Why we need a new school
By Elizabeth Horner
Eleventh grade student of Greenville City Schools, Elizabeth Horner who is an advocate for youth skill development, particularly programs that promote reading and writing to young people, speaks out on why it is important to build a new school building for Grades 5-8.
She did a video of her thoughts on the issue which can be viewed at www.greenvillenowisthetime.blogspot.com
In the video, this student talks about what happened when she attended fifth grade after her parents received a letter that Woodland Heights ended its open-enrollment policy. Horner had to attend South School instead. While Horner was originally worried about being friendless and out of place among peers in her new school, she quickly dismissed those fears as pointless, but found other things that bothered her.
Horner, who is considered an advanced student who can tackle college-level curriculum said, "I had to work harder to feel enthused to study".
Horner stated that she learned and studied spelling in the hallway "because I read a lot and I learned words and their spelling beyond a fifth grade level. So, I had to select the words I wanted to learn from week to week ... and I used them in sentences and tested myself in spelling...in a little square space in the hallway outside my homeroom door."
She also wanted to show Greenville residents where the advanced students worked. She stated that all the other school buildings that she visited have better accommodations.
"But the biggest challenge for me was if I needed to use the bathroom! I had to make the long trek down to the basement from the third floor of the building.
There were several times I almost tripped on the staircase because I knew I only had a few minutes to go down and back up and be on time for my next class."
Horner appeals to Greenville residents to see her video. "We need the right equipment and space to help us be more successful." Horner pleads "help ensure good education for your children and grandchildren. Help ensure positive things happen to this community."
She states that "we cannot just hope that in the luck of the draw, we come out on top". While Horner has written many published articles about how it is important to honor and learn from the past and not to be subjugated by the power of computer and automated machines, she also believes that in this high tech age, students cannot afford to be behind on that bandwagon.
"Our education cannot be a stagnant thing if it is to be of value in the future....We need a new building equipped with the right tools and space kids need to meet the current educational challenges".
She is convinced that the new building is designed so that technology will provide the maximum monitoring for kids safety. It will also allow for installation of educational equipment more efficiently and provide teachers more room to be creative with their teaching methods. She believes that it is important for kids to have more play space to burn energy during recess that makes them fidgety and less focused inside the classroom.
Horner considers middle school as an important time in a kid's life. "We start breaking away from being entirely focused on the here and now and start thinking about the future. The school environment plays a major part in our decisions for the future and our lives."
She considers education of Greenville kids as the most important bequest one can give to this community.
Locally, Horner recently visited the Greenville YMCA Day Care Program to donate books and encourage younger kids to read. She also participated in the HOBY Summer Leadership Program in June. She just returned from a visit to the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania.
She is grateful to the "Friends of the Reading Fairy" and Jay and Mary Bookstore for their support of her recent community activities.
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