The elaborate reopening plan to keep students safe from the pandemic included major changes to the schedule. Many students have had difficulties adjusting to limited freedom. Two students, Anika Agarwal ‘23 and Caroline Sewell ‘23 present their frustrations.
Anika Agarwal ‘23
In such isolating times, EA should find ways to safely allow more student interaction with friends for student mental health and wellbeing. In stark contrast to previous years, students are only allowed to be in four spaces at any given time, creating isolation and frustration. Past flexibility allowed for a lot of time with friends, whether at lunch with six people to a table or in the lounges, where twenty people could participate in a conversation at once. This year, however, students are only allowed to be in their classroom, their form’s designated lounge area, the dining hall, or outside with faculty supervision. In order to limit the number of people in the same space, the new schedule also staggers student dismissal times and lunch periods, making it difficult to spend time with anyone whose schedule does not happen to line up with your own, not to mention that it is only four people to a lunch table.
All of these new changes have left students feeling more alone and unhappy throughout the day, and administrators have not been doing anything to fix the problem. Kirby Dugan ‘23 says, “I like how much time we have in the new schedule, but I feel like it’s more isolated, especially during lunches because we don’t get to choose them. A lot of times, you don’t get to see your friends during the day.” Logan Schlitt ‘23 agrees, stating, “I don’t get to see friends that I was close with before.”
Because of the need for constant supervision and social distancing, it is impossible to get a moment alone with anyone and have personal conversations face to face. Traveling in groups is understandably discouraged, as well as any physical contact. It is also common to have a lunch period without any friends. Although these measures are necessary for a global pandemic, they are detrimental to student mental health and wellbeing, as humans are social creatures and benefit from spending time in the company of others. Due to quarantine and social distancing, students already lose so much valuable time with friends and the schedule makes the problem worse.
One of the benefits of in-person school is social interaction. Administrators should work to make it easier for students to spend time with their friends during school. They can start with allowing students to be able to select a lunch time and location with their friends so that they can sit together while still being tracked for contact tracing. Though the process may be tedious, by scheduling student lunches to allow students more opportunities to see their friends, the school would help support student mental health and wellbeing in a time that is already so challenging.
While the school may be unable to adopt such measures, another option for students is planning with their friends ahead of time and eating a socially distant lunch outside. Activity period also provides a time where students can work together in the Library, chat in the Competition Gym, or just relax outside with friends. However, as the weather gets colder and hanging out outside becomes less viable, coupled with the typical winter blues, EA should consider organizing student lunches or other free time to allow students more time with peers.
Caroline Sewell ‘23
EA should consider offering more free time for meetings in the new schedule. Changes in this year’s new schedule have resulted in a lack of free or unstructured time for both students and teachers alike. The decreased amount of school-wide free time hinders both club and student-teacher meetings. Changes from last year’s schedule include the loss of morning Activity and flex block periods and the replacement of Domino block with Activity.
This year, students have much less time to participate in normal school activities and extracurriculars, while also completing all of their work. Club meetings can only be scheduled during activity, which is also when students are meeting with teachers or completing tests with extra time. It is impossible to participate in many clubs while also keeping up with demanding schoolwork. According to Will Semmer ‘21, the staggered dismissals also end up wasting “1 hour and 39 minutes, compared to last year.” The schedule needs to be structured differently so that students have more free time. Mia Filipovski ‘23 agrees that the loss of free time in the new schedule has been difficult for her, saying, “I feel like it’s definitely harder. I don’t have as much time during the day to finish my homework and get ahead. Also, lunches are a lot shorter, so I don’t have enough time to eat.”
One of the most detrimental consequences is not being able to pop into a teacher’s offices and ask short questions. The only way to meet with a teacher is by scheduling a time to meet during a free block. Many students cannot fit all of their meetings and schoolwork into one or two free blocks. Upper School Science teacher Cheryl Cossel offers her opinion, sharing, “We have lost the ability to have a group of students meet to problem-solve together. When a small group of students can propose ideas and evaluate the possible solutions together, the content is better remembered.”
Although these changes were put in place to keep us safe, it is impossible to get everything done efficiently. According to Head of Upper School Mike Letts, “These [changes] took place for a couple of reasons, primarily, contact tracing. We have to schedule you [students] very specifically obviously because we have to be able to track if anybody is positive. That is really the reason this is built around.” Letts further addresses other new changes, like the new form lounges. “The spaces are for distancing purposes. We have you in these weird lounges because we have to make sure you have distance and space. We don’t want to take away your freedom, but for contact tracing purposes we have to.” Despite the obvious necessity of the new schedule, it has been difficult adjusting to the extreme changes.
Administrators should keep in mind students’ difficulties and try to create more free time, such as having non-Chapel days include a study hall period during the Chapel block. Teachers should allow for more freedom when supervising frees so that students may stop by a teachers office and ask quick questions. EA could consider allowing clubs to meet outside during lunch so that not every club is piled up during activity. It takes time to adapt to the inadequate free time with the new schedule, but hopefully administrators will see the problem and work to improve it.