Talk:New Hope Academy

Factual material on Wikipedia

I chose my username and decided to do some editing because I happened to see some brief comments on this page about New Hope Academy, a project begun by Unification Church members (but independent of the church) which had some surprisingly inappropriate material about "moonie" "brainwashing." It has been almost a decade since I was a member of Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church, but I was a long-time member who knew/knows quite a bit more about the church than the average member, and although I no longer have the slightest desire to promote the church or cast it in a favorable light (and I seriously doubt it can reform and solve its fundamental problems), I also object to bigoted disinformation, especially in a forum like this one which is seeking accurate, objective, and neutral point-of-view information on a variety of topics, including controversial ones. -Exucmember 09:31, 25 March 2006 (UTC)

But with that in mind isnt this artice basically telling people how good new hope is without speaking of the critisms of the school? I mean I love the school, but if one should be unbiased the truth should be spoken none the less! -[comment by 68.55.53.7 at 04:37, 29 June 2006]

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Regarding this article, you should identify the statements in the article that you think are biased, and otherwise state the truth as you see it. If you have criticisms of the school, please say what they are. So far you haven't mentioned any specifics.

I was objecting to bigoted, misleading statements like "they promote and brainwash the Unification (moonie) religion," which is pejoritive, inaccurate, and not even grammatical. For one thing, religion classes are not even offered. I know the morning theme depends on who's speaking, but otherwise it seems like whatever promotion is going on is pretty indirect (like being a good person). Teachers who belong to other religions are promoting their religions in this way too. BTW, I'm quite impressed by the science teacher! (who is Muslim) -Exucmember 06:22, 1 July 2006 (UTC)

I understand that, dont get me wrong, i would love to teach there, I am a college student who went there, and I also worked there, and still plan to after college. But in all, it still, it should be unbiased. My thing is, did you actually attend the school? Unless you were a student, its hard to sit and say the negative points of the school. In no way shape or form do i say to bash the school in anyway shape or form, rather just say the UNBIASED information about the school.

And this kinda bothered me the most: "but otherwise it seems like whatever promotion". The fact that you mention it seems shows that you cant make the statement about the morning service if you were not there to witness it.

Like Ive stated, this in no way shape or form is to bash the school. But I mean there are some things that need to be mentioned, for example, Despite being a great school, some flaws have been noted: Lack of staff, The flawed sports program, The lack of A/c in classrooms, and the fact that the school seems to cater a tad bit more to the younger students than the older. Come on, we can all sing the praises of New Hope, and believe me, I do whenever I can, but when the truth and UNBIASED opinions need to be put, then by far, It needs to be told. - Former Student/Employee. (User:68.55.53.7, 2 July 2006)

Everyone in my family except me has been at the school every day for years, so student and staff views are represented and we talk a lot (and have for years). You seem to have misunderstood my comment that you said bothered you. Except for generally unintentional promotion through presenting ones own view in the morning message, I have not heard of any promotion of any particular religion other than by example. You say some things need to be mentioned. I don't agree, for the following reason: I'm sure the vast majority of editors on Wikipedia would not want to see statements that, while either supportive or critical, are at a level of detail that is far from that of the rest of the article. Some small detail that sings the praises of the school but is insignificant compared to the level of depth and breadth of that article would be inappropriate.

Is the fact that most classrooms don't have air conditioning an appropriate level of detail for this article? Well, perhaps, but I wouldn't think so at present, unless you can connect it to a larger issue like students not being able to do good academic work (which is not the case, as far as I've ever heard). I looked at the University of Maryland, College Park page on Wikipedia because I happen to be familiar with several of the dorms there, and none of those dorms have air conditioning. The issue isn't mentioned. In fact, none of those dorms are mentioned. In fact, no dorm on campus is mentioned (by name or in the aggregate). The current status of air conditioning isn't mentioned. The article simply doesn't go into that much detail.

