San Luis Obispo High School students have access to a plethora of resources on campus, from the brand new weight room, to computers, to art supplies, etc. Students frequently leave materials broken and messy while using them. This is not only disrespectful to our staff, but to future students who are left with trashed materials.
The cafeteria is often left a mess with students just waiting for staff to pick up after them.
“It’s kind of demoralizing because we try really hard to make good food for everyone and this is the thanks we get. There is a movement around the world to pick up, but that movement is not here,” said kitchen manager Allison Etton.
In the past, I have heard students talk about leaving things everywhere because they know the custodians will clean it up as well as seen people deliberately breaking school property just to see if it breaks.
The bathrooms at SLOHS are one of the student’s biggest complaints. We frequently blame the school for this, but we are the ones leaving toilets unflushed, toilet paper scattered, and graffiti on the walls. It’s time for us to take some accountability.
“I think it’s just important whether we have older or newer facilities that we take pride in the appearance of our campus. I once heard a very successful college football coach say that your office and your workspace are a representation of you and the same could be said for the students at a high school. If the campus is dirty then it makes the students look bad. If it’s nice, clean, and tidy it’s a good reflection of the students and staff. It’s just taking pride in what you have,” said Physical Education and coach Patrick Johnston.
It is not teachers or custodians jobs to take care of student’s messes. It is significantly easier for each student to be responsible for themselves than staff picking up after over one-thousand students.
“Mr. Norton is not your nanny so usually it’s expected that if a student makes a mess they are responsible for the cleanup. I think a lot of it comes from home so not only at school instructors should raise awareness of the importance of cleaning up, but at home parents or guardians should instill that responsibility. Granted, high schoolers will be high schoolers and that comes with the territory,” said art teacher Michael Norton.
Although it is true that high schoolers will be high schoolers, there are ways to make students more motivated to clean up. In the past, Morro Bay High School has used a green, yellow, and red light system. If teachers reported that the campus was in red light (meaning it was very messy), nutrition break was canceled for the day and students went straight to third period. This might seem extreme, but until students start taking more responsibility for themselves, the school should start taking action.
