Lowell The
october
2016
ONLINE EXCLUSIVES VARSITY FOOTBALL TEAM starts slow in first regular season games by Zahra Rothschild
The Crucible: got 99 prob and a witch ain’t one
JV GIRLS’ VOLLEYBALL team crushes Burton Pumas and maintains winning steak by Tammie Tam CROSS COUNTRY team dominates at league meet by Ethan Zhang
LATIN SUMMER TRIP: from textbook to real life
by
Zahra Rothschild
LOWELL ALUMNUS Jovanni Stefani leaves mark in the Rowing Under 23 Championships by Emily Sobelman VARSITY GIRLS’ VOLLEYBALL team looks for repeat championship title with new coach by Ella MurdockGardner
INSIDE “Some people laugh and make fun of these kids. They shouldn’t be doing that.”
2016 Fall Spirit Rally
8 COVER: Juniors Lilee Consoer and Gerard Tavares raise
awareness for the inclusion of Special Education students in General Education classes. Photo by Leonard Caoili CIARA KOSAI
thelowell.org
blems
CIARA KOSAI
Girls’ golf defeats Marshall
LEONARD CAOILI
CHRIS HACKETT
Vars volleyball wins first game
Lowell The
Editors-in-Chief
ophir cohen-simayof cynthia leung
News Editors
rachael schmidt emily teng sophia wu
Sports Editors
adrian hung
EDITORIAL
PFT: Physical Fitness Test or Pretty Flawed Test?
cynthia leung
Opinion Editors
ophir cohen-simayof olivia starr
Multimedia & Photo Editor Art Manager Reporters
leonard caoili emily teng yolanda feng giping huang ella murdock gardner katherine nguyen zahra rothschild tammie tam ethan zhang
Photographers
leonard caoili kelley grade chris hackett tobi kawanami ciara kosai
Business Managers
sherissa go shania lee aaron liang jacquline ruan
Head of Research Web Designer
maximilian tiao
Adviser
samuel williams
Awards
alyssa young
2014 nspa online pacemaker 2012 nspa print pacemaker 2011 nspa all-american
2011 nspa online pacemaker 2009 nspa first class honors 2007 nspa all-american
2007 nspa web pacemaker 2007 cspa gold crown
The Lowell is published by the journalism classes of Lowell High School w All contents copyright Lowell High School journalism classes w All rights reserved w The Lowell strives to inform the public and to use its opinion sections as open forums for debate w All unsigned editorials are opinions of the staff w The Lowell welcomes comments on school-related issues from students, faculty and community members w Send letters to the editors to thelowellnews@gmail.com w Names will be withheld upon request w We reserve the right to edit letters before publication w The Lowell is a student-run publication distributed to thousands of readers including students, parents, teachers and alumni w All advertisement profits fund our newsmagazine issues w To advertise online or in print, email thelowellads@yahoo.com w Contact us w Lowell High School Attn: The Lowell journalism classes w 1101 Eucalyptus Drive w San Francisco, CA 94132 w 415-759-2730 w thelowellnews@gmail.com
2
v The Lowell October 2016
T
he issue of body shaming recently was brought to the public’s attention during and after the first presidential debate when the world was reminded that Donald Trump had called Alicia Machado, a former Miss Universe winner who gained weight, “Ms. Piggy.” We see body shaming all around us: from the glossy ads in magazines telling people how to lose weight to achieve their “ideal” body, to remarks made by one of our presidential candidates, to our own Physical Education classes, where students’ body types and physical limits are often on display. One Lowell senior, who requested not to have her name used, was held to a different standard in her PE classes because of her body type. She ran the mile component of the Physical Fitness Test in less than eight minutes and thirty seconds but didn’t pass, even though her friends did while running it in the same amount of time or slower. “I ran harder than I ever have before,” she said, “I was trying so hard to pass.” So how is this possible? And how is this related to body shaming? The PFT is a California state-mandated assessment, designed to evaluate fitness and identify people who need physical improvement in order to be healthy. Pass five of the six components and you can graduate from Lowell with only two years of PE under your belt. Pushups and curl-ups test strength. Trunk-lift and sit-and-reach test flexibility. Body Mass Index (BMI) tests body composition.
