Talk:Saunders Secondary School

Grades offered

"Grades offered are 9-10"? Doesn't it go up to grade 12? Adam Bishop 23:14, 22 April 2006 (UTC)

Thanks. My mistake. Fixed.--Jelgie 00:44, 23 April 2006 (UTC)

Size of Saunders

Someone has changed my initial article wording that Saunders was the largest secondary school in the Thames Valley School District to read "one of" the largest secondary schools. Can anyone confirm what is correct? My contention that it was the largest was based on an article I found in the London Free Press. Thanks.

Construction etc.

I don't know why people insist on adding stuff about recent construction, or enlargement of the parking lot, or whatever. This is not the "what's new" section of the school's webpage, nor is it a school blog. How is any of that relevant to an encyclopedia article? Adam Bishop (talk) 07:23, 11 July 2008 (UTC)

Response

As the second youngest public secondary school in the TVDSB after SDCI, and the largest school in the London area, any renovations (be they to the school proper or the parking lot) are notable, as they represent a considerable expenditure of public funds.

As to the specific relevance: anyone that has ever climbed the stairs at Saunders knows fear. One of the things that this recent renovation did is to provide a new entryway to the second floor of the school with stairs at an angle more acceptable to the general population. Ask any Saunders grad or staff member or member of the public who uses the facility or even a current student about just this specific aspect of the renovation and it will be important to him or her.

Indeed, the Director of Education for the TVDSB makes note of renovations to Saunders (and, incidentally, SDCI) in his video message at the end of the year. This is available (as of July 2008) at www.tvdsb.on.ca - clearly, the recent construction there is important, if it is important enough to mention in what is, in effect, a global press release for any and all to see. Surely any encyclopedia article should reflect what is important.

This is not unique to this page. If one examines, for example, the UWO page on Wikipedia, they would find a history of the additions to the school.

As to the parking lot, the pavement was notable for how atrocious it was. Once again, ask any Saunders grad/employee/member of the public/student. The paving of that lot is a big deal, given how bad it was.

Further, while I appreciate what appears to be a desire to be consise (this verbose response notwithstanding), it is not like we're wasting paper here. Wikipedia allows us to go into detail and to be current; when something is no longer relevant, consensus edits will change it.

Given that brevity is the soul of wit, I will boil it down to two words that state my opinion: lighten up. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.248.178.65 (talk) 03:18, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

Well, I have climbed the stairs and Saunders without any particular sense of fear...so, I don't know what to say about that. I don't think the UWO page has info about every minor construction project. I don't even think it mentions the Western Road construction, which is far more important than Saunders' parking lot. I think you have an inflated sense of what is important - if this were Saunderspedia it would be fine, but why should anyone else care about this? Are you going to remove the info when the construction is complete? Adam Bishop (talk) 03:56, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

The UWO page has info about all the major additions to the University over the years. And if I had been commenting on the Saunders page about the resurfacing of Viscount Road or the widening of Wonderland, I would agree with you - but the Western road construction (which is visually pleasing and designed to improve traffic flow for all commuters - not just Western students and faculty) is far less important than any substantive addition to UWO itself, and therefore does not appear on the page. To address your final question, the beauty of Wikipedia is that it can be current and constantly updated - so I do intend to update the page when circumstances merit it. I believe I already addressed why others should care about the construction at Saunders, because it represents the expenditure of public monies. As to the 'inflated sense' you mention, thank you. I take your comment as a compliment. It must be clear to you that I consider this article important. I'm just glad we're now having this pleasant discussion here, and not reverting each other. Much more civilized. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.248.178.65 (talk) 01:47, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

This is exactly the reason why we should never have let people start creating articles about their high schools in the first place. What does "expenditure of public monies" have to do with anything? So anything that is paid for with your tax dollars is worthy of being in Wikipedia? That doesn't make any sense. This is supposed to be an encyclopedia; as I have said before, you want to turn it into the school newsletter. Adam Bishop (talk) 03:24, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

