‘In a minute, there are many hours…’: Bells toll later for weary Wildcats

To the dismay of the majority of students that fill the halls of West, the already long school days have been dragged out even further, stealing even more precious moments of life from innocent children. At first, this may not seem like a big deal, as the day has only been lengthened by a mere five minutes, but this overlooks the many students with after school jobs and extracurriculars.

 It was already a struggle being stuck in a long line of cars when attempting to meet other obligations outside of school in years past, but now, that stress has been amplified. This raises a valid concern that students will be more likely to drive recklessly while trying to get to work or other activities on time. With a big student parking lot exiting directly onto busy roads, round-a-bouts surrounding the school, traffic becoming backed up, road rage seems a likely possibility as students wait in the long line of cars.

A concern non-driving-students have with this change falls on a different type of transportation. For the many students who are driven to school by family, or those who ride the bus, this change creates additional challenges with getting back and forth. Many parents have synced drop off and pick up to match neatly with their work schedules, and now that equilibrium has been disturbed. Similarly, students who ride the city bus are more likely to have trouble with getting to the bus stop on time, as they haven’t changed their times to match some silly school schedule.

Beyond these issues, the schedule change also caused confusion amongst students and staff alike who are used to the former bell times. Though seemingly insignificant, schedule changes like these can pose difficulty for students that thrive on consistency. For those with school-related anxiety, this schedule shift has only increased negative emotions with its unfamiliarity. For returning students, especially upperclassmen, they must adapt to this foreign bell schedule and forget the one that had been engraved into their heads like some sort of trained pony.

Most importantly, this change in schedule really wasn’t educationally necessary in the first place. Class times have hardly changed, which seems almost pointless as there is not much more an instructor can do with only an extra minute or so. At the end of the day, it’s just an annoyance.

While complaining and airing grievances is both fun and healthy, it will not foster change any time soon. Those without any responsibilities when the school day ends may not mind this shift in the bell schedule, but for the many who do, it’s created multiple complications. There is no real payoff that comes with lengthening student school day, and changing the end times of classes. In fact, it’s only created more problems. 

by Izabel Kotloski

Published October 2 2023

Oshkosh West Index Volume 120 Issue I