VO2max tests aerobic capacity through a calculation involving BMI and mile time. Fail more than one of these components, and you are told by the PE department that you must continue taking PE as a junior in one of the six elective classes that the department offers. However, there is a form generated through the counseling office that may exempt you from taking a third year of PE if you fail more than one of the six components and meet other conditions. The problem is that the BMI and the VO2max lack accuracy and fairness. BMI is a calculation of someone’s height compared to his or her weight. It turns people into easily-analyzed numbers and is designed to give students a general idea of whether or not they’re in the “healthy zone” for their weight and age. A study by the University of Pennsylvania in 2013 showed that, because the only variables that go into BMI calculations are height and weight, important information about people’s body composition is not taken into account, such as bone size and density, how much of the weight is muscle mass versus fat or where the fat is located, making BMI often inaccurate. While the parameters for passing or failing BMI are relatively wide, it is a factor that determines how easily a student can pass the VO2max test. Under the current design, the higher an individual’s BMI, the faster he or she has to run the mile in order to pass the VO2max test. See PFT on pg. 20
TO THE EDITORS
ILLUSTRATION BY HANNAH COSSELMON
The Lowell October 2016
v
3
TO THE EDITOR
Student advises Lowellites to reshape the way they think about AP classes Dear Editors, I am a current junior here at Lowell. As many of us are aware, the final course drop date was on Friday, Sept. 2. From the very beginning of each school year, that deadline seems to loom over the heads of every Lowellite. One has to make the choice: Is this class really worth it? Take me for example, when the fall semester began, I was taking seven courses. Two of them were APs, and one was an honors class. While I knew many other students have even heavier course loads, this was the most demanding schedule that I ever had. As the semester continued, the workload for all my classes started piling up, and all of a sudden I was getting less than five hours of sleep a night during only the second week of school. I knew that a change had to be made. I reviewed my schedule and decided that I would drop AP Psychology. While I thoroughly enjoyed the class and my teacher, I simply decided that since it was an elective course, the extra workload was too much to be worth it, what with all my other classes and extracurriculars. I talked to my parents about it and they supported my decision to drop, so I went
to my counselor the next day and asked for an AP Drop Form. For those who don’t know, the process of dropping an AP course is very difficult. I had to speak with my counselor, my teacher, the department head and an assistant principal. I had honest conversations with each of these people and I told them my reasons for dropping and they all agreed that it was the best plan for me. But the conversation that affected me the most was that with the assistant principal. When I told her that I planned on dropping, she talked to me about the alarming rate of people who had been dropping APs this semester, and she
We may not realize the full commitment that comes with taking an AP course.
asked me if I had any thoughts on how this problem might be resolved. I will tell you what I told her: In most high schools, especially elite schools like Lowell, the attitude is that you need to take a certain number of APs in order to succeed. After all, that’s why I signed up for AP Psychology; I thought that by taking the course it would look good on college applications and be a fun and easy class. I was very wrong. AP Psych is just as much a serious course as AP US History, or AP Statistics. We as a school need to reshape how we think about AP courses. They aren’t just an extra bump up on a college app, they are a serious commitment that should not be taken on a whim. We are fortunate to have such a wide variety of AP courses offered to us at Lowell, and I think that we forget how lucky we are to have such a privilege so we may not realize the full commitment that comes with taking an AP course. I believe that immediate action needs to be taken to change this action and to spread awareness of the seriousness of taking an AP course. Thank you, TJ Kanaley, Class of 2018
CORRECTION In “Finding Equity Part 3,” the cover story of the April 2016 The Lowell issue, an incorrect opinion was attributed to social studies teacher Matthew Bell. He supports Ethnic Studies as a separate elective course, not as a required course, as written in the article. In addition, the article said Bell’s use of family stories was in his ninth grade World History class, but it was in his eleventh grade U.S. History class. The article also said Bell’s curriculum theme of identity was used in the school year 2015-2016, but it was intended for the following school year. The Lowell apologizes for the mistake.
