Extend Time Between Classes?
Upstairs classrooms can take longer to get to, especially when it’s crowded.
February 22, 2023
With the limited time given to students to walk across campus, having to rush to class is sometimes inevitable. This is especially true for the last periods of the day.
Students should be given extra time to get to their last classes of the day because it can be very easy to be late to seventh or eighth period if you have to walk across campus to get to your next class. Nutrition and lunch give students extra time to get to their classes, while there are only 7 minutes to get to the last classes of the day.
While it’s usually not a problem, some people have to walk far distances which makes it a lot more challenging to be on time by the last bell. Should there be extra time given so students can take more time to get to their last classes?
Having longer passing periods would be great, but after interviewing the staff here at Millikan, I learned that having more time to get to classes is not the best option to solve student tardiness.
“There is a certain number of instructional minutes for a class to qualify as a class,” says one of Millikan’s assistant principals, Mr. Ashley, “We would have to lengthen the school day.”
Students still waste much class time, especially when going to the front of the school to receive tardy slips. To this problem, Mr. Vega will ensure multiple tardy slip locations, including near the 500 and 800, in a few weeks.
“Our tardies are significantly less than other sights and way better than last year,” says Mr. Vega, Millikan’s Principal, “It’s not the most important reason, but too much time between classes can create a safety issue.”
Longer passing periods will help more students arrive to class on time, and will also allow students more time to use the restroom before class, overall wasting less class time.
However, I don’t believe anyone would appreciate or like a longer school day, even if only a couple extra minutes go to the last passing period of the day. So while I would love to not have to rush from the 500 building to the 400 building at the end of the day, lengthening school hours is not the answer.
Stevie Sheridan • Mar 20, 2024 at 9:37 am
On February 22, Bhree Walker wrote an article titled “Extended Time Between Classes?”. In this article, Bhree speaks on the issue of limited time during passing periods and getting to classes on time. Bhree explains to the audience that trying to get across campus in such a restricted time frame is a struggle among students. She even explains her own experiences trying to get to class from the 500 to the 400 and how with crowds 7 minutes would not be enough time. Bhree went to Mr. Vega himself, to share the difficulties of getting to class on time and also questioned if the time frame can be extended. I enjoyed this article because reading it is very relatable. When there is only a few minutes to get to class it can be difficult, especially if your classes are across campus. While 7 minutes sounds like plenty of time, with the crowds of students who all walk at different paces, it can be very stressful getting to class on time. I liked that Bhree went directly to Mr. Vega and Mr. Ashley too, even though their responses were not ideal, it was nice to hear directly from administration why the passing periods are as short as they are.
Anon • Mar 7, 2023 at 9:07 am
Some students have one on one aides who also need to cross the campus between classes, and they’re also having difficulty getting to classes on time, especially if they need to find a bathroom. Some of the pathways that could be walked in 7 minutes without traffic become impassable because of slow moving groups who block traffic. If slow moving students could all group to one side instead of spreading out across the entire path it would help immensely with allowing people who have further to travel get to their destination in a timely manner.
Kurt Buss • Mar 2, 2023 at 10:53 am
On February 28, Bhree Walker published an article entitled, “Extend Time Between Classes?”. I agreed with Bhree when she said that a longer school day wouldn’t be ideal. Personally, I have no problem getting to class on time in between periods. I think that the system that has been instituted right now is the best one for allowing students just enough time to get to class but also not taking away a lot of time out of the day. I would not like to see this changed, as we already get out of school later than previous years because of the start change. In addition, it is rare for students to have to walk extremely far distances from seventh to eighth period. Ultimately, students should be able to get there in 7 minutes, and if they weren’t able to, it’s likely that something else may have caused them to be late. I like how you interviewed some of the staff so we could hear their opinions. This article also informed me about the new thing that Mr. Vega is instituting with tardy slips. This is helpful for students to know if they are ever late so that they don’t have to walk all the way to the office.
Riley Cabarles • Mar 2, 2023 at 9:04 am
On February 22, Bhree Walker wrote an article titled “Extend Time Between Classes?” The article mentions that “Longer passing periods will help more students arrive to class on time, and will also allow students more time to use the restroom before class, overall wasting less class time.” I would like to disagree with this because if we extend the passing periods the school day will be longer than it already is. Since the schedule change, students and staff have been getting out of school later in the day, which gives us less time to get the things we need to get done. Student-athletes already get let out around four or five because of their practices. Especially when students have early games they might have to leave class early to get there on time, which would interfere with their education and over time affect their grades in that class. Even if we extend our passing periods students will still find a way to show up late to class. Of course, the number of tardies will drop but, I think seven minutes is enough time to get to class on time.
