Students feel they should make own decisions about Nest Time

by Janiyah H.

Students at Airport High feel as if they should be able to pick what teacher they go to for a thing called “nest time,” which is something that is considered a study hall where students can complete things that need to be done. Everyday of the week, students go to a different period starting with 1st block on Monday and ending the week with 4th block on Thursday; Fridays are always for homeroom, but honestly it feels very different from the mandatory study halls on the previous days. Rather than being forced to attend a particular Nest Time on a particular day, students should be able to choose the teacher they want to go to during Nest Time each of the week.

First of all, students should have the choice about which Nest Time to attend because they do not necessarily need help in the class they are forced to attend. Most students usually have missing work for a specific teacher and sometimes, a student may need help from that specific teacher. For example, the classes I take are at times a bit difficult, especially Chemistry, so during Nest Time, I am usually working on my Chemistry assignments. However, Dr. R., for example, whose Nest Time I am forced to attend on Wednesdays, can give me literally no help; I tried to ask her if she knew what I was doing and read the directions to that assignment, to which she interrupted me and said, “Nope. I do not have that knowledge.” When I don’t have Ms. Altman for that day’s Nest Time, but I do have work for her, I usually need that help from just her just because she is the one who teaches it and I can really understand it because it's literally coming from the teacher herself. No disrespect to Dr. R. (one of the best teachers I've ever had) or my other non-chemistry teachers, but I really need Ms. Altman on those days I am forced to be with my other teachers. As a student who cares about her work and who wants to do well, this seems unfair to me and puts me at a disadvantage when, if a better system were put in place, I could get the much-needed help from Ms. Altman each and every time I needed it rather than on the one single designated day of the week I’m allowed to go there.

In addition to allowing students to get more customized help, letting us choose our own Nest Time would also let students strengthen their personal relationships with teachers and not only them but with the staff in general as well. Some students genuinely have a connection with certain people more than others. You never know what someones going through or even what's going on in a person's head, but certain teachers have a way of vibing with certain students and can help them with their personal problems. For example, this year there’s been a couple different situations where students needed that comfort from a specific someone and as that someone I mean a teacher like when Billy Joe (pseudonym) had some suicidal things going on and he was going through some really tough times. Nobody could tell but Ms. Catfield (pseudonym) knew the truth. He trusted her and she comforted him. She was the only one that could change his thinking and could switch his day around. He loved her and believe it or not she saved him from taking his own life. I say all this to say that another real and reasonable reason we should have more freedom to do these things is because you never know the benefits that will come out of it.

Another reason students should have choice regarding Nest Time is because some believe that if we had the choice in where to go, it would give teachers more freedom and time to create their own activities for Nest Time rather than have it be just a glorified study hall. Teachers could use Nest for such things like Scrabble club, movie clubs, student government meetings, and so much more. Me personally, I would love this and I'm pretty sure many others because it would keep us more engaged. Like, I would have a reason to be excited to come to school or just have something that I'm looking forward to. I personally have an interest in photography and modeling, and if I could choose one day of the week to go to a Nest Time that offered that, it would give me a reason to be at school beyond straight-up learning.

Despite the many obvious reasons why students should be able to choose their own Nest Times the naysayers might think differently. They might say that people might skip or students might leave campus if given more freedom and choice in Nest. Some might even say it’ll put more work on teachers. In response to this, anyone who would go against this I think is miserable because whats the hurt? We barely do or have anything now so even an imperfect, logistically difficult-to-manage Nest Time system would be better than the status quo, which is nothing but a glorified study hall.

So far, this article has only been about my thoughts, but here’s what other people at Airport High think. Angel M., a sophomore and member of the girls’ basketball team, stated, “I agree with you. I think we should be able to pick who we want to go to because the school is already whack so why can't we choose a teacher?” Anissa A, a sophomore here at Airport also agrees. She told me, “ Absolutely. We should be able to choose, I think because I don't vibe well with every teacher, and a lot of times I need my own space and I need to be around somebody where I can just have a clear mind. I want to relax at this time since it's really the only break we get between classes.” It sounds like Anissa would benefit in terms of mental health and ability to focus if she could choose which teacher she spent Nest Time with. It would be interesting to take a student poll to see if the pro-choice Nest Time vibes apply schoolwide

It is clear that most students agree that nest time should be chosen by the students because you need one on one time with teachers,it could give both the students and staff more creative thinking time, you could complete missing work with help from a specific teacher,and much more. If you want to help make a change send a letter or email to the principles of Airport High School, including the head principal Mr. Schilit (mschilit@lex2.org), the API Ms. Miller (juliemiller@lex2.org), or the assistant principal in charge of facilities, Mr. Pumphrey (cpumphrey@lex2.org). Your voice deserves to be heard!