4
v The Lowell October 2016
CARTOON
ILLUSTRATION BY HANNAH COSSELMON
FROM THE EDITOR Getting to know Special Ed students in our community Dear readers of The Lowell, At Lowell, we often hear and see Special Education students in the hallways. But how much do general education students actually know about the program? When reporter Katherine Nguyen, who has an autistic brother, first started this story, Nguyen didn’t even know where the Special Ed classrooms were on campus. Over the course of investigating the story, Nguyen — along with the story's editors — began realizing that Special Ed students deserve to have their voice heard more often. To tackle this issue, we explore the stories of Gerard Tavares, the first Special Ed student to join the Lowell swim team without
accomodations, and Lilee Consoer, who has grown to become an active member of the choir program. Both these students are activitists with The Directions: Ability Advocates — a Lowell-based organization that raises awareness and promotes inclusion. Through these stories we hope to connect with students who fall across the educational needs spectrum. We also hope to unmask the ways general ed students can help create a brighter atmosphere for Special Ed students, and in turn, they can help us understand who we are as a community. Editors-in-Chief Ophir Cohen-Simayof, Cynthia Leung
The Lowell October 2016
5
v
6
v The Lowell October 2016
The Lowell October 2016
v
7
INSIDE
INCLUSION
BY KATHERINE NGUYEN
A closer look at Lowell’s Special Education program
LEONARD CAOILI
COVER STORY
J
UNIOR GERARD TAVARES has been on Lowell’s swim team since his freshman year. He competes in individual medleys, freestyle, free relay and backstroke races. He placed fifth in the JV boys’ 50yard backstroke event at All-City finals last season. Even outside of Lowell’s swimming season, Tavares doesn’t stop swimming. He practices everyday, and at least once a month he enters the USA Pacific Swimming competition. But unlike other swimmers on the team, Tavares has autism — a developmental disability that includes a wide variety of symptoms — such as repetitive behaviours, language disability, resistance to environmental change or change in daily routines and unusual responses to sensory experiences. Tavares is also the first student with autism at Lowell to qualify for the swim team without any accommodations. Outside of
Torres-Esquer helps Tavares with classwork.
school, he also swims for the Special Olympics of Northern California and is a novice with the USA Paralympics, teams for mentally and physically handicapped athletes. Tavares was diagnosed with autism at three and a half years old, and he is eligible for Special Education, a school service that assists students with special needs and disabilities at no cost to the student and their family. Special Education is an umbrella term — there is no set of symptoms that defines every Special Education student. It serves students with a large range of disabilities due to developmental delays and difficulties, such as autism, sensory issues, speech/language impairments and emotional disturbance. Every Special Education student has his or her own needs. Thirteen percent of public school students in the US ages 3-21 received special
education services in 2013-14, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Of these 6.5 million registered students, about eight percent have autism. Lowell offers several Special Education programs separated by the severity of the student’s symptoms. Some programs support students placed in general education classes, the regular classes that most of Lowell’s students take. Others programs are Special Day Classes, Mild/Moderate and Moderate/Severe, that support students whose needs cannot be met by the general education classes. During the 2014-15 school year, a little more than 100 students were enrolled in Special Education at Lowell. What is inclusion? One of the goals of Special Education is to offer students the right amount of support — not too much, and not too little. This
is a federal requirement known as the Least Restrictive Environment. Under LRE, Special Education students can’t be removed from regular classes unless the benefits of being in those classes are unsatisfactory. LRE is part of the idea of inclusion — the goal for students who demonstrate a particular level of learning ability to participate in general education classes and learn from their peers who don’t have disabilities. To address their specific needs, each student that enters Special Education is required to have an Individualized Education Plan that lists the necessary accommodations specific to the student. These accommodations are determined by a team of the school staff and the child’s parents. Depending on the student’s needs, teachers may tailor material and assignments to better fit the student’s level of learning. Stephen Torres-Esquer, who teaches Spe-
LEONARD CAOILI