Madeleine Napalan • Mar 2, 2023 at 8:51 am
On February 22, Bhree Walker wrote an article titled “Extend Time Between Classes?”.The article talks about how getting to the last periods of the day has been seen as harder because of the lack of time to get to those classes. It also talks about how the principal and assistant principal have responded to this question. I liked the inclusion of the response from Mr. Vega and Mr. Ashley. I also like your closing statement about how most people wouldn’t like a long day just for extra minutes for the passing periods. Something you could add next time is a statement from some students. In my opinion, another thing that could be added to that is statistics of how many kids have gotten tardies in the last periods of the day compared to the earlier classes of the day. Before reading this I didn’t realize how much of a difference it would make just to add a few minutes to the passing periods. Another thing that could be added in my opinion is at the beginning have a teacher put their input on this topic and just have them talk about the impact of the kids coming later to class.
Levi Diniakos • Mar 1, 2023 at 1:58 pm
On February 22, Bhree Walker wrote an article titled “Extend Time Between Classes?” Walker questions the decision for the amount of time allotted for students to get to class between periods. She states that having to rush to class across campus in seven minutes or less is often inevitable. She also states that lunch and nutrition give students more time to get to class rather than just seven minutes to get to class between the last periods of the day. So the main question is, do students need more time to get to class? Mr. Ashley thinks that this would be a bad idea, especially since they would have to lengthen the school day and students would waste a lot of time going to the front of the school to receive tardy slips. While I agree with what he says, I’m sure students would be less stressed to get to class on time if the passing period was longer. I would like to know, if more time was given to students to get to class, how much time would be needed? Would we need more strict security on campus to make sure students don’t take too long to get to class? What other effects would this have on students’ tardiness?
Catherine Gentry • Mar 1, 2023 at 1:37 pm
On February 22, Bhree Walker wrote an article titled “Extend Time Between Classes?” The article reveals how the limited time allotted between classes can pose a problem for many students. Walker presents her concerns over the especially short time periods for the last classes of the day, explaining how crowds and distances make it difficult for students to arrive on time. Walker introduces the idea of extending the time between classes but elaborates on reasons why this solution may do more harm than good. Having to walk from the third floor of the 800 building to the second floor of the 200 building, I empathize with Walker’s concern because I also have experienced difficulty when trying to arrive on time on green days. In addition to the short periods of time, the crowded environment makes beating the bell even more difficult. Walker interviewed a number of administrators who all claimed that the extension of time would not be a plausible solution to the issue. One administrator explained that there is a required minimum amount of instructional minutes. Would it be possible to reduce minutes during nutrition in order to extend the time during the last passing period? Additionally, I believe there should be a tardy grace period for occasional tardiness due to situations such as green days. This article presented a brief overview of the situation, but I would like to know if there are any plans being developed to resolve this issue in the future.
Lily Palmer • Mar 1, 2023 at 11:54 am
This article intrigued me because I have experienced the stress of having seven minutes to get from the 800 building to the 200 building and being stuck behind slow walkers. I learned a lot from this article, notably the fact that extending passing periods would require a longer school day. I appreciated that multiple staff administrators were interviewed, and I believe they provided new and relevant insights. However, I disagree with the conclusion that we should not extend passing period. Adding a couple of minutes to the last passing period of the day would be beneficial for people who have a longer distance to walk, and would allow people time to use the bathroom so they would not have to waste class time. I believe adding at most 5 minutes to the school day would be worth it for those benefits, and as a student I would be okay with this change. It is understandable that too much time between classes could create a safety issue, but even if two or three minutes were added to the last passing period of the day, it would still be a shorter time between classes than nutrition. I would argue that the benefits of extending this final passing period outweigh the disadvantages.
Jamie Do • Mar 1, 2023 at 11:54 am
On February 22, Bhree Walker wrote an article titled “Extend Time Between Classes?” The article expresses her concern on the limited time during passing periods, and especially during periods seven and eight. She offers different views and solutions in tackling this problem. Personally, I have never struggled with getting to class time and I have always found the usual 7 minutes enough for me to be on time. However, for those who need the extra time, I can see the issue that both the administrators and students face. I agree that giving students tardy slips are taking time away from them being in class, and overall wastes more time, so it’s amazing to see how Mr. Vega is already working to solve this problem. I also agree with your conclusion that lengthening the school day to compensate for extended passing periods is not the best solution. We can all agree that no one would prefer to extend the school day just to have a few extra minutes to get to class. It’s definitely not worth it and it would be unfair to students who never had an issue with the usual passing period. Thank you for sharing your opinion.
