This October, a TV monitor was installed in the hallway by the main office at New York City Museum School, with plans to install another one elsewhere in the school. But, what is the purpose of these new monitors?
Andre Rodrigues, the school’s principal, explained that the monitors are here to “showcase the publications in our student newspaper and any other student events that are happening in the school.” This will help ensure students have access to important information—“especially now where students are not on their cell phones during the school day”—such as the latest school news, a slide deck with event details, and broadcast publications from The Gallery.
Additionally, both Lab Middle and High School already use them to advertise their upcoming events, as well as sports matches and student achievements.
For students, these new TVs have the potential to display a wide array of important things. Sophomore Naomi Ross said she would like to see “pictures from school events…[like the] grade versus grade volleyball game” and “events that are coming up” presented on the TVs. Norah Buckman, a senior at the NYC Museum School, believes that information such as “community service opportunities” and posting the “morning [announcements] on there” would be beneficial. She explained that the announcements would be extra helpful due to the fact that students sometimes can’t hear or miss them in the morning.
However, some students have questioned whether or not this should be where the DOE budget is spent. Yokayra Hernandez, a freshman, said, “It’s a waste of money,” and “Most of the students already know the events because of the school […] flyers.”
Sophomore Tilda Finley said it’s a “wasteful use of school resources that doesn’t help the students and contradicts the whole anti-technology…policy that we have at school.”
Additionally, Buckman also expressed some concern. “I don’t think anyone is going to pay that much attention to them [due to] little time between classes” and “how crowded the hallways are,” she said.
With the new New York State cell phone ban in place, students will still be able to receive information like news, dates, or pictures thanks to these new monitors, without having to go on their phone, but it’s still unclear how much benefit they will provide students at the NYC Museum School.
There is no currently solidified date for the TVs to begin broadcasting.
