Throughout my entire Upper School career, WIS has been in a constant state of change. The construction of Le Centre Brown (LCB) hinted at an impending transformation of the WIS community and campus, lying passively in the background of student life (well, maybe not for soccer players or Sports Day enthusiasts). If there was any student input into the building and/or design of LCB, it was small enough to be unmemorable. Still, most members of our community were optimistic about the promises of more sophisticated science labs and an aesthetically pleasing cafeteria.
The past few months, however, have hard-launched a new approach to change that bears an uncanny resemblance to upheaval. With obstinate emails from WIS administrators bombarding students’ and parents’ inboxes, each marking a shift in longstanding policy, it doesn’t surprise me that a surplus of fidget toys and alphabetically-organized stress management diagrams are no longer cutting it as mental health support. Any retaliation or questioning from the student body has been met with a gently-worded but obvious veto. Stemming from a lack of transparency from administration is growing anxiety amongst the student body.
Maybe administration has found too much comfort in students’ remarkable ability to adapt to change. On many occasions, I’ve heard the sudden nature of administration’s decisions to be justified by a faith in the resilience of WIS students. Unfortunately, flattery doesn’t get you far under the scrutinous eye of teenagers who no longer have their phones to distract them. My main issue, for example, with the no-phone policy (announced only 12 days before its implementation), was how patronizing it was; all of a sudden, the adults in my life revealed that they had lost faith in my ability to control myself around technology. Admitting that this substantial change in policy came suddenly to students, administration justified their choice to not share it with us by highlighting our maturity and adaptability. Does anyone else feel conflicting sentiments?
The no-phone policy was not revealed beyond administrator office walls sooner because there would be an immediate student opposition to it. I’m guessing that the identical approach that was taken to the new honor roll policy (disclosed only four to five school weeks before the end of semester one) was justified similarly. Last minute changes are unpopular for many reasons, but most importantly because they demonstrate a complete disregard for popular opinion.
The announcement of the revised first honors boundaries was problematic not only because of the significant pressures it places on WIS seniors in their application process (the addition to student transcripts that implies that a first honors in previous years was completely devoid of value is plain cruel), but also because it confirms the growing concern of WIS students that they are no longer an important opinion to consult. Unsurprisingly, administration was overwhelmed with criticism from the WIS community upon the announcement, so much so that we received a briefly worded email postponing the honor roll boundary change only twelve hours after the initial email. Administration’s hurry to backtrack highlights the lack of consideration of non-directorial opinion that has come to define new WIS policy.
Despite the widespread relief of the cancellation of the honor roll change, the new attitude towards the student-administration relationship remains superficial at best. Encouraging posters are plastered along hallways and grade lounges are advertised as community bonding environments, meanwhile overhauls of significant policy are sprung on the student body and emphasized as out of ISU’s control. I and others have made our disappointment clear, but apparently not heard. I’m not satisfied with the patronizing stance of administration, and hope to see reform.
By Bryn Soven
