Over the course of the 2022-2023 school year, the students and staff of Abington Senior High School have been expected to flawlessly walk into the realm of block scheduling. Forget the old lesson plans, reduce the teaching of important AP curriculum, and most importantly, do not let students have fun while they are at school.
Within the past few weeks of school, I have heard complaints from numerous students in regards to their ability to relax and have fun while also learning in the school environment. For many, students meet with teachers during their Learn period to sit in a safe space or just to talk to their friends while participating in a fun activity. Rather than have thirty minutes in a seven-hour school day to not have to think about the stress of the rigorous course load, administrators often uphold the standard of being all work and no play.
Not only are some of the entertaining Learn activities being taken away, but so are breaks in the middle of an eighty-minute class period. How can you guarantee that students will be given breaks when announcing the transition to block periods, but then go against your word to a student body that has not had a “normal” school year since elementary and middle school? Perhaps the reason students do not want to come to school is because of the societal pressure to be at the top of their class and graduate with straight A’s. But of course, the administration pays no mind to this variable and instead focuses on the students wandering the halls during class.
If administrators really cared about their students receiving the best education, then they would be more inclined to allow small activities that keep students involved with their peers. If they really cared then they would not be placing restrictions on the entire student body and instead should focus on the students they believe to be causing trouble. Sure it is annoying hearing students yell down hallways to their friends, but instead of asking the question “Where should they be?” maybe administrators should ask themselves “What is going on in the class they should be in that is making them not want to be there?”

Is this what “the best place to be” has become? A place where students have to plan out their entire high school path during freshman year so they can graduate with the title of valedictorian? A place where if a very small population of the entire student body acts out then the whole building faces disciplinary actions?
The administration may think that they are improving Abington’s learning environment, but are they really taking into consideration the long-lasting, detrimental effects that COVID, social media, and at-home situations have on teenagers these days? The constant news of mass shootings, climate change, and the introduction of bills that take away more and more basic human rights is more than enough to dishearten our generation.