Every year there is a
new schedule. Every year the ideas get just a bit weirder. But we
think that this year takes the cake… or loses it, for that matter.
This year’s new schedule is, by far, the most unpopular.
Based
on the assumption that the buses would no longer be running after
school (thanks to the vandalism affair in February), the administration
came up with an idea to save after-school tutorials --shave 15 minutes
off each daily class period and create an extra period called High
Stakes Tutorial.
High
Stakes tutorials have teachers teaching subjects deemed important for
academic success, like the scientific method or how to write a paper.
We were taught all this way back in…what? Fifth grade? Sixth? Must
we really reiterate concepts that should be almost second nature to us
by now? Why don’t we actually learn something…new?
Thankfully,
teachers have the option to teach assigned topics or whatever they deem
necessary. However, some teachers may take High-Stakes too seriously.
They take that extra time to cover these topics deemed important, but
now they even assign homework from it. Not only do we have the
homework from our eight different classes, but we have High-Stakes
homework as well. We believe there is a unanimous vote of "not cool."
Another
problem – who wants to spend over two and a half hours with a teacher?
Now, we can understand it when it’s your favorite teacher but two and a
half hours is a whole lot of time to be in the same room, learning the
same subject...again.
Now
that the buses are up and running, there needed to be a new excuse for
the new schedule. Wonder what it is? We need high scores (in class,
and on the TAKS, AP, etc). The new schedule is supposed to give
teachers more time with their students to teach what they need to boost
our scores.
The
problem with that train of thought is the same problem with DEAR time.
Forcing students to learn more (or read - in the case of DEAR) only
further alienates them from the very thought. Would you be motivated
to do something if it was forced upon you? Of course not. That is why
this schedule fails.
Here
is a solution to our falling scores and grades - reinstate the
admissions tests. Not only would it weed out those who cannot handle a
rigorous curriculum, but it will make sure BETA gets students who are
academically capable of success.