Sunday, October 26, 2014

Blog Post- Due Monday

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/10/24/teacher-spends-two-days-as-a-student-and-is-shocked-at-what-she-learned/?tid=pm_pop
If teachers at BHS could spend two days a week as a student, what would they learn?  What changes would they make to their classes?  Reference the article and offer suggestions.  I will share your comments with staff and administration, so please do not mention specific names.

31 comments:

  1. Wiggins awakening is something I believe several teachers need to have. I've been piled with work that I cannot always finish once I get home because I have to go to work or babysit or I already have gotten a good three hours worth in the rest of my classes. And it's worse when you become sick, because I feel like it affects my learning for a good few weeks if I miss a few days, and I have to use even more of the little time I have to catch up, and it's never easy to do so. I've personally experienced teachers being sarcastic and rude towards me if I don't exactly understand the material. My brother has told me he feels like his teachers don't like him because he asks a lot of questions if he doesn't understand. Just because he wants to do better,

    ~Kylee D
    Period 1

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    1. *to continue

      Also another problem the article did not bring up was the time of school. I believe school starts far too early if you expect someone to get 8-10 hours of sleep to remain healthy while trying to balance school work and study time while waking up just for school to begin at 7:30. If you've ever noticed, you hear teenagers complain constantly they got "no sleep" the night before because they were too busy studying for a big test or trying to finish all their homework. It's awful for their health and their attitude towards schooling. As others have brought up, lessons aren't engaging enough for students to understand/pay attention to, teachers are usually just lecturing the entire time or just giving the students work they don't understand. Every student should feel welcome and happy to learn with the source of education we provide, but because of the schooling system and how it is arranged in this day and age, you would find a student like this as often as you'd find a needle in a haystack

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  2. If a teacher at BHS could spend two days a week as a student I think what they learn would depend a lot on who they shadow. There are some teachers who know how to engage their students and there are some who might leave a poor experience on whoever is monitoring. I think one thing that a teacher would learn would be the amount of unintentional down time in each class. While I believe this helps a busy student recuperate it can sometimes hurt the quality of a class/ - Marshall borrus not done

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    1. In all honesty there have been a lot of times when I have relied on these times, but they aren't exactly the most productive. Another gripe I had with this article is that it sounded too idealistic. It was asking too much. Every teacher wants to maximize how much their students learn, but that's not as simple as the steps advised. Most classes are confined to around 45 minutes. In this time you can't support a, "mandatory stretch halfway through the class [or]
      put a Nerf basketball hoop on the back of my door and encourage kids to play in the first and final minutes of class" The time spent to do these activities might make class more entertaining but you take a major block of the time given. There are things that need to be taught and there needs to be enough time for these with or without a nerf basketball.

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  3. Wiggins brings up one of the most important points that can be made in terms of teaching: students need to have the freedom in class to express energy while learning. It really is tiring to have to sit quietly through up to six hours of lectures a day without having the appropriate time to really learn. In my recent experience in Mrs. Elperina's class, being energetically invested in a class as opposed to Wiggins' comment on the "idea that most of the students’ day was spent passively absorbing information" it has become readily apparent that I actually learn better when a class brings in my interest without having to struggle. Quite frankly, if you want students to learn you have to give them a reason to enjoy the fact that they are learning and make them want to learn the course material. Another topic that was not breached in the article, but rather in the comments section, was that the breaks between classes are far too transient. For most of my friends, this is obvious as I'm constantly seen walking around with an armful of textbooks that haven't been returned to my locker because there isn't enough time between classes to detour down to the locker bay and deposit them. Breaks between classes should really, at minimum, be 10 minutes long in order to give students time to be upright and not breaking their shoulders from the weight of textbooks. Overall, our school system is too much like a prison, which is a very common term used to describe the school among students, Most people, adults included, simply do not want to be in school for so long if there is only going to be passive activity, the problem and the solution are very simple; classes are boring at the moment so stop giving hour long lectures and teach the lesson through an exercise, perhaps even challenge the students to figure out what they are doing themselves./-Stas B not completely finished.

