STOP LEAD OCHS KY

Dear Oldham County Administration:

The Problems With LEAD

An Argumentative Article written by Madeline Grinnell

(With the help of satire)

LEAD is a program with a good intent, but is poorly planned, half-baked, and unnecessary. It is akin to Communism, fabulous on paper, not so hot when applied to a real and living population.

The main part of LEAD is that it is a mandatory study hall in which a student has access to all of their teachers. When you were presenting this program it was brought up that 75% of students take a study hall. First comment, what does 75% have to do with anything? Is it trying to make it seem like this is just a change to make scheduling easier and won’t affect anybody? Because, actually yes, it is a big change. Before this program, students had the option of study hall if they need the extra work time, but students who didn’t need or want it, could take 7 classes and get as many classes as possible for their college application. Now study hall is forced upon them, and the part of the student body who doesn’t want to waste an hour they could use working towards college, is stuck without a voice because some people who need to take study hall can’t because some students take the period to goof off and not work.

Next argument I have is with the reason of “Some students can’t come to ESS”. I understand problems with transportation, but this could be fixed by an ESS after school bus. The issue of teachers unable to stay for ESS. I propose a system of a group of teachers who are willing to stay after hours. This system could even cycle so the teachers could only have maybe a week shift of ESS before the next set. Final point on the ESS issues. One of the problems mentioned was some students can’t stay due to them having extracurriculars. Extracurriculars, sports, clubs, etc are not mandatory. They are privileges. If you are unable to keep your grades in order, maybe, WOAH Great Idea!!!, you should spend more time studying. I do not believe we should cushion students, smothering others, just so Mr. I Don’t Do My Homework, can keep playing 20 sports in 15 different counties while learning to play the oboe up in Florence. At some point a person needs to learn how to prioritize. They need to realize they are not entitled to everything they want. The art of sacrifice is a needed skill. This school claims it is training it’s students for the real world, but all it’s doing is raising a generation of marshmallows and eggs that after even a little stress, are unable to function. Anxiety, attention problems, and paranoia are running rampant because we don't have the spine to let our children face the consequences of their actions. We cushion them and cushion them until they are so dependent they have no self-confidence, self-identity, and self-motivation. So yeah not all students are using their study hall properly. There is no enforcing of work ethic.

The next point I will address is that the study hall problem is the only problem having any academic relevance. School is not a fun-zone, it is an education system. The school should not be playing social counselor making everyone feel like they belong and have a group with which to sing Kumbaya. Social skills must be learned. Eventually someone needs to develop the ability to make acquaintances without it being fostered by some outsider like a gutter rail in a bowling alley. I, an antisocial person, to the nth degree, have a dependable friend group I made myself. Why should we be forced to make little buddy packs by the school, with people we probably already have some kind of history with whether positive or negative.

The clubs also falls under the “Not Academically Relevant” category.

The final, and I think biggest DUH point is the credit issue. “You don’t need 7 credits to graduate” I can just hear the video clip now. True with this new Credit system that is supposedly in the works, we don’t need 7 credits a year. While this may seem to fix the problem. For people going to an out of state college the lack of credits is not going to be any help. Colleges don’t care what you say you did in your LEAD time. They want the paper that proves you learned the content. Some electives are looked for by certain colleges, so the lack thereof caused by this program is not giving anyone a boost up in the academic world. Not everyone is adopting this program, I myself am going to CalArts, and my inability to get certain art credits to help prove I have a variety of art skills, is not going to make getting into the college any easier.

And I almost forgot to mention. This system is being implemented next year, and attendance isn’t even fully organized yet. YAY! All our students have close friends and can keep an A in all their classes. BUT WE HAVE NO IDEA WHERE THEY ARE!

In short this LEAD system, more like LEASH system, is poorly planned and in an overall bad idea to apply to the entire student body. If you all are so adamant on this program. At least consider only making the program mandatory if your GPA is below a certain number. That way, those who NEED the program get it, and those who don't can opt out. Thank you for reading, I implore you to consider some of the plan I address in this article. I will also take time to address that my stance is one I will stand by and speak for, and all the signatures on this page and those following agree with me. Therefore, if you are reading this, and you have a position higher than you that is involved with the implementation of the LEAD program, please send this on to them.

This school says it wants to build leaders who stand for there beliefs. Well here I am, speaking out. It’s your decision whether this keeps moving through the system, or gets moved to the pile of papers that collect dust and are never heard. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Madeline Grinnell Student