Alternate Policies
Current Policy
Currently, we are trying to reduce paper in two ways in the Westfield School District in Westfield, New Jersey. First, we have started a recycling program in our school. In almost every room, we have a bin for used paper, and containers for plastic bottles. This helps decrease the amount of paper thrown out and reduce landfills. However, we do not enforce our old recycling policy. For example, waste baskets are overflowing, while the recycling bins are tucked away and never used. Mrs. Messinger, a History teacher in Edison Middle School, stated that she never knew she had a recycling bin. Further, we learned that the recycled papers do not go in to a recycling truck. Instead, they are thrown into the dumpster to be taken out as trash. This glamour of recycling is really covering up the treachery of lying to students about saving the planet.
Furthermore, we are taking steps already to decrease paper in our schools. According to a creditable source, on average a school district spends over two hundred fifty thousand dollars a year on paper. With a shopping spree for one year to buy more technology as a substitute for paper, we could greatly reduce the amount of paper bought and consumed. We are already taking these steps. For example, we have computer rooms where we can type our essays and projects instead of writing them on paper. Also, we have three iPad carts that can be used all over the school for any class. There are 80 of these, according to Mr. Cusumano, our librarian and the one in charge of the iPads and the old laptops. But some may argue that iPads can be broken easily, and this has caused many problems and arguments. Teachers have found an alternate solution that is very cheap. Student Facebooks, like Edmodo, are a place where children can post their work and receive homework and tests online. This substitute is another way teachers are reducing paper.
Even though we are taking these steps, they are not enough. We are still spending over $250,000 on paper. Also, recycling bins are hidden under tables and are hardly ever used, and trips to the computer labs are far and sporadic. This is why our group has created a new plan to decrease the amount of paper consumed.
Alternative Plan #1
Our first idea was to create an email account for every student in the district. This would enable students to type up their work and then directly e-mail them to their teachers. There are many pros to this solution. First, there would be a considerable amount of paper saved if we directly typed and then e-mailed our work to the teachers, which was our goal. Also, students would be less likely to lose their work if they can just immediately transport them to their teachers. It would save the expense of making sure your essay or work is still in your backpack for the entire day, especially for students who are forgetful.
There are some cons to this idea, however. Almost 20% or 63,200,000 people don’t have internet connection. This raises the problem of students without internet access to e-mail their teachers. Also, with students’ data saved solely on the computer, it is easy to lose their work among cyberspace.
Alternative Plan #2
Our second idea we came up with was to have laptops for every student in the school. We shall buy 850 Dell Vostro laptops at the price of $165 per, not including tax, shipping, or educational refund (which cancels the other two out). This totals out to less than $139,400. There shall also be a safety deposit of $165 that the parents must pay the school in case they break or get vandalized. This will ensure that the school will not lose money if a laptop gets destroyed, because if it does, they use the deposit to buy a new one. Also, they are easy to carry and reduce paper. Carrying a laptop instead of binders would greatly reduce the weight in your backpacks, and cause less weight induced back problems. Also, this idea would solve the problem of paper in schools. Typing papers and sending them directly to your teachers would greatly reduce the amount of paper reduced each day.
However, there are some cons to this idea. For example, computers are broken more often than iPads. Also, they are not as interactive as iPads. People may argue that they are not as interactive as iPads. According to a survey by students in our group, 98% of our peers agreed that iPads would increase comprehension of materials because of the hands on activities. Also, laptops saturate with information quickly. For example, after having a computer for 3 years, your computer would run at half speed. Imagine if you had the same laptop from 6th to 12th grade. You would have to buy the updated version every three years, which would cost over $130,000. An iPad, however, would slow down in many more years because they can store more data on their more advanced hard drives.
Currently, we are trying to reduce paper in two ways in the Westfield School District in Westfield, New Jersey. First, we have started a recycling program in our school. In almost every room, we have a bin for used paper, and containers for plastic bottles. This helps decrease the amount of paper thrown out and reduce landfills. However, we do not enforce our old recycling policy. For example, waste baskets are overflowing, while the recycling bins are tucked away and never used. Mrs. Messinger, a History teacher in Edison Middle School, stated that she never knew she had a recycling bin. Further, we learned that the recycled papers do not go in to a recycling truck. Instead, they are thrown into the dumpster to be taken out as trash. This glamour of recycling is really covering up the treachery of lying to students about saving the planet.
Furthermore, we are taking steps already to decrease paper in our schools. According to a creditable source, on average a school district spends over two hundred fifty thousand dollars a year on paper. With a shopping spree for one year to buy more technology as a substitute for paper, we could greatly reduce the amount of paper bought and consumed. We are already taking these steps. For example, we have computer rooms where we can type our essays and projects instead of writing them on paper. Also, we have three iPad carts that can be used all over the school for any class. There are 80 of these, according to Mr. Cusumano, our librarian and the one in charge of the iPads and the old laptops. But some may argue that iPads can be broken easily, and this has caused many problems and arguments. Teachers have found an alternate solution that is very cheap. Student Facebooks, like Edmodo, are a place where children can post their work and receive homework and tests online. This substitute is another way teachers are reducing paper.
Even though we are taking these steps, they are not enough. We are still spending over $250,000 on paper. Also, recycling bins are hidden under tables and are hardly ever used, and trips to the computer labs are far and sporadic. This is why our group has created a new plan to decrease the amount of paper consumed.
Alternative Plan #1
Our first idea was to create an email account for every student in the district. This would enable students to type up their work and then directly e-mail them to their teachers. There are many pros to this solution. First, there would be a considerable amount of paper saved if we directly typed and then e-mailed our work to the teachers, which was our goal. Also, students would be less likely to lose their work if they can just immediately transport them to their teachers. It would save the expense of making sure your essay or work is still in your backpack for the entire day, especially for students who are forgetful.
There are some cons to this idea, however. Almost 20% or 63,200,000 people don’t have internet connection. This raises the problem of students without internet access to e-mail their teachers. Also, with students’ data saved solely on the computer, it is easy to lose their work among cyberspace.
Alternative Plan #2
Our second idea we came up with was to have laptops for every student in the school. We shall buy 850 Dell Vostro laptops at the price of $165 per, not including tax, shipping, or educational refund (which cancels the other two out). This totals out to less than $139,400. There shall also be a safety deposit of $165 that the parents must pay the school in case they break or get vandalized. This will ensure that the school will not lose money if a laptop gets destroyed, because if it does, they use the deposit to buy a new one. Also, they are easy to carry and reduce paper. Carrying a laptop instead of binders would greatly reduce the weight in your backpacks, and cause less weight induced back problems. Also, this idea would solve the problem of paper in schools. Typing papers and sending them directly to your teachers would greatly reduce the amount of paper reduced each day.
However, there are some cons to this idea. For example, computers are broken more often than iPads. Also, they are not as interactive as iPads. People may argue that they are not as interactive as iPads. According to a survey by students in our group, 98% of our peers agreed that iPads would increase comprehension of materials because of the hands on activities. Also, laptops saturate with information quickly. For example, after having a computer for 3 years, your computer would run at half speed. Imagine if you had the same laptop from 6th to 12th grade. You would have to buy the updated version every three years, which would cost over $130,000. An iPad, however, would slow down in many more years because they can store more data on their more advanced hard drives.