Elle Lundahl • Mar 1, 2023 at 11:54 am
While it may seem beneficial on the surface, the truth of the matter is that the additional time that would be added to the passing period would only lengthen the time of the overall school day. Those who are enrolled in the last periods of the day are especially eager to get out of school after a long day. While students protest dress codes and classes, the amount of backlash to an extended school day would be dramatically harsher. Also, the students who have sports as their last periods of the day would likely resist this change if it means more time in practice, as these athletes would likely begin practice at the same times as before. Furthermore, most students are aware of tardy policies implemented by the school and know when they are expected to be in class, and can reasonably make it to class within that time slot. While a longer passing period may seem like a change for the better, it would only cause more problems for teachers and students.
Andres Beltran • Mar 1, 2023 at 11:53 am
On February 22, Bhree Walker wrote an article titled “Extend Time Between Classes?”. The article mentions how extending our passing period is beneficial for many students. Despite the advantages this brings, it’s clear that this isn’t the best solution. I like how Walker first mentioned that she initially believed that expanding the time between classes would be in everyone’s favor, yet, she shows a change in attitude after analyzing the factors together. I also agreed that extending the time between classes would be beneficial for all students. Yet, after reading what Mr. Ashley mentioned about having to lengthen the school day, I can see how many would not prefer this. I like how she added credible quotations and sources that shed light on potential changes that can be made to improve tardiness. For example, Mr. Vega mentions that there will be more tardy slip stations around campus to reduce the time it takes for students to return back to class. Although this is a good solution to limit time wasted out of class, having to walk to one of those locations is an inconvenience in itself. Especially, when students were less than five seconds away from making it to class.
Cailyn Delliquadri • Mar 1, 2023 at 11:45 am
On February 22, Bhree Walker wrote an article titled “Extend Time Between Classes?” The article talks about the problem of students not being able to get to their classes on time with the time there is for passing period. Walker explores different ways administration can deal with the problem like lengthening passing periods. However, she also explains how these solutions wouldn’t work. I like how the article included interviews of the principal and other administrators. It helps to explain the limitations of solutions. I can relate to this problem because I have had issues with being able to get to classes on time. My fifth period is on the second floor of the 200 building and my sixth period is on the third floor of the 800 building. Since we have a block schedule, it isn’t usually an issue but, on green days, I can never get to my sixth period class in time. So, it doesn’t really affect me that much but I know people that have to go the same distance regularly, on even or odd days. That will end up wasting more class time if their teacher makes them go to the front of the school to get a tardy slip. It sucks that it seems like there isn’t really a clear solution for this issue.
Ness Outler • Mar 1, 2023 at 11:44 am
On February 22, Bhree Walker wrote an article titled “Extend Time Between Classes?” The article talks about how it could sometimes be difficult to get to your 7th and 8th period classes with the 7 minutes that are given as our passing period. I like that you mentioned that to have longer passing periods we would have to have longer school days. This is very important to think about because most people want longer passing periods but they don’t realize that it would make the school day longer. I also agree that it could be hard to get to your classes at the end of the day because I have soccer and when Im walking to the field I hear the bell ring and it seems like the passing period is very short. I also like that you mentioned that with the 7 minutes that we have it could be difficult to use the restroom which causes a lot of people to have to use the restroom during class. I also agree that lengthening school hours isn’t the answer. I personally like the idea of having a longer passing period, but I don’t like it enough to have a longer school day. Thank you for writing about this topic.
Hawking Crouther • Mar 1, 2023 at 11:39 am
On February 22, Bhree Walker wrote an article titled “Extend Time Between Classes?”
Walker argues that though it isn’t preferable to rush to class to avoid being late, extending time of passing periods is not the answer. I think something that should have been mentioned here is the different negative activvites student take during passing period. Some students use that time for fights, smoking, and other inappropiate activtities for school. I think this is oneof the main arguments against lengthening the time and would give a better understanding of the argument made. The interviews of multiple staff members provides insight to readers about information that many would have never known. Whe Walker interviewed Mr. Ashley, he explained that there is a necessary amount of time for a class to qualify. That is uncommon knowledge to students an it shows the support for the argument. Overall this article explains the initial bias most people have to extend passing period time, but then breaks down the consequences allowing readers to absorb the information and establish their own position on the situation.
