In just six months, the newly renovated library will be filled with students taking AP exams. But there’s one problem with this scenario—the windows.
As students’ gazes wander while they attempt to remember dates and formulas, the wall of windows directly in front of them may cause issues.
Even the most committed students have moments of weakness and end up losing test time due to distraction.
In fact, the see-through shades in classrooms can divert one’s attention from the test to the drama of the quad despite their overall effectiveness.
An AP exam is possibly one of the worst times for such a distraction to occur. There’s already the sound from the freshman lunch tables directly in front of the library, but now students will be facing an often-used walkway and teacher Brooke Wells’s classroom.
Not only will high-school students and faculty be trafficking that walkway, but young (and often loud) sixth graders will be as well.
Granted, there’s not much that can be done to prevent noise from reaching the test-takers (some parents might protest if their children’s mouths were duct-taped). But there is a simple solution to the window problem: shades.
Even the see-through shades used in other classrooms would be better than nothing. At least the shapes of bustling students would be blurred.
And some natural light would be let in, making the scene rather comforting—one of the main reasons that the current plan is less than satisfactory.
As of now, the school intends to put up butcher paper if the outside world proves too distracting.
Besides being depressing for students taking the exams, what will visiting families think of our “grunge-chic” decor?
Isn’t the new library supposed to be a symbol of progress and dedication to premier, up-to-date facilities? It seems that a school so devoted to moving forward can afford to get some shades.
It’s not like they would be a bad investment; they could be used for years. And not just for AP exams, either.
What about sophomore project presentations?
Or TED Tuesdays?
Or leadership lunches?
And mightn’t it be nice to shield the library from nighttime miscreants?
There’s really no reason to avoid this addition. Not only will the library be made to match the rest of the high school, but it will become a serious, distraction-free area when it needs to be.