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  4. Sometimes in classrooms at BHS I feel there is no mutual respect or connection between teachers and students. Teachers may be prone to forget the stress of adolescence or constant schoolwork. In turn, many students don't recognize the hours teachers spend preparing lesson plans or grading exams. If teachers more frequently were to shadow their students, they would undoubtedly change their classroom style from their experiences. I think teachers would learn that longer breaks are necessary and that it is difficult to listen for eight or nine hours a day. Although there is four minutes in between classes, it is near impossible to stop at your locker to exchange books and make it across the school in that duration. I believe they would learn that casual chatter and stretching may not always be a sign of disrespectfulness, but an attempt to stay alert. Alexis Wiggins, after her experiment, listed things she would change about her classroom. She mentions she would "build in a hands-on, move-around activity into every single class day. Yes, we would sacrifice some content to do this – that’s fine. I was so tired by the end of the day, I wasn’t absorbing most of the content, so I am not sure my previous method of making kids sit through hour-long, sit-down discussions of the texts was all that effective." Adding movement to the classroom would be extremely beneficial, as it would keep students engaged and alert. Also, as Wiggins learned, I think sarcasm should not be present in classrooms or lessons. Students should not feel apprehensive to ask questions or make comments. Classrooms and teacher-student relationships would be greatly ameliorated if teachers shadowed their students.

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  5. If I was a teacher at BHS, I would pounce on the opportunity to shadow a student for a day or more. It is as Wiggins says, what she learned in doing so was invaluable. Discovering what ways the teachers can better connect with their students are some of the most important parts of being in the education system. Learning how different styles should be incorporated into the day's teaching is a very important tool. The reason why so many students dread coming to school is because there is nothing to look forward to in a day spent sitting in a chair and listening to either incredibly dry and boring material or such that just doesn't make sense. In these cases, it is no wonder that students ask questions and appear to be unfocused. Being a high school student is a job that is severely misunderstood by those who are old enough to have had a completely different high school experience; they were able to play sports, work a job, and do homework and still go to the college they wanted to. It has come to the point where students are sacrificing so much to appease the teachers and receive a grade that is acceptable. Hard work is obviously highly valued, and many teachers preach that they'd rather see a student work very hard than get everything right. However, this doesn't change the fact that they don't seem to see how a student feels after getting a bad grade on something that they put copious amounts of effort into. It completely discourages students from working hard in the future. Many teachers (and parents, it seems) have no concept of what happens at the home, too. Wiggins describes feeling "drained, and not in a good, long, productive-day kind of way. No, it was that icky, lethargic tired feeling". When a student comes home after a 12-hour day of being lectured at and doing a practice for a sport, the very last thing they should be capable of is doing 4 more hours of school work. If the math is done out, incorporating sports, homework, eating, and catching up with family and friends, I believe that the average bedtime would be somewhere around midnight. Obviously this is not healthy, and Wiggins describes the feeling after just one day and having to get into bed at 8:30 because she was too exhausted. The lack of understanding between teacher, student, and parent is why so many students are left behind and those that make it have relied on a little bit of luck and probably an unbelievable amount of hard work and being biologically able to handle the mental and physical stress of taking the "right" classes because of their difficulty level so that we can "look good on our resumes". I think that if some BHS teachers shadowed students with different types of workloads we would be able to come up with ways to make the school day less painful. Even if those teachers didn't change what they did, the mere understanding of what it is like would be extremely important to have. I do have faith that if teachers did this that there would be some beneficial changes made in the classrooms of those teachers.

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  6. I think if a teacher at BHS shadowed a student for two days a week that they would not like how some classes are taught and how they are ran. I think the teacher would learn more in the morning classes than anyother time of the day,because i know by fifth period i am so tired that i constantly yawn.In classes they teach you so much that by the end of the day you just want to go home and go to sleep.In the article he said “ I could not believe how tired I was after the first day.” I feel that they do not give enough brakes in the day,i think that they should give us more time in between class to regain our focus and to get ready for our next class.I think the changes they should make, is to get the kids more involved in the lesson and not do so much lecturing and half way into class give us a five minute break to stretch and regain our focus. He said “I literally sat down the entire day, except for walking to and from classes.”This is just like our schedule,we sit in class for 45 minutes and get up to walk to our other class.I think that teachers should know how hard most of their students work and that most of us put in all of our effort.I also think that teacher’s forget that we have other classes with homework and tests.So i think that if teachers a BHS shadowed a student for a two days a week they would make lots of changes to there teaching methods and their lessons.

