Staff Editorial
Television shows, movies and books all seem to portray the same, stereotypical high school classroom: a teacher speaking in a monotone voice, disinterested children sitting in rows and bland subject matter displayed on a chalkboard.
The media may typecast teachers as boring and authoritarian, but this is far from the experience we’ve had at Upper Arlington High School.
One thing that has stood out to the Arlingtonian staff is the quality of faculty at the high school. Many of the teachers that we’ve encountered create a classroom environment that is engaged and collaborative, encouraging discussion and idea-sharing.
What has impressed us most is how much our teachers love to interact with students, and, well, teach. Learning from teachers that are obviously passionate about their subject can make all the difference. Whether it be chemistry or literature, calculus or history, our faculty seems to be fascinated with the information that they are teaching students, which makes us more interested in what they have to say.
The Arlingtonian staff is thankful that each year, we build relationships with a new host of teachers, ones built off of mutual respect. These friendships often last longer than the duration of one school year.
Besides their enthusiasm towards teaching, the UAHS staff has been of infinite help to the Arlingtonian publication. They provide insightful interviews, suggest story topics and give us constructive feedback for the future.
On one occasion, we published a one-page article about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A very long and complex issue is hard to summarize adequately in a few hundred words, and our simplistic reporting undermined just how complicated the conflict is.
A teacher pulled the writer of this article aside after class to point out the important parts of the conflict that were not included in the article, and the casual language that was used to report such serious matters. This jump-started an insightful discussion about how crucial word choice and phrasing are when reporting.
Ultimately, that writer became more conscious of the language he used when reporting. Arlingtonian was held accountable by that teacher.
A separate time, two of our writers were conducting an interview with a teacher about the importance of language when discussing current events. The interview evolved into an in-depth conversation about political correctness culture in the U.S.. He shared with the writers how he’s seen political correctness change since he was in high school, and how he perceives it as a high school teacher within our school.
The writers emerged more enlightened on the progression of political correctness. The interview contained more information than necessary for the article, but it made the students more informed individuals.
Without the teacher’s cooperation and expertise, we would not be able to conduct the in-depth reporting that we have, and our magazine would be nowhere near where it is today. The faculty allow us to look at this school with a magnifying glass and examine different aspects that may otherwise go unrecognized.
The Arlingtonian staff would like to offer a resounding thank you to our teachers. We are grateful for your patience, insight and enthusiasm.