Students and teachers in the school community have started to voice concerns, asking if our every-other-day Learning Seminar classes should even be a thing.
The administration encourages teachers to instruct at their discretion, during these LS periods, focusing on specific areas to help students with problems.
But students wonder whether the requirement of attending an extra 45 minutes of class is really beneficial. And some teachers, too, believe that it would be more helpful for students to choose where they go and what to do during the full fourth-period block.
“For my AP Calc class it is beneficial, but I would prefer all Spartan Time,” said math teacher Shannon Rapoza.
The whole point of Learning Seminar is to ensure the student body gets as much extra help as possible. No one structures Learning Seminar except for the teachers and it all depends on their collaborative team and what they decide to with the time. Multiple teachers take advantage of the time by reviewing for upcoming tests and quizzes but it could be a disadvantage for some classes that don’t get the same amount of review time.
“I’d rather have a full Spartan Time because you can choose a class to focus on and it gives you a longer time to get help on things you really need help with,” said junior Anthony Bruno.
Some teachers assign extra homework and a large amount of busy work during Learning Seminar, adding on to the pile of schoolwork that has been assigned .
“A lot of teachers actually get mad if you don’t bring your stuff for Learning Seminar; that’s a lot of stuff to bring for such a short period of time,” said sophomore Elizabeth Waldt.
A lot of students come into school forgetful of Learning Seminar. Some students aren’t even prepared for the class that day and seem really confused, especially freshmen. FCPS recommends that all schools have a structured time within the week for students to be able to get help from teachers. There are many different ways that schools implement the free period and our administration considers the Learning Seminar and Spartan Time structure and Spartan Time to be the best use of that time.
“It really is for remediation and intervention; you guys [students] are so busy and you do so many activities that there are some students that don’t have time after school and come and get help or support from teachers,” said Principal Michael Mukai.
There are advantages and disadvantages that come with Learning Seminar but its main goal is to give students the responsibility of free time and also extra class time.
“The combination of Learning Seminar and Spartan Time gives students responsibility but structures balance because really education belongs to the students,” said Mukai.