    Mario Florio period 6

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  7. If the teachers at BHS could spend two days as a student, I believe that they would experience different results depending on which lives they observed and which classes they take. This is because there are a variety of classes offered at BHS, and some students choose to take more standard classes while others challenge themselves greatly. For example, in some advanced classes, such as AP classes or honors classes, students experience frequent tests and many homework assignments that take up a good portion of their time at night. While I realize that this is what an AP class or honors class is supposed to be like, I believe that students become so mentally and emotionally drained that they become uninterested in the material and simply focus on just getting it done as quickly as possible so they can go to sleep. Colleges these days want to see that students take the time to challenge themselves with these hard courses, but I believe that there comes to be a point in time when enough homework is enough. In the article, the blogger says, “I was drained, and not in a good, long, productive-day kind of way. No, it was that icky, lethargic tired feeling. I had planned to go back to my office and jot down some initial notes on the day, but I was so drained I couldn’t do anything that involved mental effort (so instead I watched TV) and I was in bed by 8:30.” This statement shows just how tiring a day at school may be due to listening to teachers lecture on and on about topics that students are either too confused to grasp or too uninterested to try to understand. A long, tiring day is what makes homework difficult for a student. I believe that if each teacher just cut down on 10 minutes of homework per night, students would be able to go to sleep an hour earlier so they would have a fresh start for the next day. While I realize that this might not be feasible all of the time, I think that it is very important that students are able to enjoy at least a portion of their night with their families without having to worry about homework.
    Jillian McGuire, Period 1

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  8. If teachers at BHS can spend two days a week as a student I think it would be a good learning experience for them. It would be really interesting for us, as students, to see what the teachers have to complain about and there reasons for not being able to complete last night assignments. A teacher becoming a student and having to complete everything we students have to, can be a real eye opener for them and they will be more opened minded when it comes to reasons as to why we weren't able to complete things. In the article, "Teacher spends two days as a student and is shocked at what she learns" it talks about how the teacher now understands what it's like to be a student and how it's difficult and the challenges that are faced."I could not believe how tired I was after the first day. I literally sat down the entire day, except for walking to and from classes. We forget as teachers, because we are on our feet a lot – in front of the board, pacing as we speak, circling around the room to check on student work, sitting, standing, kneeling down to chat with a student as she works through a difficult problem…we move a lot." Teachers get to also experience the lack of movement we face, not just the difficult curricular.

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  9. If teachers at BHS were to shadow a "model" BHS student(a student who has high honors, many AP/honors courses, sports, clubs, community service, ect), they be far more "drained" than Wiggins was after her experience of shadowing two students. As students, I think we have almost evolved past letting regular classes drain us if we are allowed to go home and do moderate homework and eventually relax. However, specifically at BHS, I think student here are under more pressure to sit through 7-8 classes, do 3-5 hours of homework, participate in extracurricular activities, and go to sports practice everyday. We don't have time to have meaningful social interaction. We're zombies. If a teacher at BHS shadowed a student they would be exhausted. I think the best thing BHS teachers can do for students in making the classroom a very active place where very meaningful learning gets done, and also only homework that is assigned when it is absolutely necessary to the class work(no “busy work”).
    Remi S
    Period 5

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  10. Students at Branford High School definitely experience the same issues that Wiggins encountered while shadowing a high school student, and BHS teachers would be surprised to realize that. My teachers probably assume that my classmates and I are not engaged in class because we’re tired, bored, or a combination of both. But in reality, it’s because we’ve been taught, through class after class of paying attention to a teacher while simultaneously scribbling down notes, that it doesn’t matter if we’re interested or care about our course work, so long as we get it done. Many high school students, myself included, drain themselves by taking several honors and AP classes, playing sports, being involved in clubs, and working a job. If a teacher was “drained, and not in a good, long, productive-day kind of way…[but in] that icky, lethargic, tired [way]” after just going to one day of classes, they could not reasonably continue to expect us to go to classes every single day, then to practice after school, then a club or job at night, and still complete the massive amounts of (usually unnecessary) homework assigned to us each night. Doing so on a day to day basis took out any amount of interest that I may have had in my classes or after school activities. My freshman year, I took certain classes and joined certain clubs because they sounded enjoyable; but as a junior, I picked my classes and participated in after-school activities mainly because I knew that doing so will help my chances of getting into a good college. For BHS teachers to better understand where their students are coming from, they need to experience firsthand the amount of stress that they are under, and I personally believe that having teachers follow their students’ schedules for a couple days would be a good way to do so.

