This article is part of a PRO/CON opinion piece on the addition of a homeroom period to Mira Costa’s schedule. To view the opposing side, see here.
Jason Boxer
Opinion Editor
Mira Costa High School is a busy place. Currently, Costa’s administration isn’t organizing events on campus well enough. Adding a homeroom period to students’ schedules will fix this problem and make Mira Costa more functional and efficient.
Costa staff currently communicates with students using the morning announcements. However, the chatter of unattentive students and teachers often prevents the announcements from being heard.
This poses a problem. The success of clubs, sports teams, and important school events depends upon this faulty system of communication. Despite the importance of the announcements, there will be classrooms which neglect to listen to them under this current system.
Also, the administration at Mira Costa cannot succeed in increasing school spirit without a better way of announcing information to students.
Costa faculty responded to this problem last year by voting to to hold a homeroom period once a week. It will be 24 minutes long and take place between third and fourth periods. Students will remain with the same students and teacher for all four years of high school.
The benefits of a homeroom period are numerous. Teachers would no longer have to worry about instruction being disrupted by scheduling for the upcoming year, meetings with educational advisors, senior activities like cap and gown measurement, ASB notices, or Link Crew sessions.
Also, virtually all activities that involve the entire student body can take place during this class, including club meetings. Most importantly, students will remain in the class for all of their four years at Costa, giving an opportunity to establish a strong relationship with a teacher.
Conflicts over the addition of homeroom are occurring, however, because it is receiving resistance from parts of Mira Costa’s staff. Many are arguing that it will take away from valuable instruction time, and others feel taking roll call for an additional period could be problematic.
The proposed schedule, however, was approved by the district auditor. It provides for the required amount of instructional minutes. Whether or not teachers feel this is enough instruction time is a separate issue. Instead of preventing the addition of a homeroom period, they should argue to change the required amount of instructional minutes.
Additionally, this new class will only remove five minutes from all other classes, which wouldn’t significantly disrupt instruction.
By holding homeroom after third period, attendance issues are prevented. If it were at the beginning or end of school, students would skip the class. If it followed or preceded lunch or snack, they would also fail to attend. By placing it between two instructional periods, all of these scenarios are prevented and it is less likely for students to be absent.
Mira Costa needs to efficiently communicate important information to the entire student body. By implementing a homeroom period, Costa staff will create a more successful and functional high school.
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