Sincerely,
Hawking Crouther, Grade 11
Thomas Kao • Mar 1, 2023 at 11:30 am
On February 22, Bhree Walker wrote an article titled “Extend Time Between Classes?” I found this article very interesting, yet very conflicting. I always seem to be able to make it to class on time, walking all the way from the 200 building to the 500 bungalows within 5 minutes, but I tend to walk faster than other students. Perhaps some other students need it. It would be nice to feel like not being in a rush, but most of the students at the end of the day are just trying to leave campus. Personally, I find tardy slips to be a larger waste of time than students just being tardy. I have seen students who are maybe 3 seconds tardy have to waste 15 minutes of the instruction period to get a slip of paper that basically says “I’m 3 seconds late.” Walker mentions about halfway through that Mr. Vega will be creating 2 different areas to get tardy slips, but I don’t think this will solve the problem. Education is facilitated by teachers and staff, but it is up to the students to choose to be in a classroom, and if they choose to be late, that is their problem. Repeated offenders of being unreasonably late to class should perhaps have some sort of reprimand, but some people are just late. The solution is not an extension of a passing period or the day, it is getting rid of the fear that one will be punished for missing a small amount of work time.
Estrella Rosaliano • Mar 1, 2023 at 11:08 am
In this article, Walker addresses both the students’ and administrators’ perspectives, as well as her own, on whether or not extending the passing periods would be beneficial to students. I believe disclosing the number of instructional minutes for a class to be considered a class would have helped to better understand the administration’s perspective a bit more. Mainly due to the fact that if even a minute could be spared to extend the passing periods, would be very helpful for many of us students. These intervals between classes, can give students more time to study on their own time before a class, or perhaps finish work that they were unable to do in the little time they had the day before. Not only that, but some students also take advantage of this time to talk with teachers about concerns in the class. Personally, trying to get from one class to the other during a full green day can be very difficult to accomplish, and from my experience last year, it is almost impossible to get from the second story of the 200 to the third story of the 800, in the few minutes we were given without feeling exhausted after. Even just a single minute added can possibly make a big difference for many students.
Jacquelynn Gutierrez • Mar 1, 2023 at 10:08 am
The article effectively argues both sides of the argument of whether or not passing periods should be extended when walking to either 7th or 8th period. The article begins with the argument that the passing period should be extended and provides reasoning including not having to rush to the following class if it’s across campus. Then the article develops into quotes from the school’s administration and they all oppose the idea of extending passing periods claiming that this is not the solution for tardies and that the school would be forced to extend the school day in order to maintain class time. I admire how this article acknowledges both sides because this establishes that the author is credible, allowing the argument to be more effective. Furthermore, I also admire how the author effectively establishes her own argument at the end of the article and does so in an order that conveys the overall argument first. Personally, I agree with the overall argument especially because valid points are stated as the reasoning. Lastly, I overall enjoy this topic because it connects to the audience which allows us to have our own standpoints on the issue.
Karen Coca • Mar 1, 2023 at 9:51 am
On February 22, 2023 Bhree Walker wrote an article named,”Extend Time Between Classes?” The article talks about how even though we would like more time for passing period, it isn’t exactly the solution to the issue and it would lengthen the school day. Although I would benefit from having a longer passing period for 7th/8th period, since I walk from the 11000 to the 200 building, I understand why the staff says it is not the best choice. No student would like the idea of having to stay at school any longer than they already do and it could cause issues with dropoff and pickup, from parents or the bus, and could interfere with any extracurricular activities they might have. I do believe that Mr. Vega’s idea of putting tardy slip stations around the school is a good idea though since the walk can be quite far, especially for students who have class in the 11000 and 500 buildings, respectively, and it can shorten the amount of lost class time when grabbing the tardy slips from the office. Overall, I completely agree with your stance on this topic because the bad seems to outweigh the good in this situation.
Samantha Mills • Mar 1, 2023 at 9:49 am
The article goes into detail about the debate on wether our school should extend passing periods and both the pros and cons of it. I find it helpful that you included both sides of the argument and included multiple perspectives on the argument. I agree with some of the points you make such as if we were to extend passing periods it would give students the opportunity to go to the bathroom to waste less class time, but I also agree with the point Mr. Vega makes that this could be a possible safety issue. This topic has many different points you can look at, and I think you did a excellent job at providing the main examples that your audience can relate to and understand. I also agree with your point that the solution to this issue should not be lengthening the school day, so the only thing I would have liked to see is maybe other possible solutions to this issue either from you, other students, or staff that you were able to interview as it could possibly open up a discussion to fix this issue. Otherwise I think you did well describing the issue and being able to elaborate on both perspectives.
