ASH should shorten classes

by Kaylah W.

Many students at AHS already complain about their long classes, so why not make them shorter?

There are a lot of benefits of having short classes and these benefits not only impact the students but the teachers as well. In my opinion I believe that if the class were to be cut shorter, students would have a better understanding of what's going on, without the load of more than one topic in a 90 minute class, versus the understanding of one topic at a time in a 45 minute class.

If classes were to be shortened, fewer students would leave class and stay out or fall asleep during class because every second counts. Think about it: if students were to have shorter classes, it would be on them to make sure that they don’t miss anything. When placed in shorter classes students become more independent and more concerned of their grades. Why? because if the classes were cut shorter and a student decided to leave the class for 20 minutes, they would end up missing almost half the class, meaning it would be on them to accumulate all the information they missed when they decided to leave class. With sleeping in class, its the same thing. Most kids often sleep in class and when coming from one 90 minute class to the next it really takes a toll on the students energy, causing them to feel less energized, and more likely to sleep in the next class. In short, with a shorter class, every minute counts. There is less time to waste, and students will quickly realize this, thus cutting down on unnecessary reasons for them to leave the room, space out, fall asleep, get distracted by their phones, etc.

When put in a shorter class many teachers and students find it helps a lot with goofing around and sleeping. Shorter classes allow students to concentrate more in class. When talking to a student at AHS, Isaiah W., stated, “When attending my middle school the classes were shorter, and it helped me a lot to focus more in class than the longer classes I have now.”

Third, research supports shorter classes. Studies show when a student is placed in a shorter class the likelihood of excelling is greater than the student in a longer class.

A final reason why shorter classes are better than longer classes is simply because students will focus better in class. If a student is placed in a short-length class, it allows them to pay attention to what they are learning.

While there are a lot of reasons why shorter classes are better than longer classes, the main reasons are simply because they are better and more beneficial to both the students and the teachers that are in that class. Student at AHS, Derrick R. states, “Overall I believe that they should make the classes shorter because they are better compared to the longer-length classes.

However the opposition states that longer classes are better because they help the students not feel rushed, it provides more one-on-one time, and less classes a semester, and while they make valid points, they fail to realize the importance of a shorter class.