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PilotNews > Opinion
> Death of expected easy first week?
Death of expected easy first week?
Jadee Wagner, Section Editor
Sep 7, 2007
As summer fades into fall, one concept assures a gentle transition from partying, sleeping, and happiness to early rising, homework, and monotony. A promise of easy lessons encompassing school regulations and class itineraries dulls the abhorrent transformation from freebird to jailbird.
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| Struggling Under the
Weight of Work- Michael Herbig (10)depicts an exagerated illustration of what most hope is not a future necessity-overloaded between classes. |
"[A couple days in] I had to teach my AP French class. I didn’t know how since I was there to be taught. I said I didn’t know, walked back to my seat, and my teacher got mad," said Meghan Jones (11).
LHS deprives students of the universally-accepted "easy first week". A battle of benefits vs. consequences rages on.
"With all the work, I’m spent/in the pits/any word you want to insert," said Mark Curran (12).
Students burn out after the first week. Faculty hits students hard before they fall into an apathetic mind-set.
"It’s to make sure you know materials from previous classes and to show the high expectations for the course," said Miranda Gelven, math teacher, regarding not letting her Calculus students into the room until they got the question right.
It seems instead to instill close-mindedness in one encumbered with a weighty workload. Teachers, in "preparing" students, may be crushing their potential.
"Teachers forget they’re not alone in the school. An hour of work in a class might not seem like a lot, but add it to seven more classes, seven hours, every night…" said Kyle Portell (10).
Add other commitments like jobs and sports and the student is looking at late nights, caffeine addictions, colossal bags under the eyes, and a quickly dying drive for knowledge, resulting in the "just-enough-to-get-by" mentality or the "cram-for-tomorrow-then-forget-it" strategy.
"[Over the summer I had to read] The Vanishing Voter and write vocabulary, discussion questions, background knowledge and an essay. What is that about?" said Andrew Wash (10).
Turns out, all of that "required work" was an insignificant amount of extra credit.
Students and staff will never fully agree on the definition of a successful method, but it is imperative that each party consider the other’s perspective. Teachers have a job to do and a course plan to fulfill, but could ease up. Students need a break sometimes, but many have tough schedules and strenuous work waiting just around the corner and should prepare themselves. It’s a vicious cycle, one that will continue to evade the masses.
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