Lexington (MA) High School Senate

LEXINGTON HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT-FACULTY SENATE

2001-2002

Moderator Ilana Kessler, Assistant Moderator Michael Fiveash, Secretary Sara Enders

<http://lhs.lexingtonma.org/senate>

Agenda

For the January 3, 2002 meeting:

1. Announcements

2. Committee Reports

3. Poster Policy Bill

4. Course Recommendation Bill

5. MCAS Resolution

6. New Business

Minutes

From the December 20 meeting:

Quorum reached at 7:51 AM.

[Minutes Approved]

[Agenda Approved]

Announcements

Kessler: As you can see, the winter is setting in and we are taking longer to reach a quorum. Please be on time! Those who arrive late will be subject to public shaming.

S. Enders: The Senate now has its very own email address, at LHSSenate@lycos.com. Hopefully this is one more way to make our group more accessible to students and faculty.

Committee Reports

Ly: Climate put up "The Wall," and anyone is now free to put up their letters. We are looking into the recycling issue, and are in the process of writing an article to the Musket.

S. Enders: The Communications Committee met with Dr. Seasholes, to discuss, among other things, Matt Saldaña's suspension from the reading of the morning announcements. We have agreed that he will resume his duties after the winter break. At the meeting, we also discussed alternative methods for publicizing announcements, like using the bulletin board in Commons I.

Kieft: Policy met to discuss issues related to the Senior Finals Bill.

S. Girondel: Social Action realized that many papers for the condom packets have disappeared. We made have made copies and they are now available.

Senior Finals Bill

David: At the risk of a filibuster, I would like to make a short speech about the duty we have as Senators. We might want to suggest to send this bill to Senator Collins for him to review it with the department heads. I am unsure of where I personally stand on the bill. I like the idea of "keeping Seniors in the game." In response to the comment that we need to represent our constituents, and make sure we are voting as they would want us to vote: my response is that you don't. You do need to represent their views, but you also need to be true to yourself. I pose that "the devil is in the details." Many like the idea of this bill, but they have not looked past the possibility of getting out of a final. That which is popular is not necessarily right. What we do has an affect on the whole school&emdash;we need to think about how the faculty will be affected, as well. On a practical note, we need to make sure we are not making a mountain out of a molehill. Should Collins have the opportunity to review the bill with department heads, he should find out who is giving finals, and who is not.

Saldaña. A question: Are finals given at the end of classes that only meet during the first semester?

Fiveash: I do give a final exam, though it is shorter than the time provided at the end of the year. There is no time allotted for semester finals.

Saldaña: In that case, I think this bill is really just talking about year-long courses. Is part E, Section 2 indicating that the policy is mandatory?

Collins: It requires that a teacher make a commitment to his or her students as to what that class's policy will be. Once the commitment is made, it is mandatory that it be followed.

S. Girondel: In response to Senator David, I am not clear why you are so upset. I do agree that we need to speak to department heads. However, I strongly disagree with much of the rest of what you said, as it is our responsibility to represent the student body at large. We also need to consider what the situation is of people in classes that we personally are not in.

Alyssa Rosenberg: I think the grade required should be a "B-" for two reasons. One, academic achievement should be preserved, and two, the bill needs to accommodate a variety of levels and courses. The "B-" is a good balance.

Halperin: "B-" is a fair grade. It is a good idea to keep students engaged. I also think that this bill should be sent back to Senator Collins. Also, I think the agreement in part E should be made at the start of the year.

Guttag: Since there is an opt-out clause, a "B-" is an acceptable bar to ask students to reach. In Burlington, the grade is higher, but the policy is mandatory.

Conklin: I think that the grade that should be asked of each student should reflect what he or she got for the first semester. The most important think here is not to allow for a slump.

Hemond: Since this bill is optional for teachers, perhaps the grade required should be chosen by each teacher.

Kessler: Look around. People are coming to Senate meetings! Think about that and what it says about this bill. Remember that you are their representatives.

Dhanani: David made a strong argument, but he seems to think that his voice is more important than others. We did discuss senior finals last year, if you remember. I agree that each teacher should set the bar for his or her own class. I wasn't going to vote for this bill, initially, those who voted for me support this bill, and I see my role as Senator to reflect what the students are thinking. On the whole, I like the bill more now, as well.

Inouye: First semester courses do not run into the problem of having to keep second-semester seniors engaged, and thus should not be considered by this bill. Regarding the issue of Senators as representatives, I would say that we cannot shut out what other people think &endash; our job is to best serve the school's interests, not our own. Yes, you should not vote for what you don't believe in, but you do need to consider what other want.

David: To clarify what I said: When we go to people and tell them about this bill, are we giving them full details? The idea is appealing, but if we don't take care to make the details work, the idea will fail. It is our job to consider the details. We also need to consider the reaction of the department heads.

Kieft: I am thinking about an amendment. Simply passing this bill does not mean it will be implemented. Because we have an opt-out procedure, if the grade we set is unattractive to teachers, and no one chooses to adopt the policy, the policy will not make a difference in the school. I would raise the grade if I thought teachers would be more likely to implement the policy with a higher grade set. My second point is regarding teacher equity. If some teachers of a course adopt the policy, and others don't, that can result in real problems. I suggest the following: At the beginning of the year, all teachers of the course should agree on a cut-off grade. Possibly, we could recommend that this grade be in the B range, but the choice should be left to the teachers. If one teacher opts-out of the policy, then the other teachers of the course would be required to opt-out, as well. I suggest that this bill be sent back to Senator Collins. Overall, I would like to see it passed as soon as possible.

Texin: I talked to students about this bill, and most thought that a "B-" is a good grade. To prevent a slump, we shouldn't raise the bar.

S. Enders: I whole-heartedly agree with Senator Kieft. We can't set up a situation where different teachers of the same course have different policies. We seem to be talking about final exams as obligatory annoyances. I talked to my math teacher at length about this bill, and he reminded me that there is some merit in a final exam, it allows students to see how much of the information they have retained at the end of the course, even if the grade they get will not affect whether they pass the course or how colleges will see they as students, etc.

Walsh: Apparently President Guttag did the appropriate research around this bill. At the risk of opposing my colleagues, I will say that while an A is difficult to come by, a B- is not. I also don't like the idea of opting-out&emdash;it creates an environment where teachers might be put against one another. Should the bill be structured in such a way that through out the year, students are appropriately challenged and motivated, perhaps the policy could be mandatory.

Kafrissen: First of all, we should not talk about the difference between levels of courses the same way we are talking about differences in grades. I find that the percentage of students with A's and B's in all levels of my classes are about the same. Secondly, comments have been made that kids get good grades just because they are smart. This is generally not the case. Thirdly, as a teacher of senior classes, I wouldn't mind seeing this bill passed, at all.

Fried: I'm against the opt-out option. Last year, we passed the report card bill because we didn't want competition or grade comparison between teachers. I think that the opt-out policy encourages students to compare teachers. Also, could this bill encourage students to drop down a level so as to easily meet the grade requirement and not have to take a final? I agree that we need to talk to department heads.

Dhanani: Move to send the bill back to Senator Collins for revision.

[Motion passes]

List of Senators Absent from the December 20, 2001 Meeting

L. Henoch, A. Burson, A. Dugar, D. Choi S. Basu,

R. Strizhak, J. Jehle, A. Stratman, M. Finnegan