John Pok • Mar 1, 2023 at 9:48 am
On February 22, Bhree Walker wrote an article titled “Extend Time Between Classes?” This article discusses the arguably short period of time allocated for students to move between classes, also mentioning the pros and cons of lengthening these passing periods. This article particularly stuck out to me as the thesis is one that I greatly agree with—that students should get extra time to get to class. I’m glad that this issue is being brought to light through this article, as passing periods can always be a gamble. Between schedules placing classes on opposite sides of campus, classes holding students back, and bathrooms being locked in seemingly random intervals, this is an issue that plagues many. It was interesting to read about the viewpoints of the administrators though, as I wasn’t previously familiar with the logistical rules of the school day (such as the mandatory instructional minutes). I think it would be even more beneficial to include more of their arguments, as they seem hesitant to meet the needs of select students, disadvantaged by an extremely minute issue. I also think it’d be beneficial to hear the perspectives of the teachers, as it seems to be a mixed bag between those who enforce tardiness and those who don’t. The compounding of these issues creates a quite challenging situation to resolve. I praise this article, though, for bringing this issue into greater light, as it’s evident that many students could benefit from longer passing periods, even if it just provides an extended break for students throughout the day.
Chris Benitez • Mar 1, 2023 at 9:43 am
The article tackles the much-discussed topic of the passing period and how long we really need it. She claims that it is most important to extend the time for the 7th and 8th passing periods because there are many long stretches that are hard to reach within the 7 minutes. She interviews an assistant principal and hears that they would have to extend the school day if they extended the passing period. Too much time will give time to mess around and will lead to more tardies as students get distracted easily. After exploring both sides of the argument and settling on the idea that the time between classes shouldn’t be extended. I believe that sometimes the time is short, especially when you have a teacher that holds you, hostage until they say you can leave. But, extending the day for a longer passing period is not worth it. This article is great and understands both sides of the argument. They take the position of both students and staff and are able to reach a reasonable conclusion. Overall, I agree with her position that extending the school day isn’t worth it, I’ll just rush.
Nataly Poveda • Mar 1, 2023 at 9:43 am
I would agree with the writer that it is difficult to get to class on time, especially going from the top of the 800 down to the far 500 classrooms. Furthermore, I appreciate the writer for including quotes and reasoning from our administration why this would be an issue. It makes much sense why extending the time for passing would create other issues rather than solve it as a whole. However, I would agree that tardy slips are extremely difficult to obtain when coming from a farther classroom. Every day I see students being sent to the office to obtain a tardy slip and they miss the first ten minutes of class. I appreciate this because it highlighted a real issue seen on campus. I particularly appreciate that the writer went out and brought this issue up to administration. I believe that this article was informative to the reader and impactful for the school. It is astonishing the way this writer went out and spoke to those who can create this change. Reading the writer’s opinion shift throughout this piece opened my eyes to seeing things through other perspectives. Overall, I enjoyed this piece and thank you to the writer for writing this article!
Sarah Heng • Mar 1, 2023 at 9:42 am
On February 22, 2023, Bhree Walker wrote an article titled ¨Extend TIme between Classes?”. The article mentions and talks about how the limited time between passing periods can be difficult for students to get to class on time. Bhree talks about how a seven minute passing period may not be enough time for students to get to class on time, if their class is on the other side of the campus. On the other hand, Bhree also argues that more time spent on passing periods may hinder students’ instructional time. Bhree was able to interview some of the staffs’ opinions on having extended passing periods, which gives us a broader insight of what administrators feel about this topic. I really enjoyed the fact that Bhree was able to incorporate both the students’ thoughts and staffs’ as it gave us the audience an extensive viewpoint on this subject. I also found it very helpful how she was able to provide extra information on what would happen if longer passing periods were put in place. She was able to tell the readers that if extended passing periods existed, there would be longer school days. I had found this piece of information most insightful and interesting. Overall, the article in itself was wonderful.
Anandi Patel • Mar 1, 2023 at 9:37 am
The article provides points that support both arguments stating that many students feel there should be an extended period of time for passing periods, while the administrative side states it is a plausible amount of time. I enjoyed how you included a quotation from Mr.Vega and Mr.Ashley in a way that adds stability to the pros side of the argument. The contrast between the two arguments gives a good flow to the article. I learned that even if we get an extended time for passing, this would add to our school day, meaning we would get out later than we already do, especially with the new starting time at 8:45. I enjoyed how a solution to the problem of wasting more time to go to the front of the school to get a tardy slip was provided by Mr.Vega. Along with the affirmation that we have fewer tardy slips with shorter passing periods. Personally, I would enjoy a longer passing period just for the accessibility of the restroom but I don’t think time should be added to the whole day just for a couple more minutes to walk back and forth on the campus.
