Second Semester Schedule: Teacher and Student Opinions

By: Alexandria Urena

Online learning has been rough for everyone including teachers, parents, and students. For some, the new schedule has been challenging to adapt to, for others it has been easy.

English teacher, Mrs. Adalian says she enjoys the new schedule, “I can spend more time working one-on-one with students who need individualized help for both struggling and advanced students. More success in the classroom always leads to more self-confidence, so I am seeing so many more smiles already this semester,” she says.

Adalian also says the new schedule has limited the number of students attending intervention, “Because more students are successfully learning and completing assignments during class, the number of students attending intervention has diminished.” The new schedule has improved students’ learning.

She says some of her students haven’t been as stressed out as they were before and are now much happier, “Having time to work with friends and having time to get questions answered immediately, has allowed students to lower their stress levels and learn more… Last semester, everybody would leave the Zoom meetings the second I excused them. This semester I always have a few students who hang around afterward to chat, play guitar, and show their artwork.” This semester students are happier and less stressed out with school.

Adalian also says she “likes the big break because it gives me time to adjust any parts of my lesson that didn’t go well before I meet with my second and third classes of the day. I’m still learning the new technology, so my first class of the day usually has some wrinkles I need to iron out.” The big break helps teachers have time to improve their lesson before the second and third class of the day.

She also says “The best part of the new schedule is the built in flex time at the end of each period. Many students were struggling to complete their independent work. Now they have time to work with their classmates in breakout rooms or work with me.”

Justyne Sanchez, a student at Redwood also likes the new schedule. Sanchez enjoys “the extra time to interact with my teachers and fellow students. Also getting to see all of my classmates, getting to know and work with them, and being able to ask teachers questions if I don’t understand something. It feels like being at school in person and not online.”

Sanchez says that flex time has also been a useful tool. It helps both students and teachers get to know each other and allows students to ask questions after class.

Flex time has also helped Adalian, “Now on Wednesdays, I can spend more time working one-on-one with students who need individualized help for both struggling and advanced students. More success in the classroom always leads to more self-confidence, so I am seeing so many more smiles already this semester.”

She now has students doing better academically and they are also happier. She says, “Last semester, everybody would leave the Zoom meetings the second I excused them. The only change that some of my students would like is if there wasn’t such a big break between first and second period.”

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