As a one room school, Brick is well past its usefulness.
Consider the disadvantage those kindergarters have compared to their counterparts in the other elementary schools. Yes, they have a fine teacher and assistant. Do they have in school access to the remainder of the school facilities like
- The gym, to play with others in their grade? No.
- The cafeteria, to mingle with others in their grade level? No.
- The library to explore for books and resources to use? No.
- Upper grade students who can "buddy" with them on collaborative learning projects? No.
Franklin has set a record for operating a one room school. No one can take this from us. There is no need to continue. In today's environment, it is no longer a valuable experience to be educated in that room. I do not want to condone an imperfect education being granted to some students while a much better experience is provided to the remainder of their peers.
The Brick School build can be useful for some other functions but as a classroom to provide a quality education, the time has come to close it.
The cost of the Brick School is a drop in the bucket. The more important issue overall is how we handle the budget override. As you may be aware, I have written extensively on those reasons over the last several weeks. If you are not aware, you can read the Franklin Override Collection here.
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The Brick School is also a safety concern from cars losing control. There is no guard rail on the Lincoln St. side. Two years ago a senior citizen lost control of his car (on a clear dry day) and crashed through the fence and stopped within inches of the building. Fortunately the kids were inside and not in the yard. This is a disaster waiting to happen.
ReplyDeleteI can not DISAGREE with your view of the Brick School Enough!! The school is NOT a safety risk! The children get a wonderful education there and loose out on nothing!! It would be a shame to have Franklin close such a wonderful place. What happened to History! When the ZIP Trip came to town, the town officials were so proud of the Brick School and made such a big deal of the history the school holds but now we are so ready to give that all up. Is the Brick School only a Towm Gem when there are cameras here?? For the parents that have had children go to the Brick School, we understand just what a great place it really is. Please allow our children to continue to experience the wonderful place that is THE BRICK SCHOOL!
ReplyDeleteBeth, thanks for stopping by.
ReplyDeleteThe Brick School operating as a single classroom is a safety risk. I have not heard anything that justifies its continuation on a safety note. Folks, like yourself, immediately jump to how good it is, has been, etc.
I am not denying its wonderful history. It is a record Franklin should be proud of.
I also happen to believe that Franklin also needs to do the proper thing and close it now. The money can be better spent elsewhere.
I would like some reasons on how it is not a safety risk.
I feel that those that haven’t had a chance to see the Red Brick School House first hand and the education children receive can’t understand the passion that the parents of the Red Brick School House have.
ReplyDeleteAs for Steve and Tracy, they are objective, but passionless. They speak of what the Red Brick doesn’t have, not what it has and makes it unique. Do they take into account the excellent education that the children that are fortunate enough to go to the Red Brick receive? Steve mentions a cafeteria to mingle with others; we are speaking about Kindergarten age children and they have classmates to mingle with. They have access to a library, like other kindergarteners. I’m sure that they will also have the opportunity to “buddy” with upper grade students in first grade, I don’t think this will scar them for life.
I also would like to know if Steve’s children have gone thru Franklin’s school system or he just is giving his opinion, based on perceived knowledge. His profile doesn’t mention children, just that he likes the following: run runner running reading writing wine women song improving the customer experience!
Steve please tell me where the great "safety risk" is? Would you please tell me how many children have been injured or sent to the hospital that went to The Red Brick School House? I'm sure there is an equal risk of injury at any of the Franklin Schools. If there wasn't, the state would have closed it already.
ReplyDeleteDolores and I have two daughters who attended Parmenter, Remington, and Franklin High graduating in both cases with honors.
ReplyDeleteThe girls attended kindergarten in NJ before we came here and they entered Parmenter in the 2nd and 4th grades, if I recall correctly.
"objective but passionless"
I appreciate the objective part but you can't have spent much time looking around to say "passionless".
As for the safety part, Dolores teaches kindergarten at Oak and I generally manage to visit at least once a year. With 20 children in a classroom and two adults any issue is better handled in the larger school environment where there are other teachers and school personnel around for emergencies. We have been very fortunate to avoid a serious incident at Brick.
Thank you for the response. I am happy to read that you have 2 daughters that have graduated from the Franklin School system with honors. The point of my statement was that you don't have personal experience with the Brick School and didn't have any children who attended so you don't see our reason for keeping it open.
ReplyDeleteAs for the safety issue, children can get injured anywhere, walking home from the bus, tripping over a curb, etc. You can't point to one incident to say that the Red Brick is any less safe than the other schools.
Steve, you are correct in saying that the cost of running the Brick School is a drop in the bucket. From here on, I disagree with your analysis on why it should close.
ReplyDeleteThe children may be receiving a unique education based on the historical significance of the structure, but certainly not an "imperfect" one. I'm a parent of two children who have attended there and thrived. I also volunteer in the classroom and at Computer Lab and see all the students learning in a rich, dynamic atmosphere. There's no child left behind! All children at this grade level learn basically the same things. Most importantly, they learn how to be civilized to others and develop a sense of community that hopefully will stay with them and enrich the environments they live in as adults.
