A new Oracle poll, following up on a discussion begun in our October 23 issue, finds that the popularity of straight Spartan Time vs. the current fourth-period split between Spartan Time and Learning Seminar is virtually even, with straight Spartan Time winning by about 2 percent.
Forty-seven percent of students like Spartan Time, while 45 percent preferred the way fourth period is now structured. Junior Madisyn Salloum is part of the majority that prefers Spartan time.
“During Spartan Time I can go to the teachers I need help from and work on assignments that need to get done.” Salloum said. During Learning Seminar,“Teachers use the time to give us extra work and it’s unnecessary,” Salloum said.
Students aren’t the only ones who prefer Spartan Time; teachers have voiced complaints about the current fourth-period structure, as well.
French teacher Elaine Gonzalez is one of the those who would rather see the school switch to straight Spartan Time.
“I prefer Spartan Time because then I can invite students in who need help, and easier because they have a specific thing to go over. In Learning Seminar, the students expect to have a free period and there is too much to go over in the 45 minutes allotted,” Gonzalez said.
The poll resulted in 45 percent of students finding both to be helpful while only 5 percent believed neither was helpful. Most of those polled by The Oracle clarified by saying that they found Learning Seminar helpful only in certain classes.
But when teachers use the time as a study hall, which is often the case, its necessity diminishes because many students don’t have the materials needed at that specific time to study in the classroom they are in. Learning Seminar then becomes a free period in which one can’t seek help from other teachers.
The solution, according to Gonzalez and others, may not be in coming up with a new idea for this time every other day but instead reverting to the old method of devoting all of fourth period to Spartan Time.
“They should give more time to Spartan Time and then have a structured place for Advisory Students to go so they can learn, when they don’t have a teacher to go to.”