Any junior who has been in the Upper School since freshman year has experienced four different class schedules: more than one a year. We have seen everything from three to six classes a day, no passing time to 15 minutes of passing time, and much more. Having gained lots of perspectives over the years, I believe that we, the students, have the most valuable input when it comes to the school schedule. After all, a school’s main purpose, education, is centered around the needs of the students, so shouldn’t the schedule be, too?
This year’s temporary, pandemic-friendly schedule has been met with little resistance. Perhaps this is because there is a general understanding that flexibility is necessary during the pandemic. Perhaps it is simply because there is less class time, and there are fewer classes a day. Regardless, there is one obvious issue with this year’s schedule. There is a common consensus among teachers and students, that it was very challenging, if not impossible, to cover an entire year’s worth of material with the limited class time (with each class only meeting for three hours a week), and frequent technological glitches. The pandemic has left a mark on the education system, and Agnes Irwin is one of the lucky schools that has been able to operate mostly in person for the majority of the year. So why are teachers reporting that they only covered maybe ⅔ of a year’s material? Undoubtedly, 15-minute passing times quickly eat away at class time; but the answer transcends simply class time. There is a question of attention span that should be considered.
Though there are slight discrepancies between different reports, the attention span for 16 year-olds is often considered to be between 32 – 48 minutes (BrainBalance). Now let’s be clear. Just because a student can focus for 48 minutes, does not mean she wants to. Additionally, a student’s ability to focus reduces as time goes on. When you consider the countless distractions that are ever-present, like Snapchat notifications, AC-rattling, and cute dogs walking down Ithan, the 48-minute attention span suddenly seems like some unattainable mythical promise. Many times during history this year, I have found myself looking at the clock halfway through history class, hoping that my hand and mind will get a break soon, but to no avail. Now, this is not a criticism of Ms. Nickols’s fabulously entertaining lectures, but rather a recognition that mental limits exist and should be considered when designing a schedule. I believe a return to shorter classes, consequently more overall, would warrant positive results and more engaged students throughout the entire class period.
When I say more class periods, I do not, DO NOT mean six classes a day. Last year’s schedule was beyond exhausting, and I can confidently say that this opinion is shared by many of my peers. Last year, when asked how I was, or how school was going, I would commonly reply with, “I feel like a gerbil running on a wheel.” With six classes a day, and no passing time, I found myself getting the least sleep I have ever gotten, cramming for every test, and doing my Spanish homework in math class. We don’t need to be experts to know that teenagers need about 8-9 hours of sleep a night, and cramming is not an effective way of learning information in long-term memory. Not to mention, I literally ran to the water fountain or bathroom so as to miss the least class time possible. Though it is not explicitly stated in the handbook or even the Constitution of the United States, I believe that all persons have the right to pee. So let’s bring back the 2018-2019 bells, 5-minute passing times, and 5 classes a day because we ALL have the right to hydrate, and dehydrate (get it?).
I would be remiss if I did not reminisce about Lunch 1, a period that unified students and teachers alike. Lunch 1 was perfectly set in the middle of the day as a time to meet. This time was thoroughly utilized by clubs, students nervous before a test, and other pop-up events, like guest speakers or yearbook photos. After a year and a half of distancing and lack of socialization, community and face-to-face conversations should be prioritized through common meeting times like Lunch 1.
Essentially, I believe that we should use the 2018-2019 schedule as an example to rebuild the Anges Irwin schedule with student input at the forefront of decision making. Thanks to the school’s continued motivation to innovate and change for the better, there is great promise that the students’ voices will be heard, and next year’s schedule will reflect that.
