The 21-22 school schedule has been changed to accommodate a new period called FLEX. This is a period originally designed to provide a time where kids can receive tutoring from teachers. At the start of the school year students were told they would use this time for lessons the academic deans planned for the class and then eventually it would turn into a study hall later in the year.Â
FLEX class should have become a study hall now. Most students don’t have time to do work at home. Having a designated time for study hall would help all students.
So far this year, students in FLEX have watched videos about bullying and how to prevent it, and a documentary on how social media affects them. These lessons are the same thing students have been going over since middle school. These videos and slideshows have been drilled into our heads for years. To take the same bullying quiz over and over again is ineffective.Â
Giving students time to work on assignments they might not have the time or resources to work on at home is actually productive. Being able to go to different teachers’ classes during flex to ask about something they don’t understand instead of scrambling to find time throughout the day makes it easier on students. Most students don’t have time to go to after school tutoring or time to talk with a teacher in fear of missing their bus, or having practice for an extracurricular activity or even getting to a job. Students aren’t learning anything new, so why not give them time to actually go over new material and get ready for their classes for the rest of the day or week?
Some teachers don’t even do the assigned lesson plan. When talking about FLEX class with my friends they have no idea what I’m talking about when I mention the documentary or a certain paper. None of the teachers are on the same page. It honestly seems like getting rid of FLEX would keep teachers and students alike organized.
If there won’t ever be time for study hall, then why have FLEX at all? It takes time out of the school day along with adding another thing teachers have to schedule around. There’s always at least one student who thinks they’re going to their third period instead of FLEX. Worse, students skip the class altogether and wander the halls for 45 minutes. Having no flex at all would be better than what we’re doing now.Â