Students are having to bear the burden of printing papers that were normally provided to them by teachers as the economy and environment have proved difficult for CHS to navigate.
The staff and administration are working together to print less and use technology more. However, some students are now asked by teachers to print out their own classwork, a task that some view as unfair.
Sophomore Rachel Kuff feels that printing out classwork is not the responsibility of students.
“I think that if a teacher wants you to do an assignment they should print it out [for you],” Kuff said. “Some people don’t have access to a computer.”
Software Applications and Algebra 2 teacher James Collins is trying to save his students some hassle by using computers to his advantage.
“I’ve always tried to use the hand-out and hand-in folders [on the school computers],” Collins said, which allows him to distribute and collect work electronically. “This year I’ll use them a lot more. Unfortunately, for the county exam, students have to print out a lot of stuff so I have to have them print some [work].”
Collins also uses Edline as a way to avoid using paper. At Back-to-School Night, he posted his syllabus on the website and showed parents how to get there so that he would not have to print out copies.
“We’re trying to reduce the use of paper when there is an opportunity to share information electronically,” assistant principal Edward Reed said. “One thing we’ll do when possible is [to use] technology. We only print what is essential versus what is convenient.”
According to an April 20 MCPS Bulletin article, Montgomery County Public Schools has replaced its BCE/Sharp copy maintenance contract by creating a new county-managed copy repair service called TeamWorks Copier Service. The switch could amass savings of more than $1 million in the 2010 fiscal year.
“Our administration has done as much as it can,” Anatomy teacher James Fishman said. “Decisions about copiers and paper budgets come from the central office in Rockville. A bigger problem is the age of the copiers; they were not designed for the number of copies done in a school setting.”
One way in which the county has aided teachers is through the use of Copy-Plus, a service provided by the school system to help reduce the need for the schools’ copiers. Teachers are able to mail their Copy-Plus form and documents to the company’s facility without having to use any copiers themselves.
“I use Copy-Plus to Xerox most of my papers,” Fishman said. “Some items, such as tests and quizzes, I must copy here in school [and] some assignments are put on Edline.”
On the other hand, Global Issues teacher Paul Jacobson normally prints out his own classwork using the school copiers with little problems.
“All I’ve heard is we should try to use Copy-Plus and we’re all trying to save paper,” Jacobson said. “I don’t think it’s a paper shortage, it’s a money shortage.”