cial Day Classes at Lowell, emphasizes that the importance of inclusion is not always on the student simply keeping up with the work and curriculum. Instead, he wants to ensure that his students are exposed to other children their age. The daily inclusion with peers can lead to social and emotional development of students with autism as they see how their peers in general education interact and behave socially. In Torres-Esquer’s Special Day classroom, students have desks with nametags with PostIt notes saying “Things teachers can do to help me focus.” Their personal aids are seated beside them, ready to provide whatever aid necessary, whether it is helping the student to process instructions or helping them with the actual material. With 10 students in his Block 8 class, Torres-Esquer can work on an individual basis with each one. Student and Parent Perspectives Junior Lilee Consoer, who has moderate symptoms of autism, spends most of her time in Torres-Esquer’s Special Day Class and the rest of her day in general education classes. Last spring, she was in Physical Education and choir. How Consoer learned to act and participate in the choir classroom from observing her peers is an example of the challenges and benefits of inclusion. As a freshman in her choir class, Consoer sang loudly and enthusiastically, but often shouted out the song, which drew attention to her. By junior year though, she learned from listening to the students around her to pay more attention to the pitch, choir teacher Jason Chan said. She doesn’t draw as much attention to herself anymore. Consoer said that she likes singing in her choir class, even though she doesn’t really like hanging out and talking to the other students a lot. Torres-Esquer said that by creating a positive, accepting atmosphere, general education students can help Special Education students feel less discomfort at initiating conversation or interaction with their classmates. The Lowell interviewed Consoer in her
13% public school students in the US ages 3-21 who received special education services in 2013-14
The Lowell October 2016
v
11
Special Day Class about general education classes as she was working on an assigned art project, cutting Dorito chip bags into pieces to make stained glass art. TorresEsquer said that Consoer would need more prompting than a general education student to keep up a conversation. “Do you like hanging out with the kids in those classes?” “Not really, no,” Consoer said, focusing on cutting out her Dorito bag. “Sometimes.” “Is there a reason that you don’t like to, or do you just not feel like it?” “Just not,” Consoer answered. Her artwork was starting to come together, and she remained focused on putting pieces together as we talked. “Is it because you feel uncomfortable, Miss Lilee?” Torres-Esquer asked.
Cheerful and engaging, he was eager to show visitors around the classroom. He took out his portfolio, spreading pages of his classwork on the table and said with enthusiasm: “We’re doing money math.” He explained the class’s trips to Ross and other stores at Lakeshore plaza, where students have lunch, navigate through the shops and learn to interact with staff. Tavares said his money math comes in handy there, when he has to remember to round up when paying for an item so that the cashier can give him the proper change. Tavares and Consoer both also work at Petco, where they handle products and stock shelves.“I like working there a lot,” Tavares said. “It’s fun. I organize the shelves and items, and I can also look at the animals.” Providing opportunities and support for
son’s life greatly. “Right now, he does conversations,” she said proudly. “Not as good as a regular teenager. He does it like a nine year old, but at least it has improved a lot.” Stereotypes about Special Education Since the passage of IDEA, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, in 1975 and other recent laws that have provided aid to students with disabilities, it has become easier to find acceptance in school communities. But even with the growing efforts to include students with disabilities in general education, many students still face the struggle of overcoming the negative stereotypes placed on them. One Special Education junior with highfunctioning autism, a less severe form of autism that allows him to perform at the level
“It’s important to these kids that they are not invisible invisible in the school.”
“Yeah,” Consoer said, snipping out another piece of a bag for her stained glass. Consoer expressed more excitement when we spoke about what her favorite class was. “Art!” she said without skipping a beat. She works on her art projects in the Special Day Classes she has with Torres-Esquer, who showed a brightly painted stick with polka-dots and a spray-painted mask which Consoer had made in a previous class. Tavares, in addition to being on the swim team, is another of the 10 students in Torres-Esquer’s class. Tavares’s symptoms are less severe than Consoer’s. His language, like Consoer’s, is simpler than the average teenager’s. But he enjoys initiating conversation and was quick to introduce newcomers to his experiences in Special Day Class.
