Hamilton’s Conversation with Mr. Bauer
Photo by Miguel Á. Padriñán from Pexels
Gia Quast
Between students and teachers alike, there are many questions for our new administration. We’ve had questions about new policies and what they mean, not to mention opinions about the new–and even the not-so-new–changes. There is a whole range of things Hamilton has wondered about overall.
In order to better understand these changes directly from the source, I had a meeting with Hamilton’s new principal, Mr. Bauer. I took questions from both teachers and students to be asked anonymously through a public post and direct questions submitted to me, and put them together myself after having class conversations relating to our collective perplexities. The following answers are paraphrased from my interview with Mr. Bauer.
What motivated you to come to HHS?
Mr. Bauer started at West Allis Central, where he taught math and coached freshmen boys’ basketball. However, he disliked that family support there was low, so he decided to look elsewhere. After looking, he got two offers to be a Calculus teacher: one from Hamilton and the other from Pewaukee. While he liked the vibe of Hamilton, he chose Pewaukee. The deciding factor was a phone call in which Pewaukee said he could take his time to answer, but HHS required an answer immediately about the position. Regarding this interaction, Bauer said, “The words you use are important.” He said they really influenced his decision because of the kinder conduct.
As he was teaching at Pewaukee, he worked to get his administrator’s license. After a long time looking, he then went to Brookfield Central, where he stayed for six years as their vice principal.
During his search for a position as a principal, he was looking for a few specific things: a supportive community, a successful school district, a high school, and a town with only one high school(since things get done quicker). In the end, he chose to come here. He said he wants to build on the success here, and is open to meeting with teachers to hear their opinions and input on how to better the school.
Why are we spending money the way we are? Aren’t there better things to put it towards?
There are a lot of misconceptions about spending at HHS. Mr. Bauer is still learning, but has outlined some goals, including responsible spending, fair spending, and spending in the way the community wants/approves. However, he says fair isn’t always equal, and that a fair system will take time. There’s more to come on spending in the future and more specificity regarding upcoming plans. For example, one idea is for an overarching booster club to go along with all the individual ones for each club/activity.
Handbook Specifics
Why did we get rid of the yellow passes and institute Flex?
Admittedly, flex is not living up to administration's expectations. It was decided to be changed as a group. For context, last year the front office spent lots of time on passes for little benefit. Passes were not being checked and some students took advantage of this system, so digital passes were implemented to free up time for administration and teachers, and provide more accountability for students’ whereabouts. It was intended to keep the focus on academics during the school day.
According to Mr. Bauer, students will not be able to reschedule travel to flex advisements the day of. He was very firm on that. However, if a teacher is outside of your current classes, they can still request you (t.a’s, clubs/activities, etc).
What’s with the new unexcused absence rules for being sick?
This is not new, here is a state attendance law: Any parent can excuse absences for up to 10 days, but anything more and it's unexcused. Last year, if you had a doctor's note, it still counted toward those 10 days. The new rule actually helps students. As of this year, if you have that doctor’s note, the absences don’t count toward your 10 days.
Why do we use this new 10 minute rule?
The theory is that the brain is wired to remember the beginning and end of anything, which is supposed to be used to help us. His true belief is that if teachers are intentional about it, it can greatly benefit everyone. Not only that but it is helping with hallway traffic.
With this rule being new, there is potential for this policy to be adapted in the future.
Why are you so strict about the hats, bags, and locks?
The hat rule is a school board policy, not Hamilton specific. It is implemented across other schools as well. It’s assumed that the policy is about safety or gangs, but that's not really it. For the most part, it's about respect.
As for the lock rules, the administration is seeing how it looks for now, and will then make a decision again at a later date.
And finally, the backpack rule. The biggest challenge is our smaller rooms, since backpacks in these places would make it tight and potentially hazardous, which doesn’t help the building follow fire codes.
Disclaimer: Most of these rules were in place last year, but weren’t enforced.
Academics
Why has personal finance been mandated for incoming classes?
Yet again, this is something Mr. Bauer did not have a say in and was decided before he came to the school. However, he did voice his support by saying that the class provides real-world skills.
