By Aryana Stephane and Jasmine Peregrina
Social Studies teacher Mr. Jeremy Rubin said he’s been teaching for 15 years, but he said that this year, teaching has been a challenge for him at times.
“I’m used to having 55 minutes,” he said, “and cutting off 10 minutes of the Band means activities have to be cut short or taken out entirely.”
Mr. Rubin is referring to the new schedule that was implemented this year at the school. As students and teachers kicked off the 2022-2023 school year with a new schedule, the Murrow community is adjusting, and that is especially the case for teachers.
Image: Mr. Rubin, a Murrow social studies teacher.
This year, every class meets for 48 minutes on Monday through Thursday, and for 40 minutes on Friday. The reason for the change is the need for all students to have lunch while knowing the designated location for safety reasons.
“I have to be honest; I’ve been around so long that I see different Band Aid schedules,” principal Mr. Allen Barge said. “It’s a little better when knowing which band because of the consistency of pretty much most days, there are certain bands that meet certain periods on Monday through Thursday. It has grown on me that it’s an easy adjustment to meet.”
Although teachers appreciate the consistency of the new Band Aid, most said they had to make changes to their lessons and overall goals to fit within the period’s time frame. With the addition of meeting every class every day, they struggle to find time for their other time deserving work.
In addition, teachers have found it difficult to grade assignments because there is less time during the day. Teachers have only one prep period and must also do a Circular Six, which is a contractually designated obligated period teachers must fulfill each day. Their other free period is lunch.
Social studies teacher Mr. Joel Puelle acknowledged that this year has been a challenge. However, Mr. Puelle doesn’t fail to recognize the other possibilities of facing challenges during class time aside from the new Band Aid.
“The major issues I face in terms of the teaching aren’t necessarily defined by the schedule,” said Mr. Puelle. “ I feel like there are larger issues that have a bigger impact than just the simple arrangement of the schedule … issues to respect cell phone policy and distractions are a much greater distraction.”
English teacher Ms. Lisa Berke has mentioned how Fridays, in terms of her thinking process, have changed her teaching methods.
“Friday feels very quick, always,” she said. “It means modifying lessons and objectives and thinking about how each week needs to end in a way that I never thought of before but when you have less time you want it to be as meaningful as possible.”
The Murrow Network 