“Do Right” Seminar Inspires Next Year’s Students
Student responses to how Do Right affects their experiences at Lincoln
“You have been charged with an important mission… That mission is to help Lincoln do right.”
With this weighty announcement from assistant principal Mr. Ponzio, Lincoln’s first “Do Right” seminar since the late 1960s commenced. In the early days of our school, “Do-Right” was not just a motto; it was an all-encompassing philosophy students were virtually required to live and breathe. Since 1972, however, Do Right meetings and commissions have gradually trickled out of popularity among the student body.
This year was different though. This year, “Do-Right” made its comeback.
Mr. Ponzio, along with other faculty members heading up a Do-Right committee, organized last Thursday’s student forum in order to “find out how us as staff can better support students that are disenfranchised or non-traditional leaders,” said Ponzio. “Lincoln is going through a redesign, converting to project based learning. Part of that is cultivating a culture of respect and collaboration.”
Around 30 freshmen, sophomores, and juniors were invited to the forum, selected by their teachers because of their ability to contribute honestly to a discussion, as complete honesty was necessary for the process to be successful.
Once students arrived in Room P102 and settled in, they were split into table groups of three or four. In these small groups, they discussed their answers to several major questions about their experiences at Lincoln.
To start the meeting off, each student constructed a paper airplane containing one word that best answered the question “What does Do Right mean to you?” They each then picked up someone else’s airplane from its landing spot on the floor and read it aloud to the entire classroom. The most popular responses to the meaning of “Do Right” included honesty, help, respect, cooperation, responsibility, try, kindness, and positive.
Throughout the course of the forum, Mr. Ponzio posed five questions to students and had them record their feedback on paper for the faculty’s future use. These questions were:
- “What would make you feel more connected to Lincoln High School?”
- “In an ideal school, how would you see people interacting with each other?”
- “Describe your typical school day. Name 1 or 2 terrific things and 1 or 2 things that make it difficult.”
- “What would motivate you to become more involved?”
- “What would you change for all students?”
Students could also stick anonymous Post-it notes containing their ideas onto a paper “Parking Lot” that was affixed to the whiteboard. The faculty Do-Right committee plans to look over all of these responses in order to help Lincoln become the best it can be for the coming school year.
The students’ valuable feedback, along with the potential addition of Do-Right student meetings next year, will hopefully restore Lincoln High School to a place where “Do-Right” can reign supreme once again.
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