The honor I have today comes as the result of longevity I am the eldest member of the faculty and good fortune I graduated from Davenport High in 1956 and am in my 38 th year as a teacher here at Davenport Central. When designed and built in 1904, this high school was one of the finest buildings in the nation. Over the years, we have acquired some electricity, modern plumbing, interior stairwells, a new cafeteria and additional classrooms for some of our special disciplines. However, as class sizes increased and teaching methods changed, the small rooms have become even more inadequate than they were when first changed from recitation rooms to classrooms. The chemistry room looks just as it did when I took chemistry in the 50s.
Technology demands electricity.
Unfortunately, our rooms have only two outlets. One must become truly creative to accommodate all the electrical needs. When we added the new heating system, the old ventilation system was covered up. Presently, ventilation is accomplished by opening windows if they aren t frozen shut. Currently, our buildings, symbolic of thousands of other schools, is in serious need of updating.