Mr. Regan Grade 12 Students ENG4U May 3, 2011 Hidden Lessons 1. The mailroom of my building doesn’t look like it has changed much since the place was first built. And why should it change? The mailboxes still work fine. The sign above them is faded and quaint, but the policy it describes still stands: DO NOT LEAVE PARCELS IN MAIL ROOM / DELIVER TO OFFICE OR SUPT’S APT.” One change that has been made is that the old, obsolete intercom system has been covered with a bulletin board. There is no policy around posting things on this bulletin board – if a tenant has a small business they want to promote or an item they’d like to sell, and if they can find their own tack, then they can use the bulletin board. There are at least two lessons implicit in this place. The first is: if it isn’t broke, the owners aren’t going to fix it. The mailboxes still work, the sign isn’t in anyone’s way, and so even though these things aren’t sleek and modern or pretty, they’re not going anywhere. The second is that the owners trust their tenants, in this case to use the bulletin board responsibly. Moreover, they’re willing to give tenants space, outside of their apartments, to pursue their goals.

2. This is the lobby of my building. A tall fake plant stands in the left corner. On the wall next to the window there are two framed pictures. These pictures are of buildings in France. They look kind of like blueprints. In the foreground is a piece of furniture that looks like a bed with a built-in pillow, or like the kind of couch a pretentious therapist might use. In the background are two loveseats with armrests as high as their backrests. The height of these armrests makes sitting in these seats awkward; likewise, the lack of a backrest makes sitting on the couch uncomfortable. In front of the loveseats is an asymmetrical coffee table. A series of pot lights running along the wall keep the place bright. In contrast to the mailroom, the lobby suggests that the owners of my building are more concerned with appearances than with functionality. At a glance, the lobby looks good, but it isn’t a pleasant place to actually inhabit. In fact, the choice of furniture suggests the owners don’t actually want people hanging out here. The pictures are on the wall have absolutely no connection to the building itself. In fact, by hanging pictures of French architecture the owners suggest that there is nothing noteworthy about this place, that somewhere else is more interesting, better. The fake plant is a fitting final touch: it suggests that, having made the lobby look good to prospective tenants, the owners don’t want to have anything more to do with it. As long as nobody actually starts using the place, they’ll get their wish.

3. The owners of my building sometimes post notices across from the elevators. This one is typical. Every year there is a notice about balcony repairs, and every year these repairs get delayed and then forgotten. (Luckily, as far as I can tell, the balconies don’t actually need repairs. Knock on wood.) A tenant has responded to this notice: “Fix the laundry machines. Priorities.” On the one hand, the lesson here is positive: the owners communicate with tenants regarding their plans for the building, and even keep us apprised of scheduling changes. On the other hand, the unsolicited response suggests that tenants aren’t consulted about these plans and so have no say in what happens to the building. In fact, their voices are so undervalued that they are reduced to leaving sloppily scrawled suggestions that the owners will likely never see.