There are many things in school that are old fashioned and could be improved/modernized. However, sometimes the modern way can cause more harm than good. For example, technology has made it so that all assignments can be completed on a computer alone, but this also can have a straining effect on both students’ mental and physical health. On this note, I will be speaking about ways schools can possibly be upgraded. This is from my own personal experience of going to Benicia High School for two years in person.
Firstly, one of the improvements that should be made is getting new comfortable chairs! The current desk chairs are extremely hard, and I feel that having more comfortable chairs would make sitting in them for long periods of time a lot more enjoyable. If money is a problem for this suggestion, then a good idea would be to start a fundraiser or donations. This way the school is able to obtain more financial support for any upgrades. We do sit most of the time during school hours, so why not make an improvement?
Something that I wish teachers would do more often is teach outside. No one enjoys sitting under fluorescent lights for an hour or more every class period feeling like a bat in a cave. Going outside would give students more fresh air and sunshine, which would mentally and physically benefit them. This could also potentially help students learn easier because it would be in a more open learning environment with natural light. Personally, I feel that doing work outside would make it a lot easier and enjoyable. The garden here at BHS is a great peaceful, quiet place to be. It would be helpful if some classes used it more often while we find more outside spaces to do schoolwork.
I believe that music is a great motivation to complete schoolwork, and I feel that more teachers should be open to playing music during working time in class. It helps ease the tension and also give a good background tone while students are completing their assignments. Or at the very least, allow for open use of headphones during work time so we can all listen to our own music preferences.
One other note I think is important is to allow students to eat. I understand that a lot of teachers don’t want students to leave a mess, but this is why they could allow them to eat outside if need be. We do have brunch, and a lunch, but sometimes students can become preoccupied with completing schoolwork that they have a hard time finding the time to actually eat or drink anything. In addition, the idea of letting students take small breaks to eat something offers another idea that there should also be breaks (If needed) for students to take a moment to sit outside, stretch or just rest for five minutes. It is very important to make sure you are stretching because sitting down for long periods of time can have a negative impact on your body. From my experience, my body becomes stiff easily and somewhat painful if I sit for too long at a time. It can be difficult to go through each class period repetitively, feeling stuck inside the four classroom walls and being obligated to sit the entire class period.
Another issue I have noticed around school recently is that people litter a lot. Considering that you cannot force anyone to pick up after themselves, I think it’s a good idea to offer incentives for keeping the school clean. Maybe there could be a goal for the whole school, and if it is achieved then there could be an event or prizes as rewards. It’s unfair to have the janitors clean up unnecessary messes when the mess can be avoided in the first place. Also, if any of the staff see people littering they should say something to them, letting them know that it is not okay. In my opinion, it’s idiotic to litter because we are becoming adults soon, meaning we’ll have to clean up after ourselves continually—or at least, we should be cleaning up after ourselves. Littering makes our school dirty and gross, so why would anyone want to contribute to that when they are required to be here at their school five days a week.
Another topic is assignment due dates. It varies from teacher to teacher, but I have experiences with a teacher who doesn’t give us enough time to complete our best work. Rather than just assuming that everyone is able to work at a quick pace, I think that teachers should ask the students as a whole, “How many of you would like more time to work on this?” . I personally feel that allowing more time for assignments gives some “breathing room” and allows for students to produce their most polished work that will gain a better grade.
Another issue in schools all over the world is what is being taught for history. Most curriculums are very outdated and never actually speak about some of the most important issues of history. Rather the administration picks and chooses what is ´most important´ to teach in schools. I think that LGBTQ+ history and POC history should absolutely be taught more broadly in school. I feel strongly that we should be learning and discussing current events and issues that are taking place at this very moment in time. Yes, it is very important to know what happened in the past, but we cannot just ignore what is going on in the world today.
The last idea that I would like to speak about is getting more counselors. Each grade only has a few, and this can sometimes cause a wait time. Wait time would be lessened if there were more available counselors to help students at all times of the day.
If more people speak up about what can be improved in our school system, eventually there will be a change for the better. I encourage everyone to speak their ideas out into the open because there is no harm in doing so, as long as you are doing it in a respectful manner.
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