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  11. This article shows a perfect example of a typical teacher experiencing the life of an average student. Her reaction clearly represents how much students have to suffer every single day in school dealing with the pure boredom, the occasional poor teacher, and the high expectations of loads of work to be completed as well as our constant attention being on the teacher. She addresses all of these as being issues, which is a very good thing, however some of her actions she plans to make are a little too ambitious. She would like to add more "hands-on, move-around activities" and admits "[she] would sacrifice some content for this." Wiggins thinks this would be worth it, but as a student I could tell you that this would not be "fine" because as much as we dislike being at school, we are aware we must do it. Bringing this to BHS would result in many surprises to the administration, I think. It would be a good idea, and teachers would most likely end up adjusting their classes to fix some of the things they find as flaws. Having teachers experiment with this would be a very good way to experience first-handily our every-day struggles.
    Period 5

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  12. This article does a fine job of discussing the daily life of a student. I think that what some teachers really don't do is put themselves in the students' shoes. Often enough we're told to think about how teachers are feeling when they constantly have to make the effort to tell us to be quiet and constantly we're being told to pay attention, but what slips the teachers mind is that it's just not always that easy. We sit in a class for about 45 minutes and try to absorb a whole lesson of information without always applying it to something, That can be really difficult sometimes. I feel that if a teacher at BHS were to shadow a student for the day, they'd learn that not all students miss homework for the next day because we're lazy and don't want to do it, some just have a lot on their plate and other commitments to take care of. After a full day with rarely any movement, you're simply tired. Wiggins even says so. For example," I was drained, and not in a good, long, productive-day kind of way. No, it was that icky, lethargic tired feeling. I had planned to go back to my office and jot down some initial notes on the day, but I was so drained I couldn’t do anything that involved mental effort (so instead I watched TV) and I was in bed by 8:30." This is a perfect example of the emotion that goes through a good amount of a student's mind everyday. But what I think a teacher would change after shadowing would be the layout of their class and maybe the way that they choose to teach their classes. Whether it's incorporating more interactive movement into the lesson plan or whether it's by adding an interesting twist on something that they're teaching, they'd surely just change something.
    - Aaliyah H.Scott
    - Period 6

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  13. When the teachers thought they get tired from working. Did they ever think students do to? When the teachers acted as the students it states “Students sit all day, and sitting is exhausting.”. This is saying students get tried to from working ,essays ,word problems and etc…..School drains us it even drained the teacher on the first day he couldn't stop yawning. My opinion is we should have more on hands work not sitting all day . That way our body is working and not being bored ,because if we're bored are body becomes bored too and shuts down. I think BHS should try this it will open up everyone's mind and see why the day drags on from school .It will help the teachers think much more. The teachers will hopefully find more hands on . When i wake up I'm so exhausted that my body makes me lay back down . School starts and it feels like the day is never leaving . They teach us so much that when we get home it feels like our brain is going to explode into a million pieces , I end up doing my homework and going straight to bed . BHS would have a different mind if we did this .
    Mary Tourangeau
    period 6

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  14. If teachers at BHS could spend time as a student, I believe that they would be stressed out with how much a student has to do. After being in school for 6 hours, having 3 or more hours of sports, doing hours of homework, studying for upcoming tests, I am exhausted and want to go to bed early, but it is already too late, and with having to wake up early for school I am constantly tired throughout the week. This makes me more tired for class than I should be and I am not able to focus on the material. I am aware that taking all honors and AP classes is going to result in more homework than standard classes do, but it is still expecting a lot from students who have things beside from schoolwork to do. Part of this lack of time to do homework comes from the amount of time in sports, but after sitting at a desk for 6 hours, it is refreshing to be outside and active. With sports, there are some days that I don’t get home until 9, and there is nothing I want to do less than homework. Although this wasn't mentioned in the article, it would benefit students, and especially athletes, if teachers assigned the weeks homework at the beginning of the week, so that students would be able to do more homework on the nights with more free time, and not as much when they are busy. I know that sometimes this would be hard to do because you may not learn something until Thursday, but it would help to at least know ahead of time how much you have to do. Wiggins said that she would change how she taught by giving students 5 minutes with the test but without writing so that any questions students had could be answered. This would benefit me a lot because it gives the student time to think about the test and make sure of what is being asked of them. Students at Branford would also benefit from a teacher shadowing a student at our school. Although they would find out things similar to Wiggins, it would be different because we have a different schedule, and a teacher would experience it rather than hear about it.
    Emma D p1

