To the editor:
I appreciate the many folks who have argued so well for choosing either options L3 or C on Saturday. I wholeheartedly agree. Although our kids are past the Lincoln School stage, we want to support the best educational outcomes for those who follow. A building with hubs and other flexible-use spaces (C and L3) best supports differentiated learning, cross-grade activities such as “reading buddies” and other educational best practices.
I believe our teachers will actually take advantage of such spaces: Hanscom experience demonstrates it can be done, and superintendent McFall supports the same for the Ballfield Road campus, so I trust additional teacher training will be provided as necessary. The building alone doesn’t guarantee best practices, but it enables them.
Net zero energy usage (L3 or C) is also important. Human-caused climate change is the biggest environmental, moral, and human rights issue of our time, and time is of the essence in trying to avoid its worst possible effects. So now is not the time to backtrack on the commitment the town made its energy bylaw.
How to choose what’s better between L3 and C3? Though many considerations have been mentioned, I would argue that the two main and potentially competing considerations are aesthetics versus education.
As to aesthetics, some apparently like the look of the familiar, sprawling “L” much more than that of a more compact, two-story building (C). They of course are entitled to their opinion. However, as a longtime user of the Ballfield Road campus who cares about visual design, I nevertheless feel no nostalgic attachment to the old buildings, and no aesthetic preference for their L-shaped arrangement. I think a new compact building, with more green space around it, could look great. Let’s recognize that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
In terms of educational function, I think C beats L3. The more compact design allows shorter travel times, which makes certain kinds of beneficial interactions more feasible and more likely to happen. These include for example differentiated learning sessions in a hub mixing kids from different grades; “reading buddies” and similar mixed-grade activities; and collaboration by teachers across grade levels to continuously facilitate the above.
So I suggest you ask yourself what’s more important to you—maximizing educational outcomes or preserving the “L” look? For me, it’s educational outcomes.
The last major consideration—and it’s a crucial —is what can the town get passed when the final vote happens this fall? If I thought C would fail and L3 would pass, of course I’d support L3 for that reason. But we don’t actually know that is the case.
So let’s use the Town Meeting to get a better gauge on that. When we take the first vote Saturday morning, if you like C best, don’t stand up for L3 just because you think it might have a better chance of passing. Instead, stand up for C, and let’s find out how many people feel the same. I expect there would be time to coalesce around L3 in a later vote on Saturday, if that looks to be necessary.
Thanks very much to the volunteers and professionals who have put so much time into helping tee up these options for decision.
Sincerely,
Paul Shorb
99 South Great Rd., Lincoln
Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Letters will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Letters containing personal attacks, errors of fact or other inappropriate material will not be published
Leave a Reply