A class at Lake Orion High School was openly criticized by several long-time teachers at the July 14 school board meeting.
Mike Bendle and Greg Cole asked board members to eliminate the ‘seminar.? Their visit to the meeting was in response to the board’s rejection in June of a decision by staff and administration to ask seminar be dropped.
‘It needs to go. We’ve been trying to fix it for eight or nine years. Seventy five percent of the teachers say something has to change,? Cole said.
‘I can’t sing the company song anymore. I love teaching. Putting me in a seminar class really cuts me at my knees. Please support our work and I’ll support yours.?
A seminar class has a non-structured environment where students can make up work, take time to see a counselor, visit a guest speaker, be tutored, go listen to a college recruiter. The teacher is expected to tutor students.
‘A seminar looks good on paper. We’ve been trying to work out the wrinkles. But it’s impractical,? Bendle said.
According to Bendle, only a fraction of the over 2,000 students at the high school actively seek out tutoring.
‘The students that seek out tutoring meet a few simple criteria. These students aren’t doing well as they could and it bothers them to the extent they are willing to go the extra to improve. Very few are motivated to do this,? Bendle said.
Bendle said having the juniors and seniors seeing college recruiters during seminar is a waste of time because only a small amount actively seek them out.
‘And I question whether these recruiters should even be in the building,? he added
He admits having guest speakers coming in during that time is a good idea, but the 800 seat auditorium doesn’t allow all the students to attend.
According to Bendle, the seminar classroom is not a good place for doing make up work or tutoring.
‘A seminar class will have a number of students who have chosen not to take educational advantage of seminar. Because seminar lacks structure and meaning, they will be less inclined to behave as students should. This makes for a more disruptive classroom, less suitable for test taking than a regular classroom,? he said.
‘Because the teacher has many students in seminar class, giving focused attention isn’t possible. In addition, because many teachers teach several different courses, students will arrive, seeking help on different topics.:
Based on a formula using the high school budget, the number of school days each year and the number of student hours each day, Bendle figures the seminar class is costing $7,195 per hour.
He questions whether or not the class is a good use of taxpayer’s dollars. ‘Can we be doing something useful and functional or are we just putting in our time?? he asked. ‘We should be educating instead of doing something ambiguous.?
Bendle believes there are solutions to ‘seminar? problems. He suggests college recruiters be invited to the school at other times, just not during school hours.
‘Encourage students to seek tutoring at regular tutoring sessions, during Channel 1 time, before school, after school. Guarantee students will have extra time with each teacher on Tuesdays.
‘Encourage students to make up missed work before school, after school, on Wednesday mornings or during class,? he added.
According to LO School Board President Leeann Bartley, although the board did reject a proposal in June to drop the seminar class, it indicated the classes could be cut in half.
‘Until the last board meeting, we didn’t know you were going to do this,? she told the teachers at the meeting. ‘You know we support what you do.?
‘Part of the reason we’re here is to look at the broader picture. We see things a little bit differently,? school board member Mary Jo Burchart said.
‘We haven’t seen an adjusted plan. Until we do, we can’t do anything.?