Aaniyah Pizarro • Mar 1, 2023 at 9:10 am
On February 22, Bhree Walker wrote an article titled “Extending Time Between Classes?” The article suggests that students should get extra time to walk to class at the end of the day because classes are across campus and tardiness is becoming a problem. Bhree claims that having more time to get to class will solve the tardy problem our school has. I agree with Bhree, our school should give students more time to get to class. It would be beneficial for those who have to walk across campus and it would be a better environment to get to class, rather than rushing. I also agree that it would help students who would like to use the bathroom before class instead of wasting time in class. Most of the time the stalls are full and there’s only so much time left before the bell rings. It would be greatly appreciated if the school extended our passing period. I do consider your statement that not everyone would enjoy a longer passing period because that would mean a longer school day. Perhaps we could have a vote on canvas. Overall this was a great article Bhree, thank you for writing this article and sharing your thoughts about this issue.
Jonah Gonzalez • Feb 28, 2023 at 1:23 pm
On February 22, Bhree Walker wrote an article titled “Extend Time Between Classes?”. The article summarizes two opposing perspectives on the issue of not having a nutrition-like sized (seventeen minutes, including the passing period) stretch in between the last two classes of the day. I appreciate that the article first highlighted the general perspective and arguments of students, as it builds an agreeable point that can be contradicted or negotiated upon later in the article. I do agree with the point that some students have to walk far distances, therefore challenging them to be on time by the last bell, and I’d like to add on to this. Some distances between classes around the campus are around half of a mile. Recognizing this length, I feel that administration and the teaching staff should do more in terms of acknowledging the challenge of distance. I do understand that we must be punished for being late, however, having to walk around campus while missing valuable class time to get a slip to signify that you’re late (sometimes even by just a minute) seems largely unreasonable. Are tardy slips even necessary? I appreciate your use of Mr. Vega’s plan of action as response to this argument, as the addition of multiple tardy slip locations will help students more efficiently than our current system. I would love to hear some expansion on this solution, as well as any others that are under debate. Thank you for writing this article, as it has brought an issue to my attention that I previously had not given much thought to.
Wiley Stroben • Feb 28, 2023 at 1:16 pm
On February 22, Bhree Walker wrote an article titled “Extend Time Between Classes?” The article mentions multiple ways to allow for students to have more time in between their last two classes so that many more students don’t arrive late to their classes. The article states multiple times that many students have to walk across campus to get to their next class and in only seven minutes that is cutting your time very close. This causes students to make it late to class which just delays the class even more. This article states many good points but also says why this idea for a longer passing period would be a bad idea. It states that from this they would have to make the whole school day longer so that students are in their classes for the correct amount of minutes that they have to be everyday. I do wish that we had more time just so we wouldn’t have to go out of our way to get to class right away. From reading this article though it would be a tough decision to make on either a long school day or the normal amount of time for passing periods and this article showed me that the passing period time is still reasonable and gives most students the correct amount of time to get to the class that they need to get to. Overall I think that this article puts a good idea in our heads about the problems that some students are facing and how we are able to solve their problems.
Emmett Wechsler • Feb 28, 2023 at 1:12 pm
On February 22, Bhree Walker wrote an article titled “Extended Time Between Classes?” The article explains the debate on whether or not there should be a couple extra minutes added to passing period, especially between 5/6th period and 7/8th period as there is only seven minutes between classes. I liked how it mentioned both sides of the argument, and gave valid reasons for both sides. I personally would not mind even one extra minute to passing period, as I sometimes find myself speed walking to classes, mainly after nutrition. After reading the article, I learned that extending the passing period can cause a couple issues to arise. One of those being that the school days would be longer. I personally am not a fan of the later school day start than last year as I am not home until much later than I would like to be, and extending the passing period will make the days even longer. The quotes from the principal and assistant principal help build the article, and show the point of view from an educator’s perspective. In the end of the article, Bhree states her opinion that we should not extend the passing period, which I agree with.
Sofia Arzola • Feb 28, 2023 at 11:44 am
On February 22, Bhree Walker wrote an article titled “Extended Time Between Classes?” Walker’s article illustrates the advantages and disadvantages of extending time between classes specifically towards the end of the day. I found this article to be incredibly interesting as I’ve never had any issues getting to class in a timely manner. However, this article revealed to me how fortunate I am to not have my classes spread so far apart across campus. Upon reading Walker’s article I hadn’t taken into consideration that extra time to get to periods seven and eight would be beneficial, but I remembered last year my fifth period was P.E. and how despite getting ten extra minutes to get ready we’d sometimes be let out late causing me to stress about getting to my last period on time. Adding on a few extra minutes for passing periods would be helpful, but I’m not sure it’d really solve the issue because there will always be students who take advantage of this time. Additionally, as covered in the article we’d have to extend the school day. I’m already not a fan of our school days being longer this year and even if it was only a couple more minutes I don’t think I could tolerate it. Overall, I really enjoyed Walker’s piece and felt it was very thought-provoking.
