Time in between: Shorter passing periods, longer lunch
In fall 2016, MN upper floors will be connected, helping students get to class faster. But with the administration questioning the time given for passing periods, students say keeping it the way it is would be just fine. Although, a fair trade for more time at lunch is negotiable.
March 8, 2016
As this school year nears its end, administration begins to look towards the next, and specifically the time between classes.
At the moment our school has the longest passing periods in the state. This has been because of the heavy traffic of people moving between the two sides of the building. The new walkway between the two upstairs, which should be completed for next year, should alleviate this traffic considerably.
The administration recently sent a survey out to teachers asking how long they thought the new passing periods should be, and where they thought the time should go. Most teachers said they should be five or six minutes, and the time should be added onto lunch.
The Hoofbeat staff thinks that the passing periods should be six minutes long. Most of the time wasted getting to class is spent in that crowded hallway, so the amount of time needed to get to class will be considerably shorter next year because of the new walkway.
We have appreciated the long passing periods that our school has been using. Though time can be cut from passing periods, we would still like to have passing periods, which gives students ample time to do what they need to do.
We hope that the administrators meet in the middle of these two views, keeping passing periods long enough that students will not have to stress about getting to class on time, while still shortening them in congruence with faster movement because of the new walkway.
Adding more time to lunch is the most popular option for what should be done with the extra time among teachers and admins alike, and the Hoofbeat agrees.
Trying to get lunch to 2400 plus students in a timely manner is a tough request, and though the school does a lot to make this process go quicker, the concentration of students going through the cafeteria causes a lot of traffic. Students have a hard time eating their food because they have to buy it, also finding somewhere to eat it.
Also, trying to add this time on to class would cause little benefit. Since the majority of teachers usually use the same lessons every year, adding the small amount time to classes would have an insignificant marginal benefit. Even if teachers changed their lessons for the new time constraints, there is little that could be done with an extra two minutes every day.
Dealing with construction this past year has been difficult, but as we get the chance to look at the new benefits that will come, the hindrances don’t seem that bad.