The 8:05 Time Change

As the 15 minute bell rings, students are gathered outside wondering why they haven’t been let in yet. The rumors are spreading. Students are chatting. Teachers are holding back the crowd.

Have you noticed that the entirety of this week (May 8th-12th) student’s have been let into the school at 8:05 instead of 8:00 in the morning? Well, if you haven’t noticed, this has been happening, and student’s are left in a tizzy wondering why.

Well, I’m wondering the same question too, so I decided to dig a little deeper to find the answer. 

I talked with Mr. Smiley to answer my question. I asked him why students are being let in at 8:05 instead of 8:00 in the mornings. He responded, “All through the rest of the day kids have 5 minutes to get from one spot to another. Even if you add 5 minutes to that and make it 10 minutes, that’s enough time to ‘handle the business’ of getting ready for school; go to the bathroom if you need to, go to your locker and unpack your stuff, get what you need for 1st hour, get a drink, fill up your water bottle. All of that can easily be accomplished in 10 minutes.” He continues, “When you add the 15 minutes though, there becomes a lot of added time that, sometimes, kids don’t use to their best advantage. They end up in the hall pushing and doing something that is not helping them start the day in the most productive way.” Mr. Smiley proceeds to mention that if it were January, we would not be doing this, but since it’s warm out in the mornings, we are able to be more comfortable outside for longer. “It is always better to let people outside, whether their kindergarteners, or little babies, or 80 year old senior citizens, people need fresh air.”

Mr. Smiley makes a good point. To gather information about how students are feeling about this change, I talked with 7th Grader Anna about it. I asked her how she feels overall about the 8:05 change, she responded, “I don’t like how we are now going in five minutes later. I like to walk around the halls with my friends before school and it’s annoying not having as much time to put my stuff in my locker. I know it’s supposed to be helpful, but it’s really not.”

Maybe this change is good. Maybe this change is bad. I guess it depends on how you look at it. I personally enjoy having 15 minutes in the morning to visit with friends and teachers. There just isn’t enough time otherwise. For some people, the extra 5 minutes in the morning is the only time they get to visit their friends aside from lunch and recess. 

If people spend their time in the morning poorly, that’s on them. Everybody else shouldn’t be punished for a few kids’ consequences. In the meantime, enjoy the fresh air in the morning, and just know that it won’t be like this in the winter time.

Whether you agree or disagree, this is something you can’t exactly change. I agree that kids need to be outside more, but I also enjoy having more time inside in the mornings. Maybe we will grow on this new change, or maybe we won’t. Just try to look on the bright side. Who knows? You might enjoy the extra time outside.