~:[CH11 - Day 263]:~ Handle with Care

 

~:[CH11 - Day 263]:~ Handle with Care

It was a little disheartening seeing the athlete spend so much of their time trying to finish up their homework while on this recent trip. I know these missed two days of school, but the load of work they had was more than previous or so I felt. Regardless, I know that sometimes it is connected to the classes they choose to take. With that in the back of my mind, I was astounded at the news I got passed down to me from the district, that all my athletes in cross country and track would be required to take a seventh class (adding a 1st) unless they decided to drop the sport. With our practices being afterschool, my freshmen and sophomores were enrolled in 2nd through 7th periods. Some did choose to take that first period, but now, they were forcing about sixty students (about 25 of mine) to add a class and stay around for another hour. The students targeted are all ones who often stay at school past 5pm regularly and much later on game/competition days. It infuriated me that a district that tried to emphasize mental health, tacks on a mandatory extra hour of classes to students who get home at 6 or 7pm. They used to have that extra hour in the morning to wrap up whatever they couldn't the night before, but now they lose that PLUS get additional homework from their new class. Even worse, they gave our admin one week to fix it. The incompetence and lack of consideration that's been shown the last year from our district with unannounced construction to things like this is ridiculous. The parking lots are a mess, our events get ruined or leave us stressed trying to figure out alternatives, and the lack of communication and unrealistic expectations on all of us shows there is no understanding of how things actually work with school sites, staff and students and while there are a lot of competent people up at the district, many of these decisions get handed down by those that just don't understand or don't care. I feel bad for these students who will have to take on this additional load and just hope that they can handle what's ahead. While I know that work is required to learn and they do need to learn to have some grit in life, there are some things that are avoidable and 100% this situation is one of them, as it's pointlessly added weight on the shoulders of those who already have some of the busiest schedules. I can deal with change such as the construction is going on, but I can't deal with things like a lack of communication when these projects are sprung on us at the last minute leaving those at these sites in a bind. In the end, this situation with the students made me think of the what I cooked up today - sriracha seafood yakisoba. As I looked at it, it reminded me that balance is definitely an important aspect to most things in life such as cooking and I hope that all of this doesn't tip that balance to a point where these students can't handle it. I had just the right amount in this dish, but I worry that the district has put too much on the plate of the students with this latest decision.