Although JC has implemented the use of laptops in the classroom, the attempts at going green should not stop here.
JC claims to be a green school, but with the amount of paper that still gets thrown in the trash every day, this status is hard to believe.
Even though there are recycling bins all around the school, countless reams of paper get thrown into the regular trash cans and dumped into landfills every day.
The new library printing policy, though it may be extremely inconvenient at times, is a great example of a way to discourage paper waste. Instead of carelessly printing out documents that will eventually be forgotten and thrown away, the new printing system ensures that students will be held responsible for picking up their paper.
Sometimes paper usage is inevitable. For example, when teachers give quizzes or tests, it is difficult to give those electronically. Teachers can cut down on using paper this way by collecting test papers back and reusing them the next year. Even if the tests have to be changed a bit, many of the pages could still be saved and recycled for future classes.
Homework assignments and essays would be simpler to submit electronically, and this would save a ton of paper. All teachers have SharePoint sites, and all SharePoint sites have dropboxes to which students can submit their work, all without killing a single tree.
Some teachers may not like the dropbox method in SharePoint, but there are a variety of other websites like Edmodo or Google Docs that could be used as substitutes. But although teachers have access to these resources, not all teachers use them. A substantial amount of paper is wasted as a result, casting a hazy black gloom over the green school status.
Another big waste of paper is the number of books that every student needs for school. Most, if not all, literature and textbooks are available in e-book formats. Even if students don’t own Kindles or Nooks, they can download e-reader software onto laptops for the same purpose.
It is strange that JC hasn’t converted to e-books yet. Besides being environmentally friendly, the change would be quick and cost-effective.
Plus, how many pages of the textbook are used in class? Many pages of paper go to waste, left unread and unloved. There could be physical benefits to switching to e-books, too. Students would no longer have to carry home a backpack full of heavy, awkward textbooks. The administration should look into making this switch to e-books as soon as possible.
Though JC has obviously made some advancement to be more environmentally friendly, there is definitely room for improvement to validate the green claims that the school makes.