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To the editor: Outdated THS science labs disappointing to former student

By Staff | Jun 23, 2010

I was recently informed that Patrick Wakeman resigned as the college biology teacher at THS. This shouldn’t be surprising, because Mr. Wakeman has been teaching biology for quite awhile. But this did invoke some serious emotion in me because that man was instrumental in inspiring me to pursue the career that I am. It was even more upsetting to read that this great educator cited inadequate facilities as partial reasoning.

That being said, I am typing this from Pittsburgh, Pa., where I attend one of the most renowned research universities in the world. Needless to say, as a molecular biology major, I spend quite a bit of time in science labs, both learning and working. If there is one thing that I have discovered, it is that the lab facilities at THS are pathetically outdated. The learning curve that I had with laboratory equipment compared to other students my first semester was nothing short of embarrassing.

In the world in which we live, where science is advancing all the time, I would assume that a school would want to provide students with the tools necessary for success in science. That is why it confused me so when, out of the millions of dollars spent to expand the district’s facilities, not a single new science lab was built in THS. In fact, the only chemistry lab (when I graduated there were two different chemistry teachers) was moved back to the same facilities that it occupied in the 1960s.

Thomas Dohle

Pittsburgh, PA