Collin McCormick • Feb 28, 2023 at 11:38 am
On Febuary 28, Bhree Walker wrote an article titled “Extended Time Between Classes?” There are many good things about this article one being the title itself. Having the title be a question lets the reader instantly know what the article is about and entices them to want an answer to the question before even reading it. The title is also very good because it is about a topic that many highschoolers will be interested in since it has to do with their school. She starts by implying that she may think that there should be longer passing periods but then answers her own question by saying that there actually should not. Her reasons for the same length of passing periods is that the school would have to make the school day longer and this gets more students on her side becuase many students already don’t like leaving school at 3:35. She goes on to say the principal Vega is going to set up more tardy slip locations around the school so people don’t haev to walk so far away from their class when they aer a little bit late. This is a great piece of information because it shows a possible solution to the problem of being late to class. She also quotes Vega about how tardies are down from last year suggesting that their solutions may actually be working. Thank you for gving me a new perspective on this subject.
Rolo Cruz • Feb 28, 2023 at 11:33 am
On February 22, Bhree Walker wrote an article titled “Extend Time Between Classes?”. The article talks about the possibility of extending the time that students take to get to class, although initially the plan sounds fair and great, the ultimate cost would be in extending the overall school time as well. Personally it does not take a majority of my time to walk between classes since they are close to each other, but students who have to walk from the 800 to the 200 may have to pick up the pace. I don’t believe that the school should extend the time between classes, but instead have leniency for students during this period. As some students may have not had enough time to use the restroom or simply make a quick stop to turn in work for another teacher. It was appreciated that Walker added both the negative and positive results about adding extra time, and including the perspectives of Mr. Vega and Mr. Ashley helped gain an opinion about the matter. Hopefully there is some leniency for students who do have to walk long distances, but adding more time to the school day wouldn’t be great for everyone. Overall it was intriguing to see the possibilities of additional time for grace periods.
Jayla Walker • Feb 28, 2023 at 11:22 am
On February 22, Bhree Walker wrote an article titled “Extend Time Between Classes?” The article discusses the difficulty that Millikan High School students endure trying to get to their classes on time. While passing periods are seven minutes, many students have some classes that are across campus, proving it stressful to make it comfortably to class before the bell. I, personally, always tend to walk into my eighth period a few seconds after the bell. After further investigation, Walker provided some excellent points as to why extending the passing periods may not be the best solution. For one, to qualify as a class, each course needs to be a sufficient length. And two, with our passing period schedule, tardies have steadily decreased since the years prior to its change. I’m in complete agreement with Walker that something needs to be done to allow students enough time to get to class, use the restroom, or maybe eat a snack during their passing period without being tardy. But an extended school day is definitely not the answer, and having the student walk all the way to the office to get a late slip will only make them more late. However, I learned from Walker’s article that soon, tardy slips are going to be accessible from the 500 and 800. This is surprising and very helpful news. Thank you so much for sharing this article with me!
Ashley Tem • Feb 28, 2023 at 11:17 am
On February 22, Bhree Walker wrote the article, “Extend Time Between Classes?” The article was extremely informative. It brought light to the reason our passing period is quite short. I’ve always wondered why our passing period is seven minutes, why not five or ten? Seven is such an odd number, but I never thought that number was chosen because if it was longer we would have to extend the school day. Though Mr. Ashley stated, “there is a certain number of instructional minutes for a class to qualify as a class,” could we not spare a minute from each class to make the passing period longer? And when a person is tardy they have to waste time they could be learning walking over to get a tardy slip, that time is taken away from the “instructional minutes for a class to qualify as a class”. Isn’t there a better way to address the issue without taking time away from our education? As we know, the fourth period is our homeroom and our longest class. Could we not take time from that class to make a longer passing period and make the time spent in the fourth period equal to that in other classes? As much as I don’t want an extended school day, is it a big deal to lose a minute of class time when we lose more walking out for a tardy slip? I really enjoyed this article, it was quick and delivered the information in an interesting way. I hope to see an article like this about lunch. Why is our lunch period only thirty minutes? I’d love to know the meaning behind why our schedule is the way it is.
