Teaching and
learning have
changed dramatically
enough in the last 14
years that changes
may be necessary.
When Hampton’s school board gathered in
late January to discuss a potential remodeling
of the high school building, it was clear that no
one wanted to rush the process. Board member
Bryant Wesley explained at the start of the
meeting that this was simply a “preliminary,
preliminary discussion.”
Everyone present seemed pleased, and
also seemed to agree that a discussion was
necessary.
The major issues facing the school include
growing energy consumption, technological
inefficiency, a need for increased security
and overcrowding in some hallways between
classes. But perhaps the most pressing issue
is the lack of flexibility in so many of the
classrooms.
Entering the digital age
Our world has become a place of multitasking
and flexibility. Change is constant, and our
workspaces must reflect that. But the Hampton
High School building was designed at a time
when the same courses were always taught—
year after year, decade after decade.
So when rooms were set aside for “home
economics,” those rooms were designed with
permanent fixtures for things like cooking and
sewing. The school’s auto shop has the same
problem. It’s a large, drafty space designed for
only one purpose: fixing cars.
Today, Hampton students who are learning
about cutting-edge engineering theory are
studying at desks in that same drafty space
beneath a hydraulic lift that once hoisted cars
to the ceiling.
And in the ch