This school year has been defined by the new and improved—new schedule, new Chromebooks, new PA system, new lockers, new students, new muffins. Everything around us is being renovated and revamped—everything except the clocks.
Our school has always had a problem with the clocks. From freezing in time to entire hours magically passing by in a matter of seconds, the clocks’ inaccuracies add yet another complication to our already complicated lives. With the new bell schedule pilot, it’s now more crucial than ever to be aware of the time.
The majority of the clocks are dysfunctional and those that aren’t are hidden behind projector screens. During engaging discussions or activities, keeping track of time is the last thing on our minds. Inaccurate clocks cause teachers to believe they have more time than they actually do, leading them to mismanage class time and not finish everything they had planned for the day. When this happens multiple times, it can set teachers back in their curriculum.
On one hand, teachers argue that we have no need to look at the clocks because it indicates we aren’t paying attention to the class material and are instead counting down the minutes until class is over. However, during testing and timed-writes, the inability to properly judge time creates a stressful environment and causes us to lose focus from the task at hand.
Sure, we could periodically ask the teacher for time indicators, but our minds all operate differently and have varying degrees for how often we need to check. One student may prefer and function best on reminders every fifteen minutes, while another every five minutes. There are only so many times we can ask for the time without annoying teachers and being a distraction to our peers.
Even during normal class time, it would be convenient to have functional clocks because we regularly receive call slips or must leave class early for sports games. Since it would be unreasonable to constantly ask teachers for the time, we opt to our phones for this necessity. In most classes, this can be perceived as disrespectful because cell phone usage is prohibited. It also puts teachers in a difficult situation when they ask us why we are using our phones, to which our response is “I was just checking the time,” because this expression is commonly used as a lie. Having working clocks would eliminate these potential problems and allow us to leave quietly without disturbing the class.
It is shocking that something as fundamental as the faulty clock system remains untouched while the school continues to pour thousands of dollars into expenditures such as new Chromebooks, which most students don’t even know the purpose of. We are not suggesting that the school’s recent expenses are unjustified; rather we would like to see the essentials functioning properly before focusing on implementing supplementary tools.
Time after time, we have watched the administration push our school towards the future, yet the old clocks can’t even give us the time of the day. Compared to the other changes, a functioning clock is not too much to ask. At least the Chromebooks will have the time.
