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While my teacher email lists were abuzz with the fact that Fremont High School is being reconstituted<\/a>, the LA Times ran a more positive spin on education reform<\/a> in the city and it focused on Manual Arts. I asked my students to respond to the article after we discussed it in class. The general consensus was that Sandy Banks\u2019 perception of the school did not match that of our students. I typed up a smattering of student responses to share with Mike and the MLA staff that you are welcome to read below. Personally, I think there\u2019s tremendous merit in the work behind the Doolittle mural project and the school\u2019s garden. However, I was surprised by the vitriol my students had for these efforts \u2013 the fact that emphasis in the column was placed on seemingly cosmetic changes rather than on changes that directly impact student achievement. I do think that students used this as an opportunity to voice concern about the school as a whole \u2013 not necessarily what MLA is presently doing. And, at the end of the day, I think that\u2019s pretty reasonable; should students really have to care who<\/em> is taking care of the barriers to their learning? The fact that they exist should be enough for them to don a tone of vexation. Aside from some spelling corrections, student responses are unedited below.<\/p>\n Sandy Banks\u2019 column on improvement in Manual Arts High School could not have been more wrong and infuriating. As a student from said school, I couldn\u2019t help but laugh at all the emphasis put on Manual Arts\u2019 \u201cpositives;\u201d all seven of them. I find it to be like a joke in poor taste. We have a little garden and a couple of people being paid to keep freshman from dropping out, but compared to everything else about Manual Arts, those things are barely anything but trivial. The truth about Manual Arts and all other schools like it is that it\u2019s negative qualities outweigh any positives. If anything, Banks should have written about how Manual Arts needs improvement. By building up that little shit garden or not quite mentioning drop-out rates or other failures, we are giving those in charge of taking care of the school the chance to just walk away. I don\u2019t like the idea of our help walking away thinking we don\u2019t need anything because we\u2019re growing vegetables behind some crappy building!<\/p>\n At Manual Arts, the change is successful when MLA came. First they gave money to clubs to make a difference. As a member of the Science Club, MLA gave money to my sponsor to make a garden. We made a garden that I thought was for everybody in the community. But the garden is not even open for everybody. I feel like MLA is changing the school but not helping students to enjoy a beautiful garden. Even though I helped make the garden I don\u2019t have access to go inside it. Also, the article talks about money that every student gets. As a senior, I haven\u2019t seen any of the money go to my education. I see the same old computers in the same classrooms that are really old. MLA is just making MAHS look good but not changing how students feel about it or how we are being educated.<\/p>\n I believe that this school should be reconstituted like Fremont.<\/p>\n I believe that fixing the garden and the graffiti is a good idea! But have you ever thought of seeing how teachers work behind the administrators\u2019 back? Well some teachers act so racist or just treat you like if you\u2019re another one of their friends. Counselors should really try and listen rather than always trying to take the teachers\u2019 side of everything.<\/p>\n I love the fact that they\u2019re talking about the changes that are happening at Manual Arts but it is still not helping us. The painting (so called \u201cart\u201d) is not doing anything for us! The $400.00 I haven\u2019t seen it payoff anything not even for the school. The TV in the cafeteria is not even turned on during nutrition or lunch so we might as well not even have that 30-something inch plasma tv in there. But now we need to help our seniors and my class of 2011 to get to college! Help me pursue my dream of attending Michigan or Michigan State.<\/p>\n Sandy Banks doesn\u2019t mention uniforms, there is also a reconstructed senior quad and a new college counselor. However, in my opinion, there are many things not working at Manual Arts. For example parents are not being respected when decisions are taken. And of course this is something MLA should take care of.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t agree with this column. I think that MLA should work more on checking students to make sure no drugs are sold or consumed on our campus. Also they should not keep tardy people for 30 minutes that way students that come late would be able to not lose class time. We should be aware of the plans that are changing on our school and not after they already happen.<\/p>\n At Manual Arts there are three tracks. These tracks are not supported equally. Also, teachers are being laid off but in my opinion students should have a chance to give an opinion on what teachers should be laid off.<\/p>\n I\u2019m a senior at Manual Arts and I feel the change, also it makes me tell everyone that Manual Arts is a \u201cpositive\u201d school and that the school is getting better.<\/p>\n MLA needs to realize that students here in Manual Arts are really struggling. A lot of seniors haven\u2019t passed the CAHSEE.<\/p>\n MLA should listen to the students\u2019 voice! MLA is at least making the school look different. However, there needs to be a solution to address or to force students to learn. For example, in my class there are at least fifteen students that don\u2019t care about education. They go to class to distract other students and the teacher as well.<\/p>\n Manual Arts is actually getting better in some points of view. Especially because we have a new principal and I think that he is making a lot of difference at this school. I agree that the violence has decreased.<\/p>\n Instead of wasting money on cameras and garden stuff, they should focus more on wasting money on us the students, the future. They should focus on buying more books, computers, school supplies.<\/p>\n They put more attention on things like school uniforms than on our education.<\/p>\n I think nothing has changed in this school. We still have the same old broken materials and computers. We also have the same beat up books. We never get new learning materials for our classrooms. The school\u2019s garden is not an achievement because that doesn\u2019t help students be successful in life, it\u2019s just there to make the school look nicer. Our school needs learning materials, not a garden that we\u2019re not even allowed to study in.<\/p>\n Stop making us get detention for wearing a different colored sweater the color of a sweater was not required in the school uniform letter and it gives us less time to focus on our homework when we have to serve an extra hour after school just sitting and doing nothing for an hour.<\/p>\n In my opinion as a student here at Manual Arts, I think we should improve getting what the students want. Probably fixing the restrooms. What I mean is not changing the toilet paper holders but the walls, sinks, and toilets. The ceiling tiles should be replaced, it looks like they are going to fall. The bungalows should be fixed from the outside. It looks like the buildings are going to collapse.<\/p><\/blockquote>\nTell people this is awesome:<\/h3>