The School!
Paulette Elementary
Week 14
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Things ChangeThe simplest schoolboy is now familiar with truths for which Archimedes would have given his life. ~Ernest Renan My daughter is in the fourth grade here in the Union County School system. I am amazed at the kind of work she is doing now. Last week she brought home a algebraic graphing worksheet. I didn't do that stuff until I was a Freshman and didn't understand it until I was a Junior. I watched some of the building this week along with Director Goforth and Glenn Coppock. The day before I had attended a budget meeting. At this meeting Glenn discussed line items and how we were cutting this and saving money there. Unfortunately, I didn't have my fourth grade daughter there to explain to me what he was talking about. |
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 I
sat in this meeting and nodded my head and occasionally said, "that's
good." Little did anyone know I had no idea what he was talking about. So why do I mention that here? I mention it because on two consecutive days this week I realized just how much schools have changed. I remember when the Central Office was in the building beside the Rescue Squad. Back in those days most records were kept on paper in journals. Now just printing the budget takes an array of computers and twenty sheets of paper. When I went to Maynardville Elementary it had just been built a few years previously. In fact part of the rubble from the old school was our playground. Maynardville was built along with some other schools and consolidated all of Union County's community schools. Before my day each community had a small school it could call it's own. I watched as the workers at Paulette installed a drainage system to keep all of the school area dry. You can see part of the system (inside view) in (Figure 1). This system will drain the school gutters, the ballfield and all the parking lots and grass areas. When Maynardville and its like were built simple sloping and drain fields were considered adequate. Now we know that this is not true.  The drains at
Paulette are designed to make sure water is never near the building.
Water collecting near the building can seep up under the slab. Once
that water is under there it can freeze in the winter and crack the
floors and walls. The design at the new school should prevent that and
protect our investment for years.Also this week at Paulette, the workers have begun laying the inside walls (Figure 2). the concept of walls and corridors have even changed in schools. Years ago schools were built with wings. Paulette is being built as a contained unit. In a winged school to monitor the halls took several employees and cameras. Yes, Paulette will have employees and cameras, but the design will allow all student movement to be monitored by as few as two employees standing at the opposite corners of the school. Maybe that doesn't sound like a big change but ask any security expert and you'll find out it is huge. There was a person a few days ago thinking about how the schools could work on the traffic issue at MES. One position she took was half day kindergarten. She said that when she went to school Kindergarten was four hours a day. One class went in the morning and one in the afternoon. The Kindergarten at MES has exploded this year in population. But the idea of half day kindergarten classes though well sounding can not work. When I went to school there was no Kindergarten in the Union County School System. I went straight into first grade with Mrs. Edna Loy. Kindergarten came a few years later. In the beginning much like I am sure it was for this lady, Kindergarten was basically singing, learning the alphabet and how to behave around others. Today Kindergarten is much much more. In fact kids coming out of Kindergarten now will have a basic reading ability and will be taking tests and quizzes. Much like the buildings they are contained in, school classes are changing and evolving. What worked for us as children would not hold a light to what kids today need. My father was in the electronics business for years here in Union County. He sold televisions to the schools and ran the wire for the cable and closed circuit television systems. In fact, before child labor laws he even used me as young as six years old to get into some of the tight places. I can remember wiring Luttrell Elementary as a child with my dad and Wade Shields of Shield's Electronics of Knoxville.  In those days schools had one coax to each
room with an amplifier, and another wire for intercoms.Paulette will be equipped for fiber optics, cable, a T-1 Internet Connection, VOIP service and even a closed circuit transmitting television system. It would be possible for the Principal to do morning announcements in video to each room in the school. Much like the old schools from the 50's and 60's my education will begin to fail in the coming years. Getting our children up to speed for the 21st century not only will take a new school but a whole new way of thinking. The thinking must be changed at the school level and it has. But it also has to change in us as parents. What was important to us as children and students is twice as important to our kids. Plus on top of that they have that many more new things to learn. I don't know what will happen with our economy and our country. Those smarter than myself are on television each day predicting this and that. So far they have got none of it right. But we have to rely on a basic premise...No matter what happens in our future the only thing that will remain constant...The people who will survive it the best are those with an education. The video included with this article depicts a trackhoe digging the drain lines at Paulette. |
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