Mrs.Tharp’s AP Language and Composition students had the opportunity to write a letter to the editors of our school’s newspaper. Junior, Gabbie Huggins, explains her perspective of being a high school student as she alongside many others works to balance the woes of service, education, athletics, and more. This is Huggins story.

September 21, 2016

Dear Editor:

I’m sitting in a classroom, my brand new backpack filled with over-priced school supplies in pristine condition. Classmates fill the room around me, chattering and buzzing about, like bees moving from flower to flower filling up on juicy gossip and summer vacation stories.Teachers glance over the room at their students for the new year, looking for any familiar faces to pick out of the crowd or say hello to. I revel in this period of time because it means a new year of school has begun.

Although I groan and whine about the amount of homework I have to complete every night along with the chaos that is ever present in my life, I value school because it gives me structure: during the week, I wake up at 5 o’clock, get dressed, go to volleyball practice, go to school, come home, have a snack, do homework, go to soccer, and then continue to complete more homework. During the fall and winter months, my life revolves around school. It dictates what I do on the weekends, if I’ll have time to hang out with friends, how much sleep I’ll be able to catch up on, and whether or not I’m permitted to binge on a season or two of Gilmore Girls. As a result, I cherish every moment away from the rigorous demands and expectations of school during those nine months, which is why summer is the perfect amount of time to refresh and start anew for each coming school year.

The current school calendar is the one I deem to be the most efficient in fulfilling the needs of our town’s youth because it allows students from kindergarten to high school a greater chance for opportunity and growth. For example, any Weatherford High School graduate that desires to move onto trade school or college or anything of the like is presented an ample amount of time during the summer to get a job, volunteer, or go to camp, which, not only makes the individual more well rounded and experienced, but it looks good on resumes and college applications. I know of many people who have been dying to attend their dream school since as far back as they can remember, such as Texas Tech, A&M, UT, or even Stanford, and the summer vacation allows them to take the time to better themselves, whether it be academically or physically, in order to have a greater chance of edging out the competition and receiving that lovely acceptance letter in the mail. In the same way, many students identify themselves by what they are passionate about, whether it be music, sports, reading, art, video games, dancing, singing, or academics. By having a five day school week with weekends and summer break off, each person is able to dedicate free time to doing what they love and improving at it. There is no better feeling than getting lost inside a book for hours at a time, or beating an all-time high score on Halo, or painting the sunrise as it breaks over the roof of a neighbor’s home.

Of course, the nine month school year can be taxing mentally, emotionally, and physically. Some mornings it may be a struggle to get out of bed and force a shirt over the head of one who doesn’t exist in the morning without coffee. Nevertheless, the struggles we are faced with during the fall and spring are adequately balanced by the three months of summer vacation which are perfect for relaxing, traveling, and spending time with family and friends.Oftentimes, we don’t see as much of our friends during the school year as we’d like to, and the break grants us the opportunity to really connect, have fun, and let loose. By the end, students are rejuvenated and ready to tackle a new year of learning and study. Now, a four day school week would be nice: no school on Fridays, more time to sleep , and who wouldn’t love a three day weekend every weekend? However, the minimum requirement for the number of minutes a student must be in school is seventy-five thousand six hundred or one thousand two-hundred and sixty hours. By reducing one day of instruction from the week altogether, students would have extend their school day hours as well as the number of days they attend school in order to close that gap. In a similar way, having a year long schedule would also extend the amount of schooling, therefore prolonging the rigorous routine and schedule that we follow during the year. Going to school throughout the duration of every season never allows one a full break to recover from the mental strain school puts on the mind, making it harder to stay astute and aware throughout the school year.

Ultimately, the school calendar is exceptional the way it is.With the increasing evolution of technology, it is necessary to keep the education system that is in place today in order to prompt an acceleration in the positive outcome of our high school alumni. By doing this, we will become even stronger a nation educationally as well as a better community individually.

Sincerely,

Gabbie Huggins