Hall passes which are the newest and very controversial rule of this school year. Mixed feelings surround this topic throughout the school and many people have different feelings about them.
“People don’t care about others times and needs.” says senior Anna Webb.
One of the many reasons this new rule is being opposed, mainly by students, is mostly because students don’t respect each other’s times and needs.
There is a big debate going around within the Triton students with the new hall passes. The school has come out with a new solution to prevent students from skipping class, wandering the halls and much more. Although most teachers approve of it and think the rule is helping, students on the other hand think differently.
Triton’s rule with the hall passes is that the majority of classes are only allowed one hall pass and one nurse pass, so often times students are waiting for the student whohas the pass to come back. The nurse passes are restricted only for when someone needs to go to the nurse and not for a substitute for the real hall passes.
“They are doing other things other than going to the bathroom.” says Zoe Rivera, also a senior attending triton. When a student goes to the bathroom, taking the only pass and leaving for longer than needed can affect other students with their learning and much more. “It doesn’t affect my learning as much as it annoys me.” Said Gennes Packer, a junior.
“The ultimate goal is for students to feel more academically successful in doing so.” says Elizbeth Pacheco, the vice principal of Triton. The hall passes were created in favor of the students though many of them don’t think of the passes benefiting them and that it is more of an inconvenience for them. As much as the students of triton don’t enjoy using the hall passes, this rule came to be for good reasons.
The laws and regulations of Massachusetts within school grades after elementary school require 990 hours that students should be in the classroom each school year. If students are constantly out of class, the hours would not be complete and can affect their academics. “We want to increase the amount of time students are in front of their teachers. ” Says Pacheco.
Joseph Galante, a teacher at Triton agrees that the passes are definitely benefiting the school. He now sees less people wandering the hallway and disrupting his classes.
“You have to remind yourself that you need to be mindful of other people’s time too” Stated Galante, which turns out to be very true. Having the pass means you do not only think about yourself but you have to think about others and their needs as well.
Galante stated in his interview, “I think using one hall pass per class allows kids to be more reflective of, ‘hey this world isn’t just about me.'” said Galante
Toni MacDonald-Fein an art teacher at Triton also agrees with Galante and thinks the passes they are beneficial and work well on keeping students in the classroom and out of the hallways but “i see why students don’t like it,” she stated.
Triton seems to be is seen going back to its old ways., many Several years ago hall passes were the norm. Many teachers recognize a big difference between previous years and this year, especially last year compared to this year.
“The hall passes have been one of the tools that have helped to decrease the number of students leaving class daily,” said Pacheco. “Overall class cuts have been drastically down this year. We hope that both of these trends will continue throughout the rest of the school year.”
