Letters for Thursday, March 25, 2021

It’s not to late to try something new with school scheduling

School has been around and required since the 1600s. It has many changes throughout time. From segregated, to different age groups, private schools, religious schools, and now, online schools. However, it has always been a topic to talk about, the calendar. Students, teachers, and staff must be tired of having the same school schedule every year. Maybe they want a break, or something new to their many years enrolling in education. In today’s society, schools should start looking to change their calendars based on what their students want.

Since this topic is not new to schools, the idea of the multi-track system must have come up now and then. The multi-track system can choose how many days students should go to school before taking a break. For example, 60/20. Which means going to school for a consecutive 60 days, then receiving a 20 day break and then repeating that. According to the California Department of Education: Year-Round Education Guide, the advantage of this system is that it can expand the seating capacity of a school facility. “… if a school with a seating capacity of 1,000 uses a four-track system, it could potentially enroll 1,333 students, increasing its capacity by 33 percent” (CDE). By using this system, the school could have more students enroll which would give the school more money and other benefits. The multi-track system is one of many ideas for school’s calendar systems.

Another idea is letting the student and their parents choose the child’s schooling system. Dr. Maria Montessori, wrote her famous Dr. Montessori’s Own Handbook: Freedom. It states that “It is necessary for the teacher to guide the child without letting him feel her presence too much, so that she may be always ready to supply desired help, but may never be the obstacle between the child and his experience” (Dr. Montessori). What Dr. Montessori was trying to say is that she believes it is best that teachers should let the students be more independent and self-directed learners, instead of depending on their teacher so much. With this in the school system, the school calendars might shorten depending on how fast students are learning. If they were to learn everything they need to know shorter than the usual length of a school year, they might be able to have a longer break with occasional checkups. Although, most of these ideas are from student and parent perspectives. It’s important to know what the teachers are also thinking.

In the writing A Teacher’s Perspective, by Lorena Thomas gives her intake on school calendars as a teacher. In her writing, she stated that “And this may be a selfish reason, but financially year-round schooling is easier on teachers as well” (Lorena Thomas). Thomas believes that school calendars should stay traditional, the way they are now. Plus, she mentions that with shorter breaks, kids remember more. It is understandable why as a teacher she thinks this way, but not all students enjoy going to school for a long period of time. As a student, schooling does get tiring. After years and years of writing, reading, calculating, it’s all just too much at times. Students enjoy their breaks. Students’ opinions should be on the top of the list.

In today’s society, schools should start looking to change their calendars based on what their students want. Whether it’s the multi-track system based on the students’ opinions or up to the parents and the student choosing how they want to go through their education. And, since students enjoy their breaks, year-round schooling should be out of the question. Even though it might be hard to change school calendars now, it is never too late to try something new.

Kyrie Linoz, Hanapepe

Pandemic Socio-Politico Pop Quiz

(graded on a curve)

I really:

1. Love the tourists, they bring business.

2. Hate the tourists: gridlocked traffic.

3. Don’t care two cents about the tourists.

4. All of the above.

5. Wait a minute, you can’t say all of the above.

6. I can say whatever I want, it’s my letter.

7. Get me a gin and tonic.

The COVID-19 vaccine is:

1. Wonderful. God’s gift to humanity.

2. Garbage medicine. I wouldn’t touch it with a ten foot pole.

3. If Bill Gates and the medical establishment says it’s ok, then it’s okay by me.

4. Who cares what Bill Gates thinks, when did he become a medical authority?

5. All of the above.

6. This gin and tonic tastes great.

Dr. Anthony Fauci:

1. Knows what is best to do for all of us.

2. Looks chill in his Speedos.

3. Is a total idiot, who dodges legitimate questions about the pandemic.

4. All of the above.

5. I am working on my third gin and tonic.

After enough people get the vaccine:

1. We can all go back to normal.

2. The vaccine program will be shut down due to massive reporting of serious side effects.

3. The CDC will withdraw the vaccine stating that its status was experimental anyway.

4. Working on the fifth one now, feeling pretty good.

We will know it is an intentional pandemic when:

1. The end result is serious, permanent loss of individual freedoms.

2. Banking becomes entirely cashless.

3. Vaccine documents are required for almost all activities.

4. People’s fears are played upon requiring repeat vaccinations.

5. Just threw up, feel woozy.

The government has the power to:

1. Shut down travel as they see fit.

2. Dictate medical policy.

3. Shut down businesses as they see fit.

4. Are you kidding? Totalitarian governments have the power to do this, not democratic ones. States which didn’t shut down (i.e. South Dakota) came about the same. So there.

5. No more gin for me, ever.

•••

Okay, here are the correct answers: last one for each question.

Molly Jones,

Kealia