Lucas Thorne • Feb 28, 2023 at 11:16 am
Feburary 28th, 2023
Dear Corydon editor,
On February 22nd, Bhree Walker wrote an opinion piece titled “Extended time between classes?” The piece talks about the time we have to get to class throughout the day. She mainly goes into detail about the seven-minute time interval we have from period 5 or 6 to get to periods 7 or 8. This amount of time in my opinion is more than enough if you are just trying to get to class. If talking to friends or getting something in the vending machine is part of this, then I could see why it would not be enough time. The author does write very well and gathers information regarding this issue from reliable sources such as counselors and the Principle himself. This information helps build the counter-argument and reason why it is a seven-minute time period. She also shows learning throughout showing a change of opinion as further understanding was required. I believe that this piece would be a little bit better if she added evidence to support her own opinion or someone who agrees with her. This would strengthen her argument and make it less one-sided. Overall the piece was pretty good, well-written, and an interesting piece to read.
Sincerely,
Lucas Thorne, Grade 11
Sam Martynec • Feb 28, 2023 at 10:55 am
On February 22, Bhree Walker wrote an article titled “Extend Time Between Classes?” The Opinion article mentions both positive and negative reasons to try and answer the question of should the passing period be longer when getting to your 7th or 8th period class since you don’t have lunch or nutrition which allows extra time to get to your other classes but not these? I personally believe as a student that sometimes I wish we did have more time to get to class. I have had times where one of my classes is on one side of the school and my next one is across the other side of the campus causing me to worry that I’ll be late. However, after reading this article I learned that extending the passing period is not good because we would have to extend the overall school day to allow for this and it can create a safety issue. This information came from Millikan staff members Principal Vega and Mr. Ashley and I thought implementing their opinions and knowledge on this specific subject helps build the article since they are two of the head people on campus. Walker ended the article by saying that she doesn’t believe it is worth it to extend time between the last classes of the day since it would cause the school day to be longer and I agree with this as well.
Gwendolyn Burns • Feb 28, 2023 at 10:51 am
Dear Corydon editor,
On February 22, Bhree Walker wrote an article titled “Extend Time Between Classes?” In the article, she discusses the issues surrounding the short passing periods between the last two classes of the day. I had no idea that Mr. Vega is going to make more tardy slip areas, that’s great. As of now if you’re even 30 seconds late to class some teachers won’t let you in, you have to walk all the way across campus and back just for a tardy slip and end up missing the first five minutes of class. I’m glad they’re adding more, and I agree that adding a bit of time to passing periods would be very beneficial and less stressful. Getting to classes, sometimes even during lunch and nutrition, is a struggle. There are thousands of students all going to different places, you have to weave in and out of big crowds and rush just to make it in time. It can be really stressful, especially if loud noises or cramped spaces make you anxious. I appreciate you bringing to light how rushed it can be to make it to class and that more time would be appreciated. However, I agree that you think adding time to school isn’t the answer. Most don’t like the school length as it is, so adding more time, even if it would be to passing periods, wouldn’t be fun.
Metztli Lopez • Feb 28, 2023 at 10:51 am
In this article, Walker details her concern over the limited time students are given when going from class to class, especially those students who have to travel between the last two periods of the day. I completely understand her concern because during green days there are times when my periods are on completely opposite sides of campus. There is some additional information I feel would strengthen the article. It was mentioned by one of the administrators that Bhree interviewed that there was a necessary amount of minutes in a school day. I think it would be helpful to know what exactly those required minutes are in order to better understand the perspective of the administration. Of course, we want to encourage proper attendance but at what point are tardy slips necessary? It would also be interesting to hear what exactly applies to students who have an injury or disability, I would hope that they are given a generous grace period. Overall, I found this article to be interesting and relevant to the students on campus but would love to hear a bit of expansion on the solutions to the problem if lengthening the passing period is not an option!
Nicholas Keith • Feb 28, 2023 at 10:41 am
This is a good conversation to have but I don’t agree with the conclusion that Bhree came to. 7 minutes is plenty of time for a passing period in fact its probably too much. I’ve had to go from the 500s to the 200s and it only takes 3 to 4 minutes, there is no excuse for taking more than 5-6 minutes to get to class. Another thing is Bhree talked about was how we have more time with lunch and nutrition in between other periods. While this is true I think we should actually reduce the passing period time after nutrition as people have already had time to walk to class, so instead of period 3 / 4 starting at 10:28, it should start at 10:26, which would reduce a 17 minute break to a 15 which would result 5/6th period ending at 2:00 instead of 2:02. Personally I don’t believe breaks in school or long passing periods really help relieve stress or anything. I think the best way to relieve the stress of school is by finishing it for the day, and while I don’t think removing nutrition and lunch would be a very well received change, reducing passing periods by 1 minute wouldn’t be too dramatic and help us all get out a little bit quicker.