Re: the studyhall syndrome

[Bob Hall <PHE_ACA_BH@NWOCA.OHIO.GOV>]

Doug, thanks for and excellent discussion (may I use some of your statements in
my next handbook revision?).

My media center, too, is a magnet for system misfits, but I've come to feel
that it's the only area of the school where students aren't tightly structured
and controlled. Some of my "patrons" simply can't function in that type of
environment. Naturally, this perpetuates the image of the media center as a
dumping ground in the minds of some staff members.

Doug mentioned the perception of the media center as the "hushed room," and I
don't think we've been able to overcome that image in the minds of other
faculty or administrators (hence, are there sometimes problems in
evaluations?).

A few weeks ago I rewatched "The Blackboard Jungle" on Encore,
and if you've seen it you may remember the school librarian who was more
concerned with the fact that a student had an overdue book than with the
reality that the student had attempted suicide. Has our image really changed
much since 1957?

Bob Hall
Patrick Henry Local Schools
Hamler, OH
PHE_ACA_BH@NWOCA.OHIO.GOV