Project Proposal

Part 1: The Topic Defined

My topic of choice is demoralization in Schreiber education. What I mean by �demoralization� is the increasing lack of morals being taught and upheld in Schreiber. Ever since the Civil Rights Movement started (1960s) America�s public has collectively turned against authority, conformity and the like. Because of this national rebellion, school regulations and curriculum have taken a turn for the worst. Something that was almost suitable for punishment such as refusing to stand and recite the Pledge of Allegiance has become an acceptable option. Students are rarely even given a dirty look by a teacher for cursing in the halls. We can wear shirts with suggestive messages printed on them. Mesh shirts which reveal girls� bras, and pants which ride so low that the top half of boys� boxers can be seen. There is so little authority initiated by teachers and staff that students can get away with these things. This bothers me because it cancels out everything that we learned about good manners when we were young, and puts on us the impression that these things are acceptable when they aren�t. Port Washington schools are slacking off teaching us what is right and what is wrong. Instead, while there are high �standards and expectations�, few of these are met because those who have the power to enforce them choose not to.

Part 2: The Motivation

I chose this topic because it is a problem that I have observed within my own school, and I deeply feel it needs to be addressed. This topic is important because it affects generations of young Port Washington residents. We are accustomed to being taught certain things in certain ways since our childhood. Although discipline is more often utilized by teachers on younger students in the elementary schools, certain things that we learn in school, curriculum wise, also displays a lack of moralization. I can remember a certain health class I took in which abstinence was never mentioned, and the teacher discussed topics such as sex and drinking in a more positive light than I would have imagined. I can recall another teacher who teachers with such a bias that they repeatedly condemn Christians through word of mouth and class handouts. Did I mention this teacher has even cursed in front of their class, on purpose? These personal experiences motivated me to write about this topic so that my fellow students can have the opportunity to recognize that our teachers� faults are not in their extensive amounts of homework or impossible tests, but rather what they are actually teaching us. I believe my readers should definitely care about this topic. Even if they disagree with every word I say it is still an issue that deals with our upbringings and what we keep in our minds and hearts as we graduate into the �real world�.

Part 3: Questions

- What are the official school guidelines as far as crime and punishment goes?

- What is the required curriculum that teachers must teacher?

- What is the code of conduct for teachers?

- Does the PTA/school board have any opinions on this subject (has it been brought up before)?

- What are the students/teachers opinions on this subject?

- How much of what we are taught is (morally/immorally) biased?

- Do our textbooks (or anything used in the classroom as granted by the NY or federal gov�t) contribute to this problem?

- Has anything already been changed in Schreiber regarding this subject? What was the effect?

I expect the official guidelines and such will be acceptable. However I already know that they are not all properly, if at all, enforced. As far as textbooks are concerned, I have a feeling that they will discuss events such as Vietnam War protests and the Neo-Feminist movement in a positive light. Otherwise I don�t� really know what to expect, especially students/teachers opinions.

Part 4:

It is my goal this semester to be a real muckraker and find out what Schreiber is really teaching us. I want to answer all of my questions from part 3, and compile them together to reveal some true evil that exists where parents put so must of their trust. I hope to enlighten myself and others to the dramatic changes in attitude we have witnessed as we progressed from kindergarten to high school. Overall, I hope to give people another perspective to take into account when they start to formulate their own beliefs of what is right and wrong. To open their eyes to the other side of the story, a side they may be aware of but not fully understand. In order to do this I will need to contact many teachers and administrators. I will also interview many teachers, students and hopefully parents on their views on the subject. To make a difference I think the best thing I could do would be to get my finished story out there- get it published in the Schreiber Times/Port News/Newsday or maybe write a newsletter that can circulate throughout the school.

My Portfolio:

Go to Ms. Gokturk's Cyber English Home Page

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Kellylynn�2004

E-mail me at: [email protected]

~*~This webpage was created for a high school English project~*~

Hosted by www.Geocities.ws

Post-Reflection: Today, the last day at school for Schreiber High has disproved my previous conclusions and reinstated my original concern. So many pranks occurred today I don�t know which ones were true and which were just rumors. The behavior displayed at our school today by the seniors and from what I heard from a few friends the sophomores as well, has been absolutely deplorable. What I�m writing actually sounds a lot like what our interim-principal, Dr. Francis Banta, just recently said. However, if I were to describe to you exactly what emotions I would feel, it would no longer be appropriate for this English project due to excessive foul language content. My original goal to get the word out about teenage moral illiteracy has been, unfortunately, put back into my heart. I plan to spend the summer writing articles, hoping to get them published in some local newspapers. I am proud to note that some Schreiber students such as freshmen Caeli Higgins and Julie Evans, who wrote an article titled �The loss of Schreiber�s innocence�, which speaks of how freshmen are getting more quickly involved in sex, drugs, and alcohol (which according to second-hand information from a variety of sources within the school seems to be true). If you re-read my research paper and op-ed (which is specific to Schreiber) you will get a better understanding of where my feelings come from. It�s weird that at first, I was getting really mad about all this bad stuff happening and put out a real critical eye. All I seemed to notice was how good everyone was acting. But then this day came and that whole dream of overcoming all the trash that the hippy generation brought us as a nation was shut down. I am extremely disappointed in my classmates. Not just those who actually took part in the pranks, but especially for those who support it. We live in a divided world, good and evil. There are going to be people who represent both sides. But it�s all the people in between, who may not actually do the bad things but encourage others to do so, to cheer them on and be of support. These people are hypocrites and lukewarm. They have no serious belief or opinion on things that are so important such as proper behavior- which affects everyone. I have a poster in my room that says �one action can change the world�. No matter how big or how small, there are still people affected by it. Think back to 911. Two planes crash into two buildings and thousands are dead. That�s the extreme. Let�s all do our part in suppressing actions like this. A little at a time is all it takes.