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  15. If BHS teachers spent two days as a student a week I feel like they would learn quite a lot, but most importantly that there is a lot of unneeded stress built into the day. In the article Wiggins talks about how students aren't allowed to move most of the day and that 90% of the day is listening which builds a lot of stress during a day let alone a whole year and all of this is relatable at BHS, but at BHS there are even more restrictions that really don't need to be in place. For starters all but maybe two boys bathrooms are unlocked during the day making it almost impossible to go to the bathroom before class which means your either going to hold it or ask a teacher every single day which can cause a lot of tension and stress for us students. Also there can be a lot of unnecessary homework being assigned which is more overkill then helpful and in my experiance often times it makes me resent the class and not persue that subject any longer than i have to. So to wrap it up my suggestions to improve BHS and the classes are to open up all the bathrooms and to have the teachers try more hands on in class learning instead of boring out of class reading from a text book.
    Jake J. 1st

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  16. If teachers at BHS spent two days a week shadowing students, I could only hope that what they learn would be as surprising to them as it was to Wiggins. Wiggins makes several great observations during her time as a student including how students spend 90% of their time sitting passively and listening however I believe the biggest problem she observes is that students are treated as though they are a nuisance. There is definitely a lack of mutual respect between teachers and students. Although teachers spend multiple hours of their day correcting papers and grading tests, I think they forget how hard student work. we work diligently at school for 6 hours and then come home to do over 3 more hours of work. We spend all hours of the night cramming our brains with information only to spit it out one week later on a quiz or test. We are constantly stressed, overtired, and emotional so when we forget things or ask a teacher a question that seems obvious, sarcastic replies from the teacher are just rude and unnecessary. With that being said, I also feel as though teachers are uninterested in the success of their students and more concerned with getting their own tasks done for the day. Their lack of respect makes seem like they don't actually want to help their students receive good grades. So, hopefully, by allowing teachers at BHS to shadow their students, they will have more empathy and respect for them.
    Erika M.
    Period 5

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  17. If teachers could spend two days a week as a student in Branford High School they would learn that students have it as hard as they do. Students face a lot of stress during a day of high school especially if those students belong to a club, play, or sport. With the amount of homework I am expected to do every day with 6 hours of learning, taking notes, and taking tests or quizzes I am exhausted when I get home from school. The amount of homework students are assigned over the week reflects on how much teachers expect us to know and understand the material given to us. The amount of sleep I get every night varies on the homework I am given and if I have softball practice the night of. If I have homework in every single subject I finish my homework around 11 pm. That gives me about 7 hours of sleep depending if I can sleep after doing about 2 hours of homework. When I wake up the next morning I am very drowsy and groggy and I can’t focus on the material that we are learning. At school we are sitting down in almost every single class, besides gym. We never have time to take a break and relax for a moment. Even five minutes of off topic conversation right before the end of class will allow the students and the teacher to be ready for the materials they have to learn. Honors and AP students are expected to be able to handle more work and material than the standard classes, but having to do homework, an essay/project, and a quiz is a lot to expect from a student. If teachers tried to shadow a student for two days in a week I feel like they would have more respect for what a student goes through. And even though teachers do have to plan lessons and make quizzes, tests, and projects they can’t do those things if their students do not understand the material. Teachers would learn that things have been altered greatly since when they were students in high school. They would also learn that it is very hard to keep up with things and spending a balanced amount of time trying to work on each subject. This would show teachers that students have a lot to juggle and teachers need to better plan the way they plan important projects, quizzes, or major assignments so students can put more effort into their work so they can get a better grade. In the article, Wiggins says, that we should have a mandatory stretch in the middle of every class. If we have some type of activity during class we would be more in tuned to learning. Teachers should change the way they teach notes, and other material. I think teachers should teach in a way that students would want to learn and be excited to learn something new. They should also let students have 5 minutes of free time at the end of class, so they can interact with their friends and they won’t have to rush to get things done before class ends.
    Ariana D. Period 1

