By Jordan Atkinson Towards the end of the 2017-2018 school year, students were informed that this year we would all be required to wear lanyards around our school’s campus. Emails were sent out to students through Schoolloop announcing that this year they’d be distributed to every student after we got our pictures taken and that the main purpose of us being given these lanyards is to ensure that all students roaming campus are actually enrolled here, and not one of the charter schools or any other school off campus for that matter.
When you take a look around campus though, although many teachers are seen sporting their new lanyards, it is very rare to see a student with one hanging around their neck. Since the staff hasn’t really been doing much to enforce this, most don’t even bother wearing theirs. Lynn Tran(12) gave her reasoning as for why she never puts her’s on, stating, “I think if a staff member is suspicious, I think they should go up to the student and ask if they can see their ID. I don’t think we need to have them on our necks.” Whether or not students should be wearing them is definitely debatable, but regardless, when it comes down to it, staff has the final say in the fate of lanyards. No matter their stance on the subject though, many have been curious as to why we were instructed to wear them if staff isn’t actively enforcing us to wear them. Since this subject sparked my own curiosity as well I decided to reach out to our school’s Principal, Mr. Berg, in an attempt to to finally find some answers. After speaking to him, I have gained a little more insight as to what’s going really going on with the whole situation. The first question I asked him was, ”How big of an issue is the fact that students are not complying with the new requirement of wearing lanyards around their neck” in which he replied, “The main issue isn’t that students aren’t wearing their lanyards, it’s what they stand for, which is school pride and safety. This is more so of a test year for the lanyards, and it’s a very complicated issue. We would like for everyone to wear their lanyards, but we don’t want it to turn into something where students are excluded from things if they are not wearing theirs.” On the subject of what staff would do to enforce this, he stated, “It’s tough to figure out what an appropriate consequence would be, if anything it would start with a warning, and after several warning detention would most likely be the last resort.” So from the information I’ve gathered, really there’s no reason worry about any crazy punishments going on in the future if you happen to forget your lanyard at home for a day. The main thing he said that he wished to see students doing in the future if nothing else though is to make sure they remember to wear their lanyards when checking out books from the school library for the convenience of the librarians. Out of respect for their time, everybody should make their best effort to ensure that they have theirs on them in that situation, if none else. Honestly if you think about, since the lanyards are black, they are pretty easy to match with almost any outfit so it’s not like it’ll ruin your style if that’s what you’re worried about. If you don’t like your ID photo, just flip it around so it only shows the back. It’s an easy way to make our campus slightly safer and show off Sixer Pride, so if you care about either of those two things you might as well take a few seconds out of your day to put it on. If not then well, that is ultimately your own decision, just enjoy that freedom while you still have the option to.
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Although students choose to take AP courses to further their knowledge on a subject, challenge themselves, and expressed by senior Maxine Lui, see “how much I will grow at the end of it all,” is becoming more and more of a motivation to take them. “Personally, I feel more pressure to take AP classes,” explains senior Janelle Wang, who is taking four AP courses this year. “As I hear from my peers and counselors, colleges find students that challenge themselves with more rigorous courses [...] is important.”
The typical AP course requires about two hours of homework per night, while in most cases a regular course requires only half an hour per night, but the hours of homework add up quickly. Already taking part in extracurriculars such as sports and clubs, students arrive home exhausted and have to stay up late because of the amount of homework they have. Many students agree that there is a fine line between having enough homework to learn properly and having too much homework where it becomes overwhelming. “More isn’t always better. An assignment that hits all the target points of the lesson would be way more beneficial than a five-hour homework activity about some random, obscure thing,” agrees Jasmin Do, a senior. With this in mind, it is reasonable that schools consider later start times. This would allow students to stay up late, to finish their assignments, while getting more sleep, since they would not be required to wake up as early. When asked how later start times would impact her, junior Lexy Garcia explained that “[she] would be able to get more sleep, because [she has] been going to bed at three, four in the morning.” Briahna Oliva, a senior, added that she “wouldn’t be as tired in class [and would] pay attention more.” Students would be more focused, reduce any accidents or injuries that may come with lack of sleep and alertness, continue to participate in their extracurricular activities, and maintain better health. Recently, California legislators considered a bill that would push California middle and high school start times to no earlier than 8:30 am. Although this would have been a big step in improving students’ health, the legislative was turned down for reasons including allowing each school to decide what was best for their students. The bill may be picked up again in January, and it is in the best interest of the students that it is passed the next time around. |