12 v
The Lowell October 2016
students with disabilities can be demanding on parents. For Tavares’s mother Luisa, her son is the focus of her life. She was paying out of pocket for day-care and therapy, and working brought in money that she put towards helping her son. But she realized that she could do more if she had the time to focus solely on her child, so she gave up her job.“It was hard for me to stop working,” she said. “But maybe, I said to myself, I would be able to focus on my son. It’s a sacrifice.” Quitting work gave Luisa Tavares the time she needed to bring her child to therapy and programs. He had all the symptoms of autism when he was first diagnosed — he couldn’t have conversations at all, instead only repeating what others said to him. But now the programs she had invested her time in after quitting work have improved her
of his general education peers, has had experience with inclusion in general education classes throughout his years at Lowell High School. This junior requested not to have his name published. His symptoms are mild — he has some sensory issues that cause him to have a hard time with noise. Most of his problems, however, exhibit themselves in the form of stress. Over the years, he has worked with these problems and learned, with hard work, to handle them well and to overcome them. For this junior, inclusion worked because he’s at the academic level where he can take general education classes. “I don’t have a hard time at all fitting in with typical students, but for a lot of students it either doesn’t work or it’s very limited,” he said. He has not often been directly affected
q
Consoer and Tavares pose for a picture in the SDC classroom.
v 11 LEONARD CAOILI
The Lowell May 2016
PATTY FUNG
Consoer and Tavares at the Cinco de Mayo festival.
PATTY FUNG
q
q
Consoer and Tavares with SFPD officers.
14 v
The Lowell October 2016
“Different is beautiful.”
by stereotypes in his time at Lowell, but he recalls a time in his general education math class when his classmates had been talking about and teasing another Special Education student who had a hard time recognizing what was socially acceptable. He wasn’t aware of the situation until his teacher approached him and asked if he could lead a classroom discussion about learning disabilities and autism. He gave the class basic information on learning disabilities and autism. During the discussion, he found that most of the students in the class were related to someone with learning disabilities. “Most people don’t realize how common learning disabilities are,” he said. His teacher’s actions brought attention to the seriousness of these negative stereotypes.“People tend to infer that Special Ed kids are stupid or mentally ill,” he said. “These are stereotypes that are floating around out there, and these assumptions are not true. Conversations like these are important to have so that we can spread awareness.” This student has been assigned to all general education classes as of this semester and is currently on track to get into college. Stereotypes affect not only the students in Special Education, but their parents as well. Luisa Tavares has experienced problems in the past with school staff, student community and stereotypes that people sometimes associate with her son. While most of
these obstacles existed only in the middle school her son attended, she thinks Lowell could still work to find ways to undermine the assumptions other students often make about Special Education students. “When they see people acting different, they don’t treat them fairly, and they segregate them,” she said. These stereotypes often stem from a lack of knowledge on the part of general education students. But while most of their peers’ assumptions are passive and quickly forgotten, some may lead to actions that directly hurt Special Education students. “There was a boy who bullied my son in junior high,” Luisa Tavares recalls. “He made my son get lunch for him. He thought he could pick on my son because of Gerard’s disability, and that Gerard wouldn’t fight back. My son was the one who ended up not being able to eat lunch.” However, most of the student community can’t be faulted for not being taught about Special Education, despite its growing role in schools, she said. Tavares thinks it would be beneficial for the district to take the initiative to inform other students about Special Education and disabilities. “All the other Lowell students should be educated,” she said. “When they see these Special Ed kids, they look at them differently. Some people laugh and make fun of these kids. They shouldn’t be doing that.” Lilee Consoer’s father, Keith, values inclusion as a remedy for these problems. “It’s important to these kids that they are not invisible in the school,” he said. “The more
visibility they get, the less likely they’ll get bullied. It will make them feel more comfortable in being included in other classes.” The Direction Lilee Consoer and Gerard Tavares have been advocating for the acceptance and inclusion of Special Education students in a group that Torres-Esquer started last year called The Direction: Ability Advocates. “Taking the ‘dis’ out of disability” is its slogan. Torres-Esquer started the organization to provide opportunities for San Francisco youth with disabilities. His class was studying major rights movements — the first movement they studied was the civil rights movement, and they ended with the disability rights movement, which they spent the most time on. As a fun project for their curriculum, Torres-Esquer decided to start The Direction. From there, it expanded. The organization, open to people with disabilities 12 and older and their families, has been presenting on and off campus for over a year, taking presentations to major festivals, such as the Cinco de Mayo festival and the Carnaval festival. Torres-Esquer has been collaborating with larger organizations, such as Habitat for Humanity and the YMCA, to help his students take its message beyond Lowell High School. With adult support, students like Consoer and Tavares can take part in community service activities that are usually off-limits to them. See INCLUSION on pg. 21
The Lowell October 2016
v
15
By Tammie Tam
A NEW WING
ly d n e i r f an eco
s t e g s u p m a c l g a n i n i d l d i r u a b C e g a u g n a L d l r Wo
JENNIFER JENNIFERCHEUNG CHEUNG
NEWS
LEONARD CAOILI
World Language department head Xiaolin Chang teaches AP Chinese in her new skylit classroom.
