Feature photo by Luis Ramos: SLO flyer on a window with a preview of what will happen during the meeting.
As some may know, beginning the next school year of 2016-2017, there is a possibility that students will be able to choose their classes more thoroughly, a process where schedules will be more manipulative by the students at Rangeview.
What that means exactly is that students will be able to select their teachers and the period desired. Whatever suits the students in order to help them achieve more in school is essentially the idea.
“The current plan is based on what Mr. Fay is deciding. He came up with the idea,” said Mr. West, a counselor at Rangeview. “Thinking that when a student has more control over what they do in class and at what time, we would see a decrease in absences and potentially an increase in higher achievement.”
Current ninth, tenth, and eleventh graders will be able to choose their classes this way for the upcoming school year.
“I think that’s really awesome because I feel like if you like the teacher and everything that you’re doing in that class, you’re going to actually want to go to that class compared to when you’re forced to learn in a place you don’t want to be at,” said Junior Danielle Hopkins.
“Let’s say, you want to take a Spanish class but there weren’t any more places for that class, and a student had to take German. That student wouldn’t want a class they have little interest in, but by arranging their class periods it’d be easier to fit something they like into it,” said Hopkins.
Junior Zaria Smith said, “If you’re able to pick the teacher and the period you have them for, it’d be easier for you to have a schedule that you can proground. But I do find it weird, simply because they had strict regulations on how we can only do this and how we can’t do that, but it’s a good change.”
Considering that counselors pick a student’s classes most of the time, getting in the way of what the students really want to learn could affect them in the future. Many parents have agreed that a student’s classes should be chosen by what they can actually succeed in. So by when the time comes, colleges will see a good number of classes they payed attention in.
“The whole Idea is based on the students picking what’s best for them but it’s highly likely that many will chose classes where their friends will be and socialize a lot,” said Mr. Brown, a science and engineering teacher at Rangeview. “Socialism is good but too much is a distraction. It’s hard to say because I know it’s for a good thing, but we should really give it a try.”
It is still being debated whether or not students will be able to chose their classes in a more efficient manner. Still, if an opportunity like this does not happen after all, those who begin looking for classes they’ll benefit from have higher chances of getting chosen for a class they like.