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  18. After reading this article, I thought to myself, someone finally understands why I am consistently stressed. Truly, high school is exhausting! To me, I feel that some teachers accuse students of not working hard if they show up to class tired, unengaged, or without an assignment completed. But, as Wiggins pointed out, a day in the life of a high school teenager is draining. As hard as it is to sit through 6 hours of learning various subjects a day, it is even worse going home. After school, many participate in sports or clubs, so by the time they actually get back to their houses, it is probably around 5:30 -6:00pm. After eating dinner and showering, possibly another hour and a half has been wasted. Trust me, at this point in the night, the only thing us students want to do is sleep, yet we realize this option will never be possible. In order to succeed, maintain good grades and ultimately be able to get into a good college, homework must be completed on time. So now, it is 7:30 pm, and there are assignments in every subject expect for the rare case in which there isn’t any in a certain class. All of sudden, we panic. Our brains have already been crammed with new information all day and to top it all off, we have several more hours of work remaining. For me, a typical bedtime is 12:00 a.m. I have gotten used to only getting 6 hours of sleep and somehow managing to get through my busy week day by day. Sometimes, I feel the pressure is too much to handle. And I realize I am not alone in this kind of situation. Most of my friends who are also student athletes complain how physically and mentally grueling their schedules are. And by complain I do not mean we don’t appreciate being educated; I realize that I am lucky to go to school and I shouldn’t take learning for granted because others are less fortunate and aren’t able to do so. We complain because we feel the teachers do not understand us. Some just don’t get how demanding each day is for us. Some days, I will be up past 1 a.m trying to finish all my work but in reality, it isn’t my best quality. I would be better off getting some sleep but I do not want to earn a zero for incompletion, so I stay up and attempt to finish. So personally, I think that teachers should somehow if possible, try to give a lighter workload to students at home. It is almost impossible to balance good grades, enough sleep, and extra curricular activities equally. For me, sleep is the last of my priorities yet in actuality, in order to perform my best in school and on the field, sleep should be the most important. Therefore, I feel students would be able to enjoy school if they had time to relax each day instead of always cramming to finish homework.
    Carolyn C. Period 5

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  19. If BHS teachers could spend two days a week as a student they would learn that how boring and tiring it could be sitting down at a class taking notes and listening to the teacher the whole day. In the article the teacher shadowing the student mentions how tired he was after the first day and kids have to do this five days a week for 7 hours straight. Teachers should be more entertaining or fun so then kids won't have to fall asleep in there class because of the teacher is so boring. Also to make their class a lot better they should let their kids go outside as a class and teach the class outside to reward the students for what they've been doing for the class. Teachers should also not give as much homework or at least give the students two days to do it because of sports it might get in the way of a student doing there homework, so by giving an extra day to do it then can accomplish their homework instead of stressing about it.
    Mark N. P.6

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  20. If teachers went around for 2 days shadowing a student, then their views on the way that they teach would change dramatically. What some teachers don't realize is that after a while, their lectures about one topic can get a little boring, and all of the work that they assign may conflict with other classes and can become overwhelming. In the article, the author said that, "If I could go back and change my classes now, I would immediately...put a Nerf basketball hoop on the back of my door and encourage kids to play in the first and final minutes of class." The author also commented on how students are idle most of the time just listening. That can become a little boring at times, and if a teacher went around doing this experiment, then they would probably change this immediately change it. They could make a time during class for the students to converse about the class and the material in it. They would be much more lenient and wouldn't be as strict if they caught a student not paying attention. I even catch myself of thinking of other things from time to time during class.
    Chris A. Period 1

