Changes to Seminar
Seminar is our third hour on blue days, which are only two days of the week. Moving seminar to first period would benefit many students. In first period, students would achieve more since they wouldn’t be as tired in their actual classes, but rather in seminar, where you can take a nap if you really need. Also, they would be able to get work done in the morning before the day instead of having to finish 1st period work at home, since they don’t have any time during school to work on it. If seminar time was increased, many students would finish all of their work in school and have more time to collaborate with their teachers and ask them any questions, leading to them being less stressed.
Keep the Vending Machines Open During School
If you’ve been that unlucky soul that is left with a grumbling stomach, then you understand the pain of not being able to feed yourself. The vending machines being turned off throughout the school day doesn’t make any sense. Regardless of the reason, everyone should be able to feed themselves. The pain of trying to push through the school day with an empty stomach is excruciating, and it can easily be avoided if the school’s vending machines were operational throughout the day.
Foster Better Mental Health
“Take care of your mental health.” Students really try to make their mental health their top priority, but school work, clubs, sports and other outside commitments make this difficult. Society claims to care about mental health, but saddles the youth with insane expectations of what they need to accomplish in order to be successful in life. Teachers don’t always realize how much work other classes have, and as a result they act like their class is the only one that matters. This leaves students feeling like they are drowning in work. The weekends that should be spent resting and socializing are instead spent balancing the workload of multiple classes. This cycle just keeps going until the weight becomes unbearable and the student finally buckles. There needs to be more resources and opportunities for students to take breaks to improve their mental health, which also improves every other aspect in life and school.
Enhance Classroom Environments
Blaring bright lights in a classroom are helpful to no one. By the end of the day many students suffer from headaches. In addition to this visual harassment, classrooms tend to be unwelcoming. When a classroom doesn’t have personality, students aren’t as likely to connect with the space and thus have a hard time being in the classroom. It would be better for students if we revamped what classrooms look like, making them more appealing and thus a better learning environment. There are some teachers that are and have actively made an effort to make their rooms more comfortable for their students. They have achieved this by: covering their lights with color cloth to combat the intensity of the light, adding furniture like couches, armchairs and beanbags and also putting posters on the walls. Making a comfortable classroom isn’t exactly in a teacher’s job description. To make this happen is to go above and beyond, spending their personal money for the benefit of their students.
