There is a wide range of classes to fit all the students here at SHS, from art, to math, to photography and broadcasting. But what happens when there are too many students and not enough time?
Some classes have merged multi-level students into one, creating an awkward combination of intermediate and advanced students crammed into one classroom.
But this is not a sufficient way of running a class productively. This system hinders the classroom experience for all levels of students.
I have been a broadcasting student for about three years now. I started out simply learning the basics of video editing. When it came to second year, the class started editing the school announcements. That’s when things got a bit more complex, as we needed to learn how to work together as a team to create a show.
It took months of practice and grit to get to where we are now. We had to learn all the new equipment and tackle the responsibility each and every day. All this work was to prepare us for the third year of broadcasting, in which we would take all that we have learned within the past two years and put it to the ultimate test of creating cinematic work.
At least, that was the plan.
This year, the second-year class merged into our third-year class. With the newcomers being inexperienced, they were at an extreme disadvantage when it came to the third-year projects, meaning we were back to making the announcements for a second year.
While this was disappointing, if we had continued with the year three plan like normal, the newer kids would have been left behind. They would be unable to operate the new equipment, less inclined to editing knowledge and, worst of all, unable to work as a team.
Either way we could have run the class would have led to one side being mistreated in its academic goals.
Instead, we should have split the class up despite being in the same classroom. Perhaps we could have been given the same projects, but year three students would have tougher guidelines than year two.
That way, everyone could work together on projects while still learning at their appropriate skill level.
This method could be implemented in other classes as well. Language classes could have assignments that require different students to form more complex sentences than the others, or science projects could require some students to complete additional research and experimentation.
Having these two drastically different classroom experiences mix into one creates a bit of a mess. It would be beneficial to both sides if lessons and projects were correctly incorporated according to each student’s needs.