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  21. I believe if a teacher would spend two days as a student they would learn absolutely nothing about how our lives are today. In two days they would only drift along in their classes, probably enjoying "feeling young again", use it like a vacation from their jobs. In only two days there is no way for them to truly understand the way we have to live.
    For a teacher or an administrator to really know, they would have to wait a week, first, for the real tiredness to set in. The tiredness that comes with staying up to ungodly hours of the night to finish their homework and then still having to drag themselves out of bed at ungodly hours of the morning to be to school at 7:25. They would have to then wait a month to feel the pressure that comes with being in school. When their first bad test grade rolls in they would have to feel their parent's anger on the car ride home, listen to another lecture about how they'll get nowhere in life if they don't raise that D to a C, that B to an A. They'll get loaded onto a bus as the final bell rings to go to their game, still sleepy eyed from the 4 hours of sleep that they got last night and then be yelled at because they're not playing right, because that was a bad pass, because they can "do better than that". They'll get back from that game, feeling the weight of the loss they know they contributed to, and go to maybe SAT Prep, or Model Congress, staying in the school as the clock ticks into night time and before they know it they're arriving home at 10 o'clock, exhausted, and realizing with a horrible feeling they still need to start their homework. They'll have to feel the guilt that comes with not being able to get something done on time, having to choose between getting 5 hours of sleep that night or finishing the essay that was due yesterday. They'll have to wait a few months to feel the sinking feeling of knowing the grade book closes tomorrow and that there's nothing left to do but cry about grades they can't change and wait for the screaming and shame they're going to be subjected to when they get home. They'll have to make compromises, 2 hours of sleep to do those AP Bio essays, no breakfast because they have to get up early to finish the lab report, skip lunch because they have to do last minute studying before that test. They'll have to spend their weekends one after the other on homework then sports, then more homework, knowing if they take a day to hang out with friends or see their boyfriend those web assigns will not be done by Monday. They'd have to sadly watch their friends self medicate, adderall, smoking, anything, as they to try to get the job done and still can't.They'll have to wait half a year till makeup wont cover up the dark circles under their eyes anymore, and then accept that the first thing they'll be seeing as the sunrises is this school, and the last thing that they'll be seeing as the sun sets is this school.
    So in summary I don't think teachers would learn a damn thing about 2 days in a modern students life. I think if they really wanted to understand how we live then they'd have to spend a year with us, or two, or three to really understand the evolving standards that have been raised for us and the stress that puts us under. And then, after that, I don't really know if they'd want to be a better teacher, or if they wouldn't want to be a teacher at all.

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  22. This article I think is really going to open the eyes of lots of teachers out there! I think that this teacher finally gets it! He understands his students and how draining classes can be. He says that he was “drained and not in a good, long, productive kind of day way. No, it was that icky, lethargic tired feeling…[he] couldn’t do anything that involved mental effort.” This is exactly how most of us feel because we do go class to class to class and just sit down the whole time while the teacher lectures. I think he would have understood more if he had gone to a sports practice until 5:30 pm and then tried to get all of his work done and then go to sleep after that, but I still think what he did gave him a good understanding! Overall I really like this article and all he had to say and how much he really understood us students after this experience!
    Shannon Finn P.5

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  23. If a teacher were to shadow an individual student for a period of 2 days, no amount of usable information can be generated from it. Our school prides itself on the diversity of its students when it comes to their education. Some students strive to take advanced courses, honors courses, and attempt to be the best they can be. At the same time we have students who take a more approachable schedule, allowing themselves a period to catch up on work or to just get away from it. If one student's daily schedule was taken as the majority of the school's body, it would create a large misunderstanding. Case studies are never taken and applied to the general population and this experiment is no exception. We have students who will go out of their way to to achieve with the maximum amount of credits regardless of the potential stress. We also have students who rather not burden themselves with the maximum amount. Each and every student here in our school does something different. No student is the same as another, therefore, no individual shadowing session will produce any information that can apply to the entire school body.

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  24. I really enjoyed reading this article because throughout my 2 full years of high school ,I felt as if some teachers didn't really understand the situations students might be in. For example, one thing that bothers me so much is having bunch of tests on exactly the same day. We all wanna do good on the tests but how can we if we have to study for several classes on the same night. Another thing I have experienced is the sarcasm we get from some teachers as the author mentioned. I understand if a student is being disrespectful but I don't think it is necessary if a student is asking a question that was already answered. We are allowed to ask questions unless we are told not to due to circumstances.I do agree with Etta on how 2 days is not enough for learning a student's daily routine and how they learn. If a teacher were to shadow a "model" student then 2 days is not enough at all.As a student with pretty decent grades and after school activities including sports, it is very hard to manage time. I'm always slacking in one subject and what I do is make one subject my priority for the night. Also we all have our own situations. A teacher can take a week to study by daily school routine and learn to master it but he/she might not be able to follow up & be wrong with another student's routine. I think teachers should only give homework if it is necessary and make us understand certain materials rather than teach us just to pass the test. I often fall asleep in classes due to busy schedule and lack of sleep. I agree with the article's author on how we shouldn't have to sit on a chair for the whole class. I think being active would definitely help focus and learn.
    Shradha S P1

