In a school of 145 faculty members, ideas and questions regarding how to improve our school are prevalent among teachers. What
should our education system look like? What should our seniors be doing? How much work should be given? And what other options are there for classes? Adam Rowland, English teacher, said one of the biggest struggles of being a KHS teacher is the
grading and workload, which is time-consuming and can be overwhelming. He said it would be nice if teachers could have more time in their classroom teaching. “Teaching at Kirkwood is a great deal,” Rowland said. “[However], as an English teacher, the amount of grading we have is crazy, so we end up taking a lot [of work] home. Our school days are pretty packed, so I would love to have another hour off to grade papers.”
According to US News & World Report, KHS is number 503 out of the 13,000+ high schools in America.
Rowland said overall, the Kirkwood area itself is a 10/10 but the educational system is a 5/10. “We shouldn’t be in school nine months of the year,” Rowland said. “Seniors should be getting out in the community [and] shouldn’t need as many hours to graduate. We should be more entrepreneurial, [offer] different ways to learn, and[give seniors] the opportunity to go into business whenever [they’re] ready. But there’s no way that structure is being broken.” Rowland used to teach at Hazelwood Central High School and said it was a good experience. “Here at Kirkwood, I’m a happy teacher,” Rowland said. “However, the educational system could use a lot of improvement — severe reform, all the way down.”
Michelle Scott, chemistry teacher, said KSD should be working on disciplinary issues across all grade levels, as well as the curriculum. Scott said it is important for incoming freshmen to receive basic knowledge on science subjects so they don’t struggle in the class. She rates the school a 7/10 and the educational system a 5/10 because she wishes the curriculum could be changed to accommodate kids who aren’t in AP or honors classes.
“We need to look at the sequencing of the [science] curriculum and revamping math,” Scott said. “[It is] a work in progress that should be consistent in the high school and middle school.”
Shawn Owens, journalism teacher, said the most difficult thing about his job is the situations he can’t control. He said the problems that occur outside the classroom often affect his students’ learning in the classroom. “In my classroom, I control the reaction I have with the kids,” Owens said. “[But] I can’t control the drama that happens outside of the class, what happens at home or what happens in other classes. When kids bring that into my class, I can’t do anything about it.” Owens said the only other struggles he has at his job are meetings, eHallpass and other requirements in our school that he feels aren’t necessary.
Owens also said he’d like to see a more innovative way of educating for everyone who may not have the opportunities provided
at KHS.
“We’ve created an environment here where if you’re not taking a bunch of honors and AP classes [or] getting straight As, somehow you’re a failure,” Owens said. “I just feel like there’s so much pressure here to be exceptional at everything, but it’s [an unrealistic standard].” Owens believes there are other ways to learn that may be more beneficial than our actual education system. He said there shouldn’t be so much pressure on students when they are simply trying to do as they are told. He rates the school a 7-8/10, and believes we are better than a lot of schools but have our flaws that could hopefully be considered in the future.
“I feel like some students [should] have the freedom or option to fail, [because] if they don’t, it’s presumed as a catastrophe,” Owens said. “It’s crazy because failure is a necessary part of learning, and [some people] don’t have that luxury to fail or try new things because [they’ve] got certain expectations to get a certain grade, GPA or college.”
