Published May 30, 2023
BY MAGGIE JOHNSTON
The new CHS fad as a junior and senior: taking as many free periods as possible. While some students may use this time to work a part-time job or complete academic tasks, the majority are not being productive and simply use this time as a way to sleep in, leave school early or do absolutely nothing.
Free periods are a set aside time in a student’s daily schedule where they did not select a class to take and, instead, have open time during the school day that can be spent however that student may see fit.
This time can be much better used in class.
There are 114 different courses offered at Carmel High School and students who attend CHS for all four years can only take 28 of those classes, seven courses per year. Yet students are still cutting themselves short and giving themselves fewer and fewer opportunities to learn and succeed, clearly wasting their time.
After four years of being enrolled at Carmel High, I have realized that we have so many opportunities that can further one’s education in ways that many other schools do not have. For instance, if I could, I would have taken Anatomy and Physiology, Sports Medicine and American Sign Language because, who knows, it may have enhanced future endeavors.
This year, I decided to fill an open spot in my schedule with Newspaper. Who would have thought that it could be so different from any other English class? There is truly no comparison. It has taught me the weight every word holds when you wield them effectively.
It is more understandable for a student who is taking dual-enrollment courses at Monterey Peninsula College to take a free period. The same goes for a student who works each day after attending school and their shift starts before seventh period gets out. But even then, a lot of the MPC classes have online options where the work can be completed at any time. A student could also work their job on the weekend or communicate with their employer that they are only able to start work at a designated time on weekdays.
It’s sad to see that so many students will throw away free education from such an academically respected high school just for a few minutes of extra sleep or a temporary part-time job. Yes, a high school workload can be challenging and taxing on a young adult, but what is the harm in pushing oneself to achieve more? There is only a benefit.
Within the 24-hour day that humans on Earth are granted, there are thousands of moments in which one can recuperate from the stresses of academics and life, but do not use school hours as the time to do that.
It’s simply a waste.