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  25. With my personal schedule, I think teachers would learn that it isn’t possible to be on time to some classes. If I have class in graphic design and then must travel across the whole school to the F-Wing lecture hall, I am going to barely make it by the bell, even without going to my locker. Also, I come from gym (and change) and then have to scurry across the school again to make it to the upper C-Wing. I gave up trying to be on time because by the time the bell rings, I’m finally getting to the D-stairs. Teachers would also learn that despite having friends in a class, it means absolutely nothing. It's not like I can move my seat just to have real conversations with him or her because conversation is reserved for discussing academic enhancing topics, like parabolas because everyone's dream is to graph functions. Friends only exist for invisible moral support in class. Teachers probably already know this, but school follows you outside of school, aka homework. No one likes homework. It may help the learning experience, but then I think of all of the people that save homework for their opens and copy off each other. I don't think homework helps. I think teachers should change up the routine. Like it says in the article, as a student, I come to class and sit and listen to the teacher give a lecture for the majority of a 50 minute class. I could say that it gets boring, but I think I'm at the point where I've accepted that the monopoly of life isn't going to change and don't notice my inattentiveness anymore. It's okay though; We're all professionals at coping with the boredom at this point only a little less than 2 years from graduating.
    Meredith J. Period 5

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  26. As an adult, it is easy to forget what it was like when you were in school. It is difficult to picture yourself living the life of a high school student again. If the teachers at BHS were to spend two days as a student, their eyes would truly be opened to the lives of high schoolers. As students, we move from class to class, day after day, doing the same activities. I feel as though as students we have grown to no longer care about our classes. Of course most students still care about their grades, but it is all based on the idea of getting into a good college. There is so much pressure put on to students that if they don't take honors and AP courses they will never make it in the real world. So, of course, more and more students have started to take these courses. Yet, once you are enrolled in them, you come to the realization that you are not interested in the classes, yet you spend your entire day working on them. There is too much pressure put onto getting into a good college. If teachers were to become students again, they might see this pressure and find a way to lessen it. The teachers want their students to succeed, but giving extreme amounts of busy work are not the way to do so. Wiggin's mentioned how she was exhausted and in bed by the time she done with the school day and in bed by 8:30. High schoolers at BHS can’t afford this luxury. Many haven’t even stepped foot into their homes before eight, and then they still have to start their schoolwork. If someone told me that I would have time to lay on the couch and watch television and still be in bed by eight, I wouldn’t believe them. If the teachers at BHS were to become students for a couple of days, I think that they would change the way that they taught their classes.
    Ellie B. Period 5

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  27. I believe that for some teachers, it would be hard for them to imagine themselves living the life of a high school student. If they were to experience one day as a student at BHS, they would truly understand how much stress and pressure is put on an average student. To start, stress is a huge factor that teachers would begin to understand. Students are constantly stressed out with work and extra curricular activities. I think teachers sometimes assume that we are young so therefore it is easy for us to find the time to get work done, study, and participate in a sport/club. Although most students do these things daily, it still isn't very easy. Most students have trouble finding time in their day to finish all that they have to do. If teachers were to spend two days a week as a student at BHS I believe that they would understand why missing a homework assignment is reasonable due to their busy lives. Wiggins mentions how students are exhausted by the time they reach their bed at night. If teachers understood this, I believe they would help the student feel more relaxed and less stresses throughout their day. Alyssa Sachs class 1

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  28. If the teachers at BHS had to spend two days posing as students, they would learn that just like they have a life with lots of pressure, our lives have even more pressure because we have so much homework and different tasks to do each day that sometimes one day isn't enough or we have to go to bed late to be able to finish them. One thing that should be changed is that when a student has a question about certain material covered in class, they shouldn't get a response in a bad manner or have the teacher make gestures that make the student feel bad. Like it says in the article, "A few students would laugh along as I made a big show of rolling my eyes and drily stating, OK, once again, let me explain... Of course it feels ridiculous to have to explain the same thing 5 times, but suddenly, when I was the one taking tests, I was stressed. I was anxious. I had questions. And if the person teaching answered those questions by rolling their eyes at me, I would never want to ask another question again. " When this happens the student feels like he doesn't have the same capabilities as the others and gets frustrated and doesn't want to participate in class anymore and then the teacher wonders why. Teachers should give students a little free time during period to stretch, go to the bathroom, listen to music or do something else instead of just reading, writing or listening, because "High school students are sitting passively and listening during 90 percent of their classes", it is good to learn and listen to our teachers but sometimes we don't feel well or we have a situation on our minds, the last thing we want to do is listen to someone talk the whole period without stopping.

    Denisse M. (Period-7)

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