What do you make of the pressure on AP’s? Is there a possibility that students & even teachers feel less motivated if they’re not at that level?
Mr. Bauer doesn’t think it’s just here that AP courses are being pushed; he believes that the high school experience has changed, and therefore, so have the goals. It didn’t used to be as focused on post-high school education in the past. He says that it’s not an AP issue as much as thinking, “How can I put myself in a position to be ready and succeed?” That being said, the hyperfocus mentioned isn’t necessary, and you should be free to be a kid during this time.
One important thing Mr. Bauer wanted to highlight was that students can slow down, and that is okay.
Why did we change the grading scale? Can we change it back?
As it seems to pop up a lot, Mr. Bauer didn't have a say in changing the grading scale either. The change has actually been two years in the making!
Mr. Bauer explained how he taught for twelve years before this and has gone through a grading scale change as well. He’s taught both a one-hundred point scale and a four point scale. He said it was challenging and pointed out the difficulty of “teachers grieving system changes.” But in the long run, it is beneficial, because when done well it provides better feedback.
However, he doesn’t think we’ll change to a different scale. The four point scale is better and easier, but it will probably take about three years to get used to this change.
Our system is so rigid with little freedom in teaching styles. Why?
Mr. Bauer said that he was disappointed to hear that. He thinks this system will leave room for more diversity. He wants there to be individuality within classrooms but believes in teacher group work for coming up with lesson plans and other activities. He likes to lead by example with this, saying that his team (administration & staff) is everything. Students shouldn’t be learning different things within the same subject, but teachers should be able to have different styles. Although, if the end goal is the same, you have to build trust but also be able to let go. It is simply a part of life.
School Spirit
What do you have to say about changing the football theme?
Mr. Bauer owns that the theme should’ve been changed earlier seeing as he didn’t realize the themes were posted in August. He admitted to wondering if it was a jab at West Allis, even asking the student who came up with the theme if it was specific to West Allis, to which the student said no. When he talked to adults, presumably other members of administration and faculty, everyone agreed that it just wasn’t a good idea. He’d like to make it clear the racism rumors were inaccurate. Really, he didn’t know what message jailbreak would send. Since he wants the school to be seen well, he decided it was best to not do the jailbreak theme.
Why don’t we have more pep rallies?
Mr. Bauer said he is not opposed to it! He liked the class meetings and thought they were beneficial. That being said, it would need to have a purpose. One such idea he proposed was having them for club/athletic celebrations.
Technology
What if we need our phones for something, like an emergency?
About the phone ban, there are phone bans everywhere and it is not exclusive to Hamilton. Research says that even just having the phone on the desks reduces productivity; everytime it buzzes/vibrates, you're distracted, whether consciously or unconsciously. For important reasons, there are exceptions (i.e glucose monitors for diabetes). If there’s a legitimate reason for a phone, then it can be allowed.
If there was a crisis, phones would still be in the room. He doesn’t want there to be extreme measures, but for little things, just ask.
What’s with the banning of other tech, like headphones and watches?
The headphone usage is really at teacher discretion. However, you shouldn’t actively need them. Outside of exceptions, it’s not that big anyways. Limited headphone usage provides a false sense of enhanced focus in his opinion, so this policy should help to minimize distractions.
In general, he is not tech adverse. That’s just a misguided perception.
Why can’t students listen to music during advisement if they’re done with work?
They cannot because advisement is supposed to be a study hall. If work is done, it’s fine for it to be used for socialization but it would be too hard to regulate. Also research shows that only music without words–specifically classical–is really the only thing that helps focus. In his “non-scientific opinion,” student’s won't be done with work in that time as it’s still instructional time. It's too tough to manage overall.
At the end of the interview, Mr. Bauer stated that everything has a purpose. Everything has intentionality. The goal is to maximize student success. He believes that it will get better; he is all in.
With all these new changes, it will certainly be something to get used to. Overall, all these policies, new and otherwise, definitely come from a good place with good purpose. I genuinely think that if we all work together we can further our experiences at Hamilton High School. Having talked with our principal, I can confidently say that he is a sensible person. And in the end, it’s all for us.
