Students agree office hours should be reinstated

Pony Express Staff|October 21, 2022

Picture of Pony Express staff discussing office hours.

Photo by Sara J. Norton

Staff discuss about how they no longer have office hours. They discuss how it feels unfair to the students who need it most.

The building administration made a decision to take office hours away for the beginning of the 2022 to 2023 school year. The staff made the incentive that if everyone follows the new tardy and attendance policies, students will get office hours back. This has students upset because they believe they deserve office hours as a staple part to get through the week.

Students deserve to have office hours no matter what. Office hours provides nice break in the middle of the week to improve student work ethic and mental health. Without office hours, students struggle to get work in on time, get the help they need and makeup tests in a reasonable time frame.

“It is completely unfair that we need to have any incentive. People who need it, really do need it. It should not just be based on the few people who do not use their time wisely at school,” junior Raye Drake said.

Graphic by Aubree Bigger

Office Hours used to be on Wednesdays from 12:30 p.m. to 2:10 p.m. This was a time when students could get help from their teachers, work on missing assignments or take a make-up test. Although it got a little chaotic and not enough students used the time to their own benefit, it was still more helpful than not.

Office hours were really good for people that couldn’t get their work done all the time. It is convenient for people who need more help managing their time.

Many students have full schedules with sports, clubs, having a social life and to add to it all they now have to find time to make up that test they flunked last week. Students feel this new sense of anxiety because they do not have time to get the extra help they need to get good grades.

Some staff said that office hours were “beneficial for people who have a sport or do not have much time at home.”

Office hours helped provide extra time to do homework, because “a lot of people are extremely busy.”

 

One of the things students felt improved within themselves, due to office hours, was their work ethic. With designated time during the week to get caught up on their schoolwork, students believed they were doing better in school and keeping up with the coursework more efficiently.

The staff understands teachers stress accountability. High schoolers are getting older so their grades fall on their own shoulders now, no one else’s. By taking away the opportunity to explore that new sense of freedom and accountability, it is not really giving them that experience.

Although office hours did work for many, it was very chaotic and some students took advantage of the time. Some students used that time to go home, hang out with friends or were stuck at school because they took the bus. This caused some to use the time efficiently because it was so easy to do other things that did not help their grades.

Despite those who chose not to utilize office hours to the fullest extent, most students found it valuable.

Many students took advantage of office hours last year. With it no longer in their week, many agreed they would use it to their own benefit if office hours came back. Students are struggling to find time to get help from teachers, and would not take office hours for granted if they got it back.