Minutes 10.4.17/Agenda 10.18.17
Post date: Oct 17, 2017 11:20:15 PM
Agenda 10.18.17
Approval of Minutes
Reports
Citizenship at HHS Discussion
Common Ground Discussion
Notes and New Business
Council Minutes 10.4.17
1. Approval of Minutes
2. Reports
Mod: Welcome to 9th graders! Common Ground reps have gotten lots of questions: would like to get movement done in next couple weeks. Not a lot of volunteers from Council members who are extras, so will need to move people around. Might not all work out, if not can talk to Mrs. Stevenson.
A-Mod: Call order of the day, switch cell phone discussion to be before course. This does not follow practice, but doing because continuing conversation about cell-phones. Please come to Exec Monday mornings because attendance is being taken, committee chairs and leadership.
Treasurer: Council fund = $6,300.61. Co-curricular fund = $5,200 after $500 allocation to the Environmental Club. Taking some money out of Council fund for propane for grill motion that was passed last year.
Secretary: No alternates can vote.
Curric: Worked on Course Evaluation Standardization Motion, bringing today.
OEC: Held J-Comm elections on Tuesday.
SAC: Worked on Winter Carnival spirit days.
SL: Discussed what values you want to look for in different schools, possibly spearheading late start discussion.
3. Cell Phone Discussion
Presentation on recent Broadside survey about cell-phone use
Broadside survey sent out survey to all the students and staff
Question asked: What policy should HHS follow in regards to cell-phone possession in classrooms? Teachers should not be allowed to ask to remove silenced phones from bag, teachers should be able to have individual policies, students should be allowed to have phones in class and it is at the fault of the student if they do not learn.
Hope for discussion is to go under umbrella that we are a democratic school and encouraging voice. Best policy is to let teachers have jurisdiction in classrooms for different reasons and different experiences of teachers with phones in classrooms. Students go to a teacher during an X-Period if they have a concern. Teachers may change policy based on a discussion with a student. Opportunity to encourage students to voice their opinions.
When phone is in backpack, creates more of a distraction to remove it from bag because temptation to check it before placing in basket.
Would be helpful to get more results from survey, perhaps with multiple choice options instead of filling out.
Concern is basket with teacher jurisdiction: maybe there should be a rule to ban baskets, but be allowed to use shoe hanger so student knows where phone is and know that it will not be stolen.
Not having cell-phones building a sense of community and forcing people to communicate and interact with each other instead of just using phones at the beginning class until teacher asks for phones to be put away. Want to bring back sense of community and bonding at a school.
Teacher should be responsible for phones if it is left to the jurisdiction of teachers.
It is not just the student’s problem if they are on the phone, it is also affecting the teacher and wasting their time and distracting other people.
There are students that may not be responsible as those that participate in the democratic process.
Next time a phone is stolen, there should be evidence and a report.
Another thing that should be discussed is computers: can text on computers and is more easily accessible in class in comparison to a phone. Should have a discussion about how computers are used in class. It is easy to be distracted and has a culture aspect to it.
Until a distraction, students should be a lot to keep their phones. Should not be a preemptive step to take away all the phones before there is a problem.
If we were to restrict open campus, students may take advantage of what they have after school, especially at college that doesn’t tell you where to be. If cell-phones are restricted and all teachers took them away, responsibility level will plummet. Learned through opportunity that abusing technology is not efficient. If not doing well, conversation with teacher will come up, who will say that student is being distracted and not engaged.
It’s distracting for students to be able to see where the phone is, especially if screen opens and brightens up. Easier to focus when in backpack, silenced and stored away.
Applying what an older person versus younger person is capable of is different. It will be different across the different grades, and different from college and high school.
Multiple Dartmouth classes do not allow their phones, example of a college that prohibits use of cell-phones in class.
The best person to judge what the best decision in each specific class is the teacher that is leading the class.
Reason that motion was brought was in a way to update language. Motion was written in 2001, smartphones essentially did not exist. Did not have as many uses as technology does now. Smartphones can do more things than they could ever do before.
4. Course Evaluation Standardization Motion
“I move to add the following wording to Section 6 in the handbook under the subcategory Course Evaluations and to Register a Concern:
In order to standardize course feedback throughout the school, the questions for the course evaluations must include, but are not limited to:
In this class, I was provided with a safe place to take risks.
In this class, we learned knowledge to be moved forward to future classes.
In this class, we examined topics that pertain to my life and the world.
In this class, we learn to correct our mistakes.
In this class, students treat the teacher with respect.
In this class, students treat each other with respect.
In this class, we don’t waste time.
Above and beyond the curriculum, what did it mean to be a member of this classroom?
I feel that I have met my personal goals in this class.
Students will have the option to choose one of the following for the questions where it may apply and leave a comment
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Comment: __________________________________________________________________
The results of these course evaluations will be sent to the department heads. These questions will be made available on a Google Form for teachers to make copies of.”
Questions were adapted from three year Gates Foundation Study, which measured teaching effectiveness. Questions were areas that study found correlated with student learning. If teacher teaching curriculum based class, encourage to raise relevant opinions you have about motion from teacher point of view.
Wonder why question 5 exists but not question about how teacher treats student. Struggle with grammatical wording of 2.
Can add questions because these are just form the Bill Gates Foundation.
Specifically didn’t have teacher information because it is information about class, not specifically teachers. That would be teacher evaluation versus a course evaluation. Teachers can add their own questions.
If this is just course evaluation, question 5 shouldn’t exist because it doesn’t have anything to do with the course.
Did not add teacher evaluations if information is being sent to department heads, teachers may be unsure about not knowing where teacher evaluation questions are being sent.
5. Meeting Adjourns