opportunities. just the student body. “I feel like most people will realize this isn’t just some dress code thing but something needed to prevent COVID-19 spreading,” Fifth Former Bowen Deng said.
Students have a mutual understanding of
MR. MARK FIFER
the stakes, respecting Interim Upper School Head Mr. Fifer’s email that laid out maskwearing guidelines: “Students who fail to meet this requirement will be sent home,” 3. Reshape history and English cur
ricula
Our history and English courses need to stop catering to white students and a whitewashed curriculum. We are only taught about marginalized history when it is about the oppression we face. Our courses need to educate us on Africans before slavery, Middle Easterners before war, Asians in America, LGBTQ+ experiences, not on the perpetuating “single stories” that have been ingrained in our brains for generations.
4. Establish new guidelines in the Honor Code
Our administration needs to implement and enforce a zero-tolerance policy for racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, xenophobia, religious intolerance, and any form of discrimination in the Honor Code. We demand that there is strict disciplinary action against students and faculty who partake in discriminatory behavior as well as support to victims of discriminatory incidents. 5. Grant full power to the Diversity
Liaison
The responsibilities and presence of a Diversity Liaison are more than necessary now. Few BIPOC are represented on the Honor Council, which is detrimental and fails to seek justice for victims of discriminatory incidents. Diversity Liaisons and Diversity Alliance leaders should absolutely witness hearings and hold the same jurisdiction of power as other Honor Council members. 6. Collect data on discriminatory inci
dents on campus
The Haverford School needs to provide Mr. Fifer wrote, and we hear him loud and clear. Sixth Former Ryan Ngo strongly agrees that everybody will take this new rule seriously. “If the students are inside the buildings, I think they will follow the rules,” Ngo said. “Similar to any dress code policy, the faculty will enforce it pretty hard. Even more than normal rules like tucked-in shirts, students know better about this one.” Adding another layer of assurance that students will follow the rules, the faculty will play a crucial role in enforcing compliance. “Normally, I get frustrated when a teacher tells me I’m out of dress,” Sixth Former Joey White said. “With COVID-19’s seriousness, as long as the teachers enforce it, I’m going to do exactly as they say.” The teachers should have no problem with students being stubborn about this rule, and Sixth Former George Laveran explained why. legally-admissible aggregate data, detailed reports of Honor Council hearings, and previous disciplinary decisions on discriminatory or prejudiced behaviors or the use of derogatory slurs. 7. Implement requirements in ethnic,
gender, and sexuality studies
Juniors and seniors should be required to take at least one U.S. History and one English course that focuses on the histories and writings of marginalized people. We demand that each department chair commits to restructuring their curricula to make space for more diverse voices, histories, and narratives. 8. Hire and retain more faculty of color More faculty of color should be hired in all departments. If we want to reflect the diversity of our student body, The Haverford School must also ensure faculty of color are “We will definitely follow precautions because people are simply scared to get the virus,” Laveran said. Collectively, we appreciate all the work put into creating a safe learning environment and understand the cost of not following the simple guidelines laid out. Sixth Former Chris Sims said, “Hopefully we realize how lucky we are to be in this situation at all. Let’s work together to make sure
Quinn Luong ’22
It has been a tumultuous couple of
Diversity Alliance formulates clear demands
it isn’t taken away.” represented in positions of leadership in addition to being members of the academic community. We demand that each department chair commits to hiring more faculty of color. 9. Allocate More Funding for Diversity
Alliance
The Haverford School should provide the Diversity Alliance the same amount of funding as any other club or organization. We demand that more students should be able to attend SDLC and other conferences. We need funding to ensure we can organize our diversity conferences and attendance. 10. Establish an Oversight Committee We demand that the leadership of Diversity Alliance is recognized to be just as important as other student organizations. We need to
Black Lives Matter march in Philly
ensure that the Diversity Alliance oversees COURTESY OF DIVERSITY ALLIANCE assemblies, speakers, and Honor Council hearings and collaborates with other student organizations. We demand that the administration and faculty must be willing to work with the Diversity Alliance to change curricula and dismantle institutional racism.