A
FEW DAYS BEFORE THE BEGINNING of the 201617 school year, the World Language teachers transformed 12 new classrooms into a comfortable learning environment for students in the new World Language building, the bigger and more energy-efficient replacement for the temporary “T” bungalows. The building has two wings connected by an outdoor courtyard; the smaller wing contains the Korean and Latin classes during the school day as well as yoga classes and an upgraded practice area intended for cheer and wrestling after school, while the main wing houses 11 classrooms for the World Language department. Throughout the whole building, signs on the walls encourage ecofriendly habits and remind visitors of the ecological thought put into the building. For example, the classrooms are designed to enhance learning and concentration with natural lighting. In addition, the rooms feature improved acoustic performance, as the walls prevent echoes so teachers’ voices will sound clearer and louder to provide a more engaging environment, as one sign stated. The most noteworthy eco-friendly, energy-efficient features implemented in the World Language building are: • A bioretention pond system, which collects rainwater so the water can slowly evaporate over time instead of overloading the city sewer storm system • Energy efficient building furnaces • Double glazed exterior windows • Low flush valves at toilets • Skylights and tubular solar lights to let in natural lighting • Wall and roof insulation
18
v The Lowell October 2016
A side view of the $7.9 million new building.
• Systematic lighting and occupancy controls of occupied
rooms • Wide hallways without lockers to minimize traffic during passing periods Besides the ecological factors incorporated into the building’s overall design, other specific details were considered and included for extracurricular activities. The smaller wing was designed to include a new practice space for the cheer and wrestling teams. In previous years, both teams practiced in the cafeteria. However, the cheer team will continue practicing in the cafeteria instead of the World Language building. The cafeteria is ideal for late practices, and its high ceiling is a safer alternative than the World Language building’s low hanging lights, according to new cheerleading coach and Lowell alumna Hina Iwata. As for the wrestling team, the smaller space will have a big impact on the way the team practices when they make the move to the new area in mid-October. The new practice space will be 25-30 percent smaller than the cafeteria, so it may not accommodate all the wrestlers if their team exceeds 30 members. As a result, they may need to implement staggered practice intervals, according to wrestling coach Michael Wise. Although the smaller space could cause a minor setback for the wrestling team, its daily setup time may potentially be cut in half. Unannounced after school activities in the cafeteria will no longer interfere with wrestling practice, and the cleaner space will finally match up to the team’s reputation, according to Wise. Meanwhile in the main wing, language teachers and students are experiencing their fair share of the new building’s benefits and setbacks.
CHRIS HACKETT
CHRIS HACKETT HACKETT CHRIS
AP Chinese students hard at work in their new classroom in the World Language building.