Spanish, computers, library, art, music-- all of these "specials", as well as the core language arts and math, are taught at the Brick as they are in the other Kindergarten classes at Davis Thayer.
I've never felt that my children have missed out on anything while attending the Brick School. In fact, I've felt they've been privileged to go there. Does everything have to be the same for all kids or is it acceptable for them to have different experiences? Diversity is what makes life interesting, isn't it?
At Davis Thayer, the kids aren't allowed to "explore" the library at that age. The librarian selects appropriate books, allows each kid to choose one to take home, and reads to them. It's the same at the Brick.
Computer lab is once a week (in the library so they get to see it), and they receive the same amount of time as the other kindergarteners plus they have computers at the schoolhouse.
I don't think there's much mingling amongst the students in the cafeteria, and I don't think the monitors would appreciate your suggestion! They sit about 8-10 kids a table and I don't believe they're allowed to jump up and visit table to table.
I think 20-25 kids is PLENTY for 5 and 6-year-olds to socialize with! My son had no difficulty adjusting to a larger school and volume of students when he went to first grade.
As far as safety goes, if somebody wanted to do something horrific,let's face it, they could do it anywhere...at the playground, in our cars, at our homes, at the library, at the larger schools,the schoolyard, on the bus...the larger school is just as vulnerable as the Brick. Common sense and 911 is what all crises call for.
I don't think the arguments to close the Brick are strong enough. My two sons attended in the last two years and they will never forget it. It's a special place with a very special, dynamic teacher who has done such a valuable service for these kids and the history of Franklin. We should be grateful and proud.
Let's hope the School Committee listens to the Brick School supporters and the Brick School Association at its next meeting.
These kids are not being left out. If anything they're gaining something very special--they are our future and maybe through this setting they learn timeless values that hold true today, tomorrow, and 200 years ago. They have 11 more years to be in buildings with hundreds of other students.
If the School Committee rules that the Brick School should be closed, the Kindergarten class would be moved to the modular additions at Davis Thayer and Solutions will lose their space.
What would the Brick School become? Right now, it's a LIVING piece of history with students filling the room with laughter and learning. They'll go on to tell their kids about their experience in an old-fashioned one-room schoolhouse. If it closes, it becomes what? A lifeless museum? Maybe a preschool chain opens a Kinder-Care there?
WHAT DOES THE TOWN GAIN?
As a Franklin resident, I feel we would lose a piece of history that still serves our community well today.
I have 3 kids in Franklin schools and none have attended the Brick School. As much as I appreciate the very difficult decision the School Committee has to make, I would like to see the Brick School stay open, especially in light of the Brick School Association’s offer to pay the utilities (i.e., the “drop in the bucket”) for the next couple of years.
ReplyDeleteFor all the reasons already outlined in a previous response, I truly doubt and have yet to witness any of the Brick School kids miss out on anything or there being any additional danger because they are not at Davis Thayer. (I'm sure many would be aghast that DT students walk home along the very busy Rte 140, and among potentially dangerous Dean College students!) Aside from these kids being privy to an excellent education (extremely well prepared for 1st grade) with an outstanding and dedicated teacher, they will be a living part of our town's history. Consider this: are you proud to be living in Franklin - a town with an interesting & storied history, rooted in education? Ben Franklin & his gift of books ... birthplace of Horace Mann... the Nation's First Public Library... the oldest one room school house still in operation.
Tracey MacLeod (Milford News article), perhaps you’ve mistaken Franklin pride for ‘bragging rights’. I am proud to live in Franklin and am proud that our School Committee and town have supported the continued operation of the Brick School in the past. It shows respect for the forefathers of our town and their contribution to education. It shows respect for something that's intangible but is a source of great pride and joy. It shows that we’re willing to set some money aside to take care of something that’s important but may not necessarily give us material returns; instead it gives us something that’s good for our souls and our spirits.
If I understand correctly, the Brick School Association has paid for much of its maintenance over the years. If the offer stands to fund the extra operating costs then why not keep it open? Franklin Pride is worth it: I want to live in a town I can ‘brag’ about. If being respectful of and valuing Franklin's history is "selfish", so be it.
“Being brilliant is no great feat if you respect nothing.”
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Well now that the Brick will remain open, how is it defined? It is being privately funded now, so does it still belong to the Davis Thayer District? The school committee accepted a gift that helped with our school wide budget. As far as I understand, the budget cuts were not just a one district problem.
ReplyDeleteI would now like to see it opened up to the whole town. There are other alumni in this town who would jump at the chance to put their children there. Is it possible that a lottery could be held town wide like the Charter School?
Another topic that should be addressed is how is privately funding education going to change our schools. This could pit districts against each other trying to reach for the corporate donors that will save their special cause.
There is a lot to be discussed here....Steve, you need to throw in at least 4 cents!