THE STUDENT COUNCIL

Google recruited three friends to record William’s presentation, which ran nine minutes during rehearsal. Because he was reading the speech from an iPad, a variety of camera angles would keep it interesting. Google would do the final editing himself.

The five-member executive committee sat in director’s chairs in the Allegheny Mall parking lot, thirty yards in front of the building. Under a mostly clear sky and low sun, William sat in the center seat.

“Welcome to Oil City, Pennsylvania,” he began. “I’m high school student council president William Noble. Seated with me are the members of our executive committee.” He introduced Janet and Crystal, the freshman and sophomore representatives, and then Sam Runsfeld. He referred to Big Seven Three as Oil City’s All American football star, Mr. Paul Barner.

“As most of the country knows by now, our school building was destroyed by fire early yesterday. It’s unfortunate and inconvenient, but our education must go on. The school district has directed our student body to report to the middle school on Monday, which would become a shared facility. The high school would take the evening shift and attend classes from three until nine.

“The reason we’re here today, addressing you, is because the same situation could arise anywhere. We want to share our reaction, as students and citizens, in the hope it will open discussion and generate support for our position. In a meeting last night, our student council unanimously rejected the district’s proposal for double-shifting. At the same time, we endorsed a plan of our own.

“Before reviewing that plan, I’d like to make one thing clear. We mean no disrespect to our school board and district management. Although students have never been included in the educational planning process here in Oil City, the same could be said for most American cities. We assume full responsibility for not demanding our inclusion in the past. We now intend to correct that mistake.

“There are serious problems with double-shifting. Obviously, the existing middle school program would suffer. Many afterschool activities would be terminated. School hours would be shortened or changed. Teachers would be inconvenienced by joint use of their classrooms. Our high school teachers and support staff would catch the worst of it. Many of them have families, even young children. Working nights would seriously disrupt their lives.

“Finally there’s us, the high school students. We’re supposed to be preparing for an eight-to-five world after graduation, whether as employees or college students. Attending school at night would work directly against that ... unprepare us, basically.

“I mention these things because they’re significant, not because they’re intolerable. People make sacrifices in hard times. We understand that. However, we also see something far bigger at stake. The sirens on those fire trucks served as a wake up call for us.

“Apparently two boys torched the building because an old dress code was enforced, a code that never should have existed in the first place. Their action was wrong and malicious ... and totally misguided. It makes no sense to destroy a restaurant because you don’t like the menu or the way the food’s prepared and served.”

William had looked up from his text, making Google nervous. The last line wasn’t part of his written speech. This was no time to bring up the damn student lunch program!

“My point is that the old building itself was completely innocent. Antiquated school policy that was a problem. If the boys had come to our student council with their issue, we would have challenged the policy and gotten it changed. That’s the positive approach. But we’re not here to talk about dress codes.

“Our concern is with the entire school menu. Our curriculum chefs have been using outdated cookbooks here in Oil City. The ingredients are way beyond their expiration date. Our teachers have grown tired of serving up the same thing, in the same way, year after year. As a result, students here suffer from malnutrition ... as evidenced by the lowest scholastic test scores in all of Pennsylvania. A move to the middle school would only perpetuate that. Different building. Different hours. Same unhealthy menu.”

Google nodded approval. William’s metaphor actually worked.

“So there,” William said, looking straight into one of the cameras. “I’m happy to get the negatives out of the way. The positive side of this is that other fires have been started. They’re burning right under our chairs. We’re going to get off our complacent, lazy asses and take charge!

“The council has found a new temporary home for our school. It’s right behind us, the mostly vacant Allegheny Mall. It’s what we envision going on inside that we’re here to talk about.

“We see a public school that embraces the twenty-first century, not one that clings to the past. Computers are at the center of the modern world, and will be the centerpiece of this school. Every student will have his own. Traditional instruction will be replaced, for the most part, with programmed individual learning. This change won’t take place gradually. It will be immediate. The roles of most teachers will change to that of mentors and guides. We know this can happen because it’s already happening, at least in some charter schools. The learning software is out there, waiting for us. Success has been documented.

“We see a curriculum with no limits to how far or rapidly a student can progress. We also see one that’s respectful of students who need to move more slowly.

“As an example of what will be possible, consider that the only foreign language offered in our high school was Spanish. In our new school, students will be able to choose Chinese or Japanese. German or French. Italian or Russian. If there’s a learning program for a language, we can offer it.

“We also want to do away with physical education as we’ve known it, mostly game-playing in Oil City’s case. We’ll replace it with two-a-day group exercise sessions. Imagine six hundred students in one room,” he turned and pointed to the former grocery store, “starting each day with fifteen minutes of stretching and conditioning. We know it wakes up the body and the brain ... it’s scientifically proven ... so why haven’t we been doing it already?

“We plan to nurture a collective team spirit, allowing no student to be left behind. Our best students will spend part of each day assisting others. We’d like to live up to our unique high school nickname: Samaritans.

“You may be wondering: Why the urgency? Rome wasn’t built in a day and all that. One reason is that our very own state is forcing our hand. The design work for a new high school for Oil City was completed over two years ago. Given yesterday’s disaster, one would think that funding that construction would be Pennsylvania’s highest priority right now. We should have an executive order from the governor already, but the very opposite is true. We’ve learned that the state wants our displaced students and teachers to serve as guinea pigs. Our legislature envisions double-shifting as a possible solution to their budget deficit, something that might work everywhere. In a nutshell, they hope our move to the middle school might be permanent.

“Our response is that if we’re going to be guinea pigs, let it be in the name of better education, not cheaper education. Let our school in this mall be our test. We do not agree to a night shift permanently, temporarily, or even momentarily. We insist that the new high school construction start now, so it will be ready when our two-year lease at this mall expires.

“This building requires no structural changes. Added external wiring is all that’s needed. That can be accomplished in a matter of days. School can start as soon as computers, desks and chairs are delivered. In the meantime, we’re anxious to sit down with the administration and hammer out a new operational plan.

“But are they ready to work with us? Apparently not. The administration’s first reaction to our resolution was to dismiss our new advisor, Miss Trisha Berman. Her crime was allowing us to think for ourselves and assume a role in our educational planning. She allowed us to do exactly what our written guidelines suggest that we do.

“That’s all part of why we’re appealing to you for support. We know there are people out there who not only share our vision, but have superior knowledge and expertise to share. We welcome your responses and advice on our student council website. We also ask that you make your thoughts known to our superintendent and school board. All their email addresses are provided on our website.

“If you think we’re wrong, tell us why. If you think we’re right, find a way to help us. You can begin by liking and following our Facebook page. We’ll be sure to share our adventure with constant updates. This is William Noble signing off from Oil City, where we care about our education.”