Teachers and students generally have a favorable opinion of the new language building. In particular, the natural lighting and large windows have been one of its most highly praised features. “All the classrooms have windows, which remind me that there is a world outside of Lowell,” junior Mylene Canosa said. In addition, many teachers enjoy using the ceiling mounted projectors. “We have new projectors, which is really nice because I use mine a fair amount,” Chinese language teacher Brian Danforth said. “It’s nice not to have the old Dukane cart in the middle of the room, since whenever I pointed to something on the board, I’d cast a shadow.” However, the World Language building’s distance from the main building remains as a significant inconvenience. “The only inconvenience is when teachers have to go into the main building to sign in and when we need to talk to counselors or get our supplies,” said World Language department head and Advanced Placement Chinese language teacher Xiaolin Chang. This problem also extends to students with classes or homerooms in the World Language building, as they will take a longer amount of time traveling from one building to the other and may be marked tardy. After arriving late to her third block AP Spanish class during the first few days of the semester, sophomore Kelly Saldaña had to ask her registry teacher to dismiss her earlier so she could arrive to her class from the math wing on time. To add to the distance problem, visiting the language lab in the science building proves to be a hassle for World Language classes. “The language lab is very far away, and going that distance is a waste of time,” Spanish language teacher Maria Martinez said. “Once we get there, we have to set up the lab, and then when we
come back, I have to set up the classroom again. Because of this, I’m looking into getting Chromebooks for my classes because it will be more efficient.” Unfortunately, the inconvenience will persist. “We did ask them if we could move the language lab to this building, but they said it would be too expensive,” Chang said. The distance problem has been a persistant problem for classes located outside of the main building. For over 30 years, a series of “T” bungalows occupied the area between the basketball courts and Lakeshore Elementary School where the World Language building now stands. However, the bungalows were not intended to last such a long period, so their gradual deterioration and inability to meet current Americans with Disabilities Act standards called for the construction of a new building. The San Francisco Unified School District proposed the construction of the replacement building, which began during the summer of 2015 and joined a series of construction projects in the same year. SFUSD also funded the $7.9 million project, according to project manager Mary Fung. Once the bungalows were removed, the teachers with classrooms previously located in the T’s moved to the language wing on the second floor of the main building. As a result, the World Language department moved to the “X” bungalows on the basketball courts during the 2015-16 school year. Principal Andrew Ishibashi decided to dedicate the new building to the World Language department because the amount of classrooms in the new building corresponded to the department’s needs, according to Chang.v
The Lowell October 2016
v
19
From PFT on pg. 2 If you have a higher a BMI, you’re more likely to fail the VO2max. Of the 137 freshmen who failed the PFT in 2015, 60 percent failed both the BMI and VO2max, according to the Lowell PE department’s data. This does not necessarily mean that people who failed the BMI are unhealthy or bad runners. Like the senior, many could have failed because they were simply not allowed very much time to run the mile in comparison to their classmates with lower BMIs. Because healthy people may end up with BMIs on the higher end of the spectrum and the BMI also contributes to body shaming, the test’s downsides outweigh its benefits. Therefore, the BMI and VO2max components of the test should be seriously modified or even removed. The BMI is not a completely accurate test, and can cause unnecessary stress for students, according to PE teacher Thomas Geren. This was true for sophomore Dolores Davidson. She is in the Visual Performing Arts
it’s not a perfect system. “It’s held against you if you’re overweight,” he said. While Davidson had to run the mile in seven minutes and fifteen seconds, junior Scout Mucher, who is naturally slim, was allotted more than twice that amount of time. “I probably could have walked most of the way, if not all of the way,” Mucher said. When students see their peers with lower BMIs being allowed more time to run the mile, it contributes to the common mentality that being skinnier is ideal, which can decrease self-esteem. Eighty-five percent of adolescents report seeing classmates teased because of their weight in gym class, according to a recent study in a journal by the American School Health Association. “I already compared myself to my friends,” Davidson said. “I had insecurities about how I looked, and to see people get more time to run because they were skinnier sort of legitimized these feelings that I was already having. Suddenly it wasn’t just in my head, it was something that society cared about and
tions and believe students that do not pass the fitness test should continue to take Physical Education as a response to identifying those components of health and fitness that require attention.” When we asked the counselors how many people total requested to be exempt from PE for the 2016-2017 school year, they said only four. This is because many people simply don’t know that there is an exemption. When asked about the form, Davidson replied “What exemption?” However, not everyone can qualify for the exemption. For example, the Lowell senior mentioned above failed the BMI and the VO2max both years, but she had to sign up for a third year of PE because she didn’t turn 16 until one week into her junior year. She had to drop Advanced Placement Psychology, a class that she was excited to take, in order to fit PE into her schedule. And while she was able to get an exemption after her birthday, it was too late to add the already full AP Psych course. This is one example of how a third year of PE, even with the current exemption
