Stop mandatory study lessons

Signing this petition means you are against mandatory supervised study for grade 11. The school has forced 85% of grade 11 e-sec students to replace their free periods with supervised study lessons (without even having started the Extended essays and many IAs in depth yet). The grade has 46 students and 39 of the students being forced to go to these study lessons. Only 7 are not being forced, this means the school is convinced that only 7 students in the entire year are being productive. Where is this conclusion coming from? Have any teachers taken time out of their day to investigate what the students are doing? Have they looked inside the student lounge for more than a couple of seconds? Regardless of that they have deemed it fair to conclude that 39 students (or 85% of the grade) are not being productive and therefore need a strict schedule that doesn’t accommodate to students extra curriculars, or preferred method of studying.

Refer to the text below if you want to read further reasons against the Mandatory study lessons 

ARGUMENTS AGAINST MANDATORYG 11 SUPERVISED STUDY PERIODS

The following points are general arguments made aboutthe new implementation of the Supervised Study periodsin the library...Out of 46 students in E-Sec there are currently 39 students on supervised study periods and 7 students without any. This makes out 85% of all grade11 e-sec students with extra mandatory periods, which is a shocking majority of the grade. On some periods there are almost 20 students at one time in the library having supervised study. Can the library accommodate for so many extrastudents, will it not disturb the library environment for other students?

1.“...but we see that no work is happening in the students lounge”.

It is in the student's interest to know if the quote “no work is happening in the students lounge”as stated in the official email regarding Supervised Study was an assumption or statement backed up with quantitative data? Have any teachers ever looked into the lounge for more than a few seconds? Ask any student frequently inside of the lounge and, they will tell you that in the lounge there will always be a group of students studying, and/orworking on an assignment(often the natural science students).

2.The student lounge.

When the classroom was given to the DP students, it was named “the student lounge”. As stated in the oxford dictionary a lounge is “a public room... in which to sit and relax”. Students need time to stop, breathe and relaxand should not have it expected from them to be studying 24/7. The expectations on the use of the student lounge between students and teachers have been poorly communicated. If teachers expect the “lounge” to be a workplace, that needs to be emphasized to the students more clearly.

3.Extra-curriculars and a packed schedule.

Many students have extremely packed schedules, filled with extra-curriculars both within and outside of the school, leaving them with little room to rest. Extra-curriculars such as the drama club (which approximately half of the grade 11 E-sec students take part in) is an activity with a dynamic schedule that requires flexibility and dedication. Students have not only been using their free periods for studying, but also for their CAS experiences (and soon to be used as time for the EE and IA/IO). Below a blurred timetable of an anonymous GESS student shows the time at which they reach home every day after school and how much total rest time was given to them during the school daybefore reaching home.

As seen in the table, due to the new implemented supervised study periods(red)this anonymous student now only has a singular twenty-minute break in the morning the entire schoolday on Mondays.Does the school think that this ishealthy for a student? Do teachers care at all for the students which they put so much emotional or physical strain on? Maybe it may seem that “no work is happening” to the teachers.In reality, many students work even during their own lunch periods for studying or CAS related activities.

4.Effective vs Ineffective Learning

The lounge allows students to collaborate with each other more efficiently due to the large desks and private learning space.The whiteboard is constantly used appropriately and in an educational context by groups of students explaining or studying a topic together.Talking with each other while revising or explaining course material can be done without fear of disturbing others which for example in the library would be a problem as,a certain volume level cannot be exceeded. This makes effective collaboration across groups of students far more challenging. It is true that some students work better on their own, however many studies have shown that youths benefit from social interaction and conversation,as they are learning from their peers and feel more motivated and willing to ask questions.The lounge has created a safe and more comfortable environment for the students to both work and rest in.

**A compromise should be met regardless.For example, students should be informed which subjects have asked them to be in supervised study or else no improvement will be made. Allow students to choose which free periods are more convenient or efficient for them(give students the option to choose which free periods to sacrifice). Teachers should be having conversations with their students, to find the healthiest solutions.

Kian and Laura    Contact the author of the petition