Silver days. Let’s be honest- everyone hates them. Students hate having seven classes, going back and forth from class to their lockers. Teachers hate being able to teach for only 50 minutes, but what about 24? Is it possible to actually teach something of significance in 24 minutes? The answer is no.
The PSAT bell schedule might as well have been called the bell schedule from hell because absolutely no one understood the reasoning behind it. Fifth and sixth period teachers were upset over missed class time due to pep rallies or senior privileges, so administration made fifth period the first class, lasting 80 minutes, and sixth period the second class lasting, 90 minutes.
Then first period got cancelled.
Some students came to school just for first period, can’t-miss classes like AP Literature, which means they wasted their day when it got cut from the schedule.
So what did that mean for dual enrollment students who had no sixth period? They had over two hours to leave school and do whatever they wanted. I should know. I was one of them.
In fact, sixth period lasted longer than seventh, second, third and fourth period combined. What a waste of a day. Many students who had actual sixth periods could not even do anything as PSAT testing was still going on. Some students spent their whole mornings locked in the cafeteria doing nothing except talking to friends while others brought sleeping bags and pillows with them to sleep the day away.
The bell schedule was not put into consideration for students, especially the ones who had dual enrollment classes or OJT at the end of the day. They were put in an unjust situation where they had to choose between attending their college classes/jobs or staying at school.
A senior skip day should have been implemented. There used to be one, but it instead got moved to the following Thursday on Oct. 23. If sophomores were required to take the PSAT and freshmen and juniors had the option of taking it, why were the seniors even at school? Was attendance really that important?
Administration should have thought of a better solution for the PSAT schedule. They should not have expected us to do anything when did not give us a schedule with time to do it in.