Thursday, May 17, 2007

Jenny: Locker Space






As you all might know, the majority of most Hammond Students claim we don't have enough locker space. Is this true? Are students bringing unnecessary things to their lockers? Are students just taking up more space than needed?
Average lockers stretch 10 inches wide, 10 inches deep, and five feet high. That's probably not enough space, or it is. School Officials came to this dimension because they didn't want lockers so large it could hold an entire wardrobe or even worse, a student. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dun/content/article/2007/02/24/AR2007022401329) Most students can't even fit their winter jacket in the locker, and if they do, chances are they will get jammed. An eighth grader that attended Rosa Parks said she "can't even bring my winter jacket, or my locker will probably get jammed." (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dun/content/article/2007/02/24/AR2007022401329) Mostly during the winter, students begin to bring large, heavy coats to school. You may say students should bring lighter and smaller jackets, teachers probably would not approve that, and neither would parents. Backpacks already take up a lot of space in lockers, and adding larger coats, there would barely have any space for school supplies, yet teachers aren't aware of this and usually don't listen to students when they complain. And also, because of this dimension, it causes pushing and shoving. It’s impossible for students to even use a ten inch wide space. A normal person’s width probably exceeds 10 inches.

Stuffing big books into students' backpacks, makes the backpacks extremely large. When one student is standing at his or her locker, their backpack would probably reach the next locker, disabling another student from opening their locker in time to get to class. Students tend to take up much more locker space than needed. No one, not even a teacher, has taught students to respect locker space, and how much locker space they should take up. Over half of respondents claimed that teachers SHOULD teach students to respect locker space. Some people stretch their legs down 2 lockers, and expect other students to still be able to open their lockers, without even knowing they're wrong. Students lean on other student's lockers, and don't leave when the owner of the locker came.
Almost half of Hammond students have been accused of taking up too much locker space. You might think that if students stood correctly while opening their locker, then there would be no locker problems. But one problem is no one has ever taught students locker space. About half of 7th grade students said teachers should teach us to respect locker space. 65 out of 78 students in 7th grade claim we don't have enough locker space. In an average week, an average amount of students are late to class 3 times because they didn't get to their locker in time, or locker was jammed. You may think students should already "know" how to respect locker space. Most students may think they are respecting locker space, without even knowing they're wrong. The survey says that 71% of all 7-2 students that have participated in the survey have pushed or shoved someone to get to their locker, and 56% of respondents have been pushed away from their locker.
Is locker space needed? Yes, a locker, is almost like a student's only personal space to own for the whole school year. Students want to keep that privilege. Most students take up more space than needed, but if teachers actually "taught" you how to respect locker space, chances are students wouldn't be misunderstanding about the amount of space they require. If the dimensions of lockers are a slight larger, students wouldn't complain they have no room for school materials and necessities. Many students have complained about locker space, and more than 5 out of every 10 students has a reason.

3 comments:

The Eagles, Team 7-2 said...
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The Eagles, Team 7-2 said...
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The Eagles, Team 7-2 said...
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