In a world far far away, students got out of class as soon as the bell rang. They never have to rush to pack up all of their belongings and teachers couldn’t tell them to stop. But maybe that land isn’t too far away. As long as students followed the rules. Just like one minute bell that rings before class begins, the thirty-second bell would inform the students when class would end, allowing them to know when to pack up in turn helping the students to not be late to classes further in the day.
When a poll was sent out to students, 77% said that having this extra bell could be very useful. Just like Kate Baker (‘27), who said this benefit would definitely help her. When asked if it could be useful, she claimed it would because teachers drag everything on too long.
“Yes it would be useful because teachers like drawing out classes way too long,” Kate Baker said.
Not only would this bell help students get packed up without teachers disrupting them, but it would also promote getting to all classes on time. Claire Parmeter (‘27) said this was a great reason to have this bell, agreeing it would be useful.
“It would be helpful so I don’t have to rush, plus it would probably make students less tardy because they now have the full five minutes just to walk to their next class,” Parmeter said.
As for Jackson Phillips (‘28), this is almost a necessity, claiming it could prevent students from packing up too early and help to not be late because they were packing up during the walking time.
“I think it would be useful to make sure students don’t have to spend time packing up during passing period,”
While most students believe this would be greatly beneficial, 22% of students believe it to be a waste of time. Just like Charles Washington (‘26).
“Nah, not really everyone knows what time they get out of class,” Charles Washington said.
Do you know what time you get out of class?
But once Mr. Andrew Elmendorf got interviewed, the positive and negative were more than just a simple 30 seconds of time being used for efficiency. The first issue he made clear was the fact that the district decides how long students have to be in each class so there’s no way to take 30 seconds out of each day without it adding up in the end.
“So by cutting short you think, the course of the school year, you’re cutting out a lot of minutes of learning because you’re packing up thirty seconds early,” Mr. Elmendorf said.
Though Mr. Elmendorf has a valid point, when you walk into classes with three minutes left, students are already packing up. Perhaps this bell would eliminate that.