As a taxpayer, I care a great deal about how my tax dollars are spent - local, provincial, or federal. Perhaps that is not important to you; I cannot say. I can state that the prevailing view in society is towards accountability for the expenditure of public funds. Your original question was 'why should anyone else care about this'. I believe that 'because it is their tax dollars' more than answers the question without the need for the (I believe rhetorical) questions in your last response. Please clarify if this is not so. Incidentally, the renovations at Beal and Clarke Road (pages you have edited) took place years ago and are still noted on their Wikipedia pages. I say this not for you to go and delete them; clearly, renovations of this nature are important and form part of the history of the institution, and therefore belong in an encyclopedia article. We continue to disagree on what belongs on this page, but I will remind you that no paper is being wasted - so why not go into more detail? I, for one, would want more information than less. The communal monitoring of this page (which is not your sole responsibility - unless I am much mistaken) will determine what is worthwhile, accurate and appropriate - and also what is not. Wikipedia is, I believe, about consensus building, not about attitudes like, in your words, '...we should never have let people start creating articles...'. In fairness, I understand that this medium is information, not communication, and I cannot judge your tone. However, it comes across to me as one of ownership and criticism, not a shared goal for creating the best page possible. I would far rather work with you than against you. Again, I appreciate the dialogue. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.248.178.65 (talk) 02:33, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

You've got to be shitting me. Information about construction at any high school should be removed - if I've missed it, it's probably because those pages aren't edited as much as this one is. Taxpayer money has absolutely nothing to do with Wikipedia articles. I think you have fundamentally misunderstood what an encyclopedia is. Adam Bishop (talk) 08:05, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

By the way, how about all the other interesting things that take place at Saunders, that don't involve temporary construction? Like, aren't they the only school in TVDSB that teaches Latin? And isn't Mohawk also taught there? And the dominance of the Reach for the Top program in the 1990s? These are the kinds of things that are interesting about a school, not how big the parking lot is. Adam Bishop (talk) 23:11, 18 July 2008 (UTC)

First, I believe there is no need for profanity, especially from a budding scholar. Second, not once did I say that taxpayer money had anything to do with Wikipedia articles. You did. You asked why anyone else should care about the renovations at Saunders; my response was that they should care because it is their tax money being spent. I do not know how to make this more clear. You have not yet addressed or contradicted this point. (Indeed, I have addressed all of your points throughout this dialogue, yet you have addressed few of mine. Curious.) Third, from Wikipedia article on encyclopedias, a quote: "...an encyclopedia treats each subject in more depth and conveys the most relevant accumulated knowledge on that subject or discipline..." Information about the renovations at Saunders on the Wikipedia page is both 'more depth' and 'relevant', especially since there are other exemplars on similar sites. Again, no paper is being wasted here. Fourth, I have no misunderstanding of what an encyclopedia is - and I am sure you do not either. What we have is a stylistic difference - you prefer one thing and I another. As such, we have reached an impasse. If all we are going to do is harp at each other over style, it is a waste of time for both of us. De gustibus non est disputandum.

As to Latin, it may have been taught at Saunders, but is not anymore. You may also be confusing Saunders with South. Latin was taught at South but has since (I believe, but may be wrong) been discontinued. It is not taught at Saunders. Neither is Mohawk. Oneida, Ojibway, Spanish and French are taught at Saunders - as are a wide variety of other courses. Oneida and Ojibway are taught because the TVDSB has a tuition agreement with the Oneida Nation, the Munsee-Delaware Nation and the Chippewa of the Thames Reserve. Aboriginal students living on Reserves/First Nations can attend Saunders, Beal or Thames. The complete course catalogue for Saunders is already available online. I am not adverse to adding that information to the page at all, but since it was your idea, you should do it. I did not write about the size of the parking lot - I wrote of the state of ill repair, which was considerable. I am not familiar with the Reach for the Top program in the 1990's. If you are familiar with it, why don't you add it to the page as well? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.248.178.65 (talk) 01:46, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

False claims about alumni

I just removed many players from the alumni list. First of all, there are no citations for any of the NHL players, other than the fact that some of them played for the Knights. Doing the math on some of them shows they were past high school age when traded there anyway. Not to mention, many of them had nothing to do with London at all! So I'm going to remove all but the most obvious alumni from the list, until someone can find citations. Air ♠ Combat _What's^{up, dog?} 03:00, 14 February 2016 (UTC)

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