If you have specific criticisms, put them in the article (as long as they are reasonably in sync with the level of detail of the article). If you think "lack of staff" is worth mentioning, say so in specific terms, but make it objective. My children went to one of the best elementary schools in the county, and there were over 30 students in a classroom with one teacher. New Hope Academy normally has no more than 21 students, and sometimes many fewer; if a classroom has more than 21 students there is a teacher's aide, and sometimes an aide is provided when there are far fewer students (at least for subjects for which this is most helpful). So I was surprised to hear this claim; perhaps I didn't know what what your vague comment was referencing.

The sports program is miles ahead of what it was a year ago, but is undergoing fundamental changes for next year. What level of detail is appropriate for discussing the sports program? At present I'm not sure the article even mentions it. The statement "the school seems to cater a tad bit more to the younger students than the older" is far too vague even to address, although that was certainly true in 1997 when the high school didn't exist yet. Perhaps what you're perceiving is a natural development. Or perhaps it is a consequence of NHA being a small school, which arguably has more disadvantages for a high school than for an elementary school. Can you identify anything in the tone of the present article that is inappropriately "singing the praises" of the school (that seems different in tone from, for example, the University of Maryland, College Park page)? Perhaps you'd like to expand the article to a level of detail where some of the criticisms you raise (if they can be made specific and objective) would be appropriate. -Exucmember 18:51, 9 July 2006 (UTC)

Miles ahead? It isnt what it was years ago. Like stated before true it is better for the younger grades but not for the older grades.

Also, the catering to the younger grades...For example, the playground in the front for the preschool. That was highly fundraised for and funds went to that, while the high school cant even get the monthly field trip that the school claims to promote.

True its an lack of staff as Students are having to take lunch duty and things like that. Come on. Thats not vague, however its the truth.

The Lack of air conditioning is quite enough detail for the page. Okay, So what if UMD's page doesnt say about the dorms. That is their page that has nothing to do with New Hope Academy. Im sure if this wasnt New Hope and it was another school, You, as a parent would be concerned why your child is sweltering and passing out in class because of lack of A/C.

That is beautiful that you and your family have been New Hope family for years, so have mine, but I can tell you, that coming from not only a student pov, but a employee and even from my parents impression, the school has some very serious flaws that need to be put in the open before one chooses to apply for admission to the school for their child. I, myself, as a parent, find that thats something that i would like to know myself.

Dont get me wrong. I love New Hope. My son, when he gets to high school, will be there. However, There are some things that definitely need to be in the article itself. - Loyal New Hoper (User:68.55.53.7, 07:02, 10 July 2006)

The following will probably sound pedantic, but I apologize if it sounds condescending too. On Wikipedia it is helpful to sign entries with four tildes (~~~~) at the end of any messages you leave on Talk pages (like this one); Wikipedia will automatically insert your name (or IP address if you don't have a username) and the current date and time after your message. I've been adding that for you manually (as well as doing what I thought of as "correcting" the formatting).

I appreciate the concerns you raised, and I agree that people should have a place to write and to read about what people think regarding any aspect of a school to which they're thinking to send their children (or about any product they're thinking to buy). Anyone can say whatever they want to say, and readers are free to judge whether the praise or complaints are exaggerated or out of proportion. In fact there are sites exactly like that for schools, but this is an encyclopedia, not a review site or an internet discussion.

To that end I combed through the article to make it more scholarly and more objective. There were definitely things that needed to be changed.

On the issue of lunch duty, there are only a few high school students who have the proper qualifications (including medical clearance to work with children), and those high school students are paid employees of the school. It is true that they were asked more than usual (and more than would be ideal) to step in this past year because there happened to be a high number of abscences due to illness.

The reason I gave the example of Wikipedia's University of Maryland article in regard to air conditioning is that, being 5 miles away, it has the same climate and weather, and I know people complain about the lack of air conditioning there. I'd imagine there are probably internet discussion pages or review sites on the web that mention this problem. But it's not in the encyclopedia article here, most likely because that's not really an appropriate item for an encyclopedia article. -Exucmember 04:08, 11 July 2006 (UTC)

Thank you fo the cleanup...althought regarding the lunch duty...the high school students do not have medical clearance. MDgogoSon 15:54, 22 July 2006 (UTC)