As I often mention, I am blessed to have great daughters who are very academically minded. They work hard to get good grades and take challenging classes. Yet Armstrong High School has one of those strange rules that though I understand the rationale, makes no sense to me.
Apparently if you are not out for choir, band and/or orchestra, you are required to spend an period of your day parked in Study Hall... Now I understand that budgets are tight and I assume that Study Hall doubles for Teacher Prep time. (vs class/teaching time) Yet to have a bright and inquisitive mind parked for 1/7th of the relatively short school day seems like an incredible waste.
I had pretty well accepted this strange policy, because the students at least had the freedom during study hall to make use of resource rooms. This meant that they could get passes to go to the computer labs, get questions answered by available Teachers, take make up tests, do test corrections, etc. Unfortunately the AHS administration has decided to discontinue these passes... Instead they have decided to only allow students out if a Teacher specifically calls the Study Hall to ask for a student that needs additional help.
Now I am certain that there are students that take advantage of this freedom and privilege to waste time, make noise, etc. And it likely does take some time away from Teachers that are in the Resource rooms doing their prep. Yet how does it make any sense to prevent good and dedicated students from using this time effectively to learn?
Thoughts?
If you want to voice your opinion, here are some contacts:
RDALE School Board
RDALE Administration
RDALE AHS Administration
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2 comments:
Back in my day, we had many electives. None of my crowd (or our parents) even thought about study hall - that was for the jocks and slackers. It wasn't cool at all.
Armstrong sounds like one of those "when they say it isn't about money - it's about money" cases. But back in my day of course we didn't have make work union contracts to pay teachers significantly more for noticeably less effort in hours and class sizes.
Sounds to me that the Armstrong Administration is into "CONTROL" of students fitting into "THEIR BOX" of what is "GOOD" for all students!!??
It is the "One Size" fits all. Can't have some students making others look not productive. Just have them all in a few common rooms doing unproductive & mindless sitting/socializing/noise making "activities"??
If I were a parent or student at Armstrong, I would do my best to override their "Regulations" via written discussion with all the "Powers" to be. Push the "Envelope"
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