Tour Invite for Gil Simmons

by The Albatross

Dear Gil Simmons,

You were used.

When you came to Hamden High School a few weeks ago to film “Gil on the Go” for WTNH, you saw a small part of the school in showroom condition. You thought you had an understanding of our school, but you saw only le creme de la creme at 5:45 a.m. when no one else was in that building. To understand Hamden High School, you must walk through our halls. Our halls will lead you to the truth.

Halls. They run the length and width of a school. They link classrooms together. It is hard to imagine a school without them. They should be quiet and orderly, pleasant and cheerful. Halls govern a school. They have a life of their own, shaping the mood for the rest of the building.

Passing time, what should be four minutes between classes, is endless at Hamden High School. Students do not stride purposefully to class. They walk at their leisure. Some teachers stand in the hall to keep an eye on things, but they do not know the majority of students, and so are ignored or treated disrespectfully if they dare interfere. There are so many students wandering around after the bell has rung that the number is not quantifiable. Some spend the entire day evading security, making little pilgrimages throughout the school. The lack of administrators in the halls tempts them.

There has always been trouble in Hamden High School’s halls. They are another glaring weak point in the school.

Gil, come back. Wander around our halls.

Kids are everywhere.

Up and down, from one end to another, throngs of them. These halls can be volatile. Collisions happen. Then fights occur. Sometimes the halls reek of pot. They always echo with curses and vulgar epithets. You hear things that you don’t want to hear and that you can’t repeat. Sometimes the halls are filled with a feeling of menace. Kids running wildly. One feels vulnerable, stepping out of the classroom, fearful of being knocked down. When the bell rings, teachers close the doors so wanderers can’t visit. An opened door invites wanderers to saunter in, shake hands, give hugs, exchange pleasantries. Sometimes they won’t leave.

Gil, if you come to our halls, you will be at the mercy of our students. If you had been circulating the hallways during passing time, particularly the beginning and end of the day, you would have raised both eyebrows and dropped a jaw for you would have seen a school not in showroom condition.

You would have moved into a landscape different from the gym where you filmed. The upstairs B/C-wing would have proved an adventure for you. Fights are featured there.

Watching what transpires up here is something special. Sometimes the drama is incremental; sometimes kids pile up. A girl, shrieking, wearing faux tortoise shell sunglasses in the darkened hall. Someone pirouettes with glee. Another girl attempts a split, fails, falls over, laughing. Her friends pull her up. When the weather is warm, you will find girls in chemises. Two boys race down the hall at breakneck speed. Other boys stomping the floor, pushing each other into lockers. Nothing dignified or serious here. Just a lot of horsing around.

Fight! Girl down! Gil, come quickly! Get the camera!

A simmering argument has boiled over. One girl lunges for the other, overpowering her. Book bags and their contents are strewn on the floor. The crowd gathers. Pandemonium. The girls grapple on the floor, with one girl eventually pinning the other down. Expletives that The Albatross can’t write. Then the girl on top pounds on the girl below. There’s nothing like a really good fight to make everyone’s day. Boom! Boom! Security and admin come running, trying to break through the crowd. Disheveled, the girls are finally separated. The crowd wanders off.

Fights interrupt classes. They are like fire alarms ringing. Kids want to leave the room, watch, and make videos. They share the videos. Fights bring the unseriousness of our hallways into our classrooms.

What goes on in these hallways has a lethal effect on the classroom. The yelling and screaming, the music, the banging into lockers, the garbage and spills, whatever is happening outside the classroom shapes what happens inside. The chaos seeps through the walls. It is a constant distraction, sapping the teacher’s energy.

Finally, teachers lamented to Principal Nadine Gannon. Nadine took it as an affront to her ability to lead. She berated them. Then, she came on the intercom. “Teachers, mark students tardy!” she barked. (What good will that do, Nadine?) Then she threatened to have the administrators do a sweep of the halls. It never happened. (A sweep is when hall doors are automatically closed and locked. Students are trapped in the hallway. Admin gets their names and doles out detentions. It’s a lot of work)

Administrators must at least make an attempt to control the hallways. They do not, but that afternoon, Scott Trauner, an assistant principal, tried, a bit half-heartedly, to impose order. He made only a wilted presence in the B wing, shouting lamely, “Get to class.” Backed up against the lockers, he was ignored. It was a pathetic effort to take back control.

The next morning, Scott and another assistant principal, Lisa Dyer, entered the fray, and along with security guards, cleared the halls relatively quickly. That is the real solution to this real problem, and it will have to be done every day.

Clearing the halls is the most important thing administrators can do, and it is bizarre that they have made little effort to do so. Perhaps it is because they would rather work on their pet projects, Scott on his pep rallies, Lisa honing her gift for making schedules. Or perhaps their reluctance comes from the realization that they will have to be out there every day.

The only person who attempts this arduous task is Mary Giagrande, a security guard. Mary is out there every day, asking kids for their passes, finding out where they are supposed to be, even escorting them to class. She should be given a medal of solid gold.

Mary can’t do this by herself. Controlling the halls is an ambitious project. It will take thorough coordination on the part of administrators to regain control of the halls. Administrators need to be out in those halls, particularly during passing time, particularly at the beginning and the end of the day. He who rules the halls rules the school. Surely this task is something worth doing.

Since The Albatross sent shockwaves through Hamden two weeks ago, administrators have been making an effort to tidy up. Scott sends out a daily email about students who loiter in the cafeteria where he has a duty. He has been more visible in the halls as has Nadine; nonetheless, the halls are still chaotic as as students ignore administrators, too. When students walk away from administrators, perhaps that is a sign that the problem cannot be fixed.

Come back, Gil! Make another video!

UPDATE: On December 15 and December 16, Principal Gannon came on the intercom to say that she has observed too many students in the halls. (Really???) She told teachers to send names of the habitually tardy to administrators. She also said that admins will be out in the halls. Students will face consequences!