The PFT contributes to the common mentality that being skinnier is ideal. advanced dance class at Lowell, and dances four to five times a week at Dance Mission. Yet her BMI test at Lowell classified her as “needs improvement,” otherwise known as overweight. Because of her higher BMI, she would have had to run the mile in under seven minutes and fifteen seconds to pass the VO2max component of the PFT. She did not meet this standard and failed the test, while many of her classmates with lower BMIs ran the mile in the same or more amount of time as she did and passed. She was so stressed about having to take PE as a junior next year that she even went as far as asking her UC San Francisco doctor how she could lose weight. Her doctor told her that, according to their charts, her BMI was perfectly normal for her age. She also talked to a nutritionist who said that there was nothing unhealthy about her diet. Lowell PE department head Michael Prutz explained that while he believes that the VO2max is good for determining which individuals need improvement and which may develop physical problems later in life, 22
v The Lowell October 2016
that school cared about.” One alternative to the BMI for testing body composition is the skinfold test listed by Fitnessgram. This test uses calipers to take measurements of the thickness of skin on people’s triceps and calves in order to assess fat content. This is a more accurate assessment of body composition than the BMI because it focuses solely on the physical aspect of body fat percentage, according to the California Department of Education. It can also be less embarrassing for students to get their skinfold measurements taken than to stand on a scale in front of their classmates to be weighed by their teacher. But even if students, like Davidson, fail the PFT, they do not have to take a third year of PE as there is an exemption — a form that allows juniors and seniors to get out of taking the course again as long as they are 16 years or older and have completed two years of PE. We emailed all of the PE teachers to ask if they inform their students about this exemption. Prutz responded on behalf of the department: “We do not PROMOTE exemp-
available, can be inconvenient for people who want to fit courses that are required or that they’re passionate about. PE teachers need to begin effectively informing their students about the exemption. In addition, the form itself should not take into account the student’s age, but solely the number of years they’ve taken PE since many students don’t turn 16 until it is too late to add or drop classes. Students who know they are unhealthy or just want to continue being active could choose to enroll in one of the PE electives that the department offers, such as basketball, soccer, yoga and racket sports. Students, like Davidson, who are already healthy and active outside of their PE classes, could opt out of a third year if they want to pursue other interests. What matters most is that students are informed enough to make a decision. After all, we should be teaching students how to live healthy lives instead of making them take a test that promotes the media’s unrealistic expectations. v
From INCLUSION on pg. 15 Torres-Esquer and his students have presented to over 1,000 students at Lowell. On Sept. 15, they took their presentation to Norman Nager’s health classes. Consoer, Tavares, and other students brought with them a message promoting inclusion, respect and acceptance. With help from Torres-Esquer, the students had decided what sort of people and “disabilities” they wanted to talk about in the presentation.“The people we see on TV, in magazines, and on the internet are beautiful. But that is not the only kind of beauty. Gay is beautiful… blind is beautiful… disability is beautiful…” Consoer read from her script. “Different is beautiful.” “If we stand together to advocate, we can help bring attention to these problems and even stop some of them,” Tavares said
in the presentation. “We have joined the fight against bullying, and we are going to win.” The presentations and volunteer experience promote the idea that people with special needs don’t just need help, but that they can give it as well, Torres-Esquer said. For now, only a select group of teachers in different schools around San Francisco are involved. They collaborate mostly when it comes to the community service opportunities, and Torres-Esquer continues to work to spread the organization’s message to other schools. Despite the challenges of bringing awareness to a school as academically oriented as Lowell, The Direction has accomplished a lot, said Torres-Esquer. He said that he’s begun to see a shift in the way teachers are seeing and treating his students and students in other Special Education
classes. “That’s beautiful, because a lot of times we take kids into general education classrooms, and we call that inclusion,” he said. “But there’s a difference between being present and being included.” Special Education department head Margaret Michels said that some teachers have worked with their individual students to do ability awareness presentations for their reg’s or other general education classes, but no teacher at Lowell has taken on this cause with quite the same size or scope as Torres-Esquer has. Michels emphasized that people with disabilities are part of a population that has been marginalized in society. “For individuals with disabilities, the starting assumption is typically about what they can’t do,” Michels said. “The Direction is working to fundamentally change that perception.” v
JOIN
JOURN
ROOM S107
g n i l c y c
JOIN
Re
CLUB
Fridays afterschool room 244
The Lowell October 2016
v 23
JOIN JOURN ROOM S107