No time to kill
At first glance it's a proposal that appears shocking: Reduce the load by one or two classes on Marion High School seniors who qualify.
Yet it has merit and the board of education should approve the recommendation.
For example, this year's junior class has 67 students. Of those, 53 will need five or fewer credits to graduate on time. MHS has a seven-period day.
Counselor Phoebe Janzen says these seniors have taken most required courses and tried out most electives.
What happens to seniors in good standing? They are pushed into classes for which they have the prerequisites — but no interest — or they are assigned roles as office and teacher aides, work-study students, or in "independent study."
Most of these are a waste of everyone's time. Do teachers have enough work to keep aides busy every hour of the day? Sometimes the same student has two or more periods as an aide. Even skilled aides are limited in what they can do, because of confidentiality requirements governing other students' records.
Seniors could use their free hours to take college classes at Butler of Marion or Tabor College. They could work as volunteers, at their regular jobs, or do homework.
Some teachers worry that students will reject an elective class in exchange for two free periods. However, most seniors have tried at least one elective in each area. If a senior hated that first class, it's unlikely they'll be a motivated student in an advanced course covering the same topic.
What's more, there are sophomores and juniors interested in elective classes. Unfortunately, seniors with few scheduling options often fill the class first. What teacher wouldn't prefer to have students who are at least open to being there?
It's wise to require seniors to explain their plans for those free periods in writing.
For example, work is fine, taking college classes qualifies, even plans to do all homework and research during those hours should count. Some kids are at school before the sun for zero-hour weightlifting or other work. They spend a full day in school, an afternoon at sports practice, then an evening of chores, youth groups, or other projects. Then they start their homework. That's not conducive to learning.
Any senior in academic or legal trouble should be required to spend free periods studying at school. And certainly, parents and students should make wise choices about participation in work or extracurricular activities, if they are interfering with education.
Padding schedules with aide positions and work-study is an embarrassment. Either hire more teachers and provide more classrooms to offer a wider variety of classes, or give seniors who have proven themselves academically a chance to expand their options on their own.
— MATT NEWHOUSE
