Adela Wu/The Paw Print
Poly is old school. But age isn’t the issue here. As our respected preparatory school enters its second century of existence, technology on campus still lingers behind the times.
Now, I’m not complaining about the expensive laboratory equipment that Poly provides for us to explore science in greater depth once a week. I’m not complaining about the multiple computer labs available for students. But I am asking why, at a nationally recognized, forward-thinking institution like ours, campus technology services do not consistently reflect our high educational standards?
I don’t necessarily advocate that classes at Poly need to be like those of Hawaii’s cutting-edge Punahou School, where even second graders have individual classroom laptops on which they peer-edit creative stories on Google Docs, mix music, make podcasts and email teachers. But I believe we should have progressed enough that our second graders are not still learning little more than what our seniors learned in computer class a decade ago: typing and using search engines.
Yes, we’re the “digital natives” generation, but if Poly expects the majority of our technological education to take place at home, we end up with vastly different levels of computer literacy by the time we’re in high school. Poly’s website calls our school’s graduates “prepared…members of [the] world.” In the 21st century, that preparation must include the ability to navigate the information technology world with competency.
Mainly, the campus facilities just aren’t that conducive to educational technology. Mrs. Reed told The Paw Print in spring of 2007 that Middle School classrooms would be renovated to accommodate desks that would fit a textbook and a laptop for every student. The plan sounded good, but even now, not even Upper School students use laptops during class. It’s the high school that should lead the way to a future of making the most out of technology during class, but it’s 2008, and we still only use laptops for the occasional in-class history essay.
Ultimately, it’s true that many of these things are not strictly necessary to our education. In the vein of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” there are certainly classes that work perfectly well teaching with marker and whiteboard to pen and paper. However, increased technological facilities would further enhance a top-notch curriculum that is progressive and efficient. An institution like Poly should never be outdated.
It’s great that Poly is thinking about technological improvements at this time, with a new school website and a media and technology program purportedly in the pipeline for the North Campus. So in the spirit of progress, I eagerly await the website’s promised additional features to go up over the next few months, and anticipate that, when current students visit Poly a few years down the road, we will see a wireless, technologically sophisticated campus.
Perhaps, we will see Upper School students sitting on the renovated patios, typing away at essays and doing research while still taking advantage of Poly’s beautiful open campus. Perhaps computer science classes will be offered, and more teachers will take advantage of interactive whiteboards, classroom laptops and course websites. Just maybe, the freshmen who report for The Paw Print today will be at that time editors of a paper housed in a spacious Publications Room. The Master Plan is the perfect opportunity for the Poly campus to modernize more than just the buildings, and when I come back in a few years, I hope I will find a campus that stirs in me great geeky envy.
Joselyn Lai
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