Misunderstanding Causes Misuse of FLEX Periods
Students have faced confusion on the purpose and usage of Pioneer’s twice-weekly periods.
By Bibi Sediqi
Students have faced confusion on the purpose and usage of Pioneer’s twice-weekly periods.
By Bibi Sediqi
FLEX periods are a great opportunity for students to catch up on missing work, talk to teachers regarding their grades, and get a head start on their homework. Although most students utilize FLEX for this purpose, some misuse and take advantage of the free time provided to them.
The transition back to in-person learning has created many obstacles, but one that has continued to affect both students and teachers was students’ lack of knowledge about how Pioneer’s FLEX period works. Some teachers, such as English and ALS teacher Theresa Kurzawa, noticed that almost 50% of their students were not utilizing FLEX for its actual purpose.
During FLEX, students are given the opportunity to catch up on work or get one-on-one support from their teacher. However, on a lot of occasions students misuse the time given to them, which not only negatively affects them personally but can also negatively impact other students trying to get work done.
Ashley Luna, 9, said students not being productive often disturbed other students trying to get support or do work in FLEX.
“A lot of the time students just sit in class and do nothing but just fool around,” said Luna. “There’s nothing wrong with that, but it distracts other students who actually need to get their work done or need to focus.”
Teachers, such as Kurzawa, often found that the students misusing FLEX and not taking advantage of the extra support that it provides, were the ones who needed the most help.
“I would say the students who need FLEX the most are also the students who are unlikely to take advantage of FLEX because they lack that intrinsic motivation that they need to say ‘Hey I need to buckle down and do the work I’m supposed to do,’” said Kurzawa.
Kurzawa suggested that a restructure of FLEX could help teachers better meet the needs of the students who are struggling to utilize FLEX correctly.
“I think it would be a lot better if perhaps those students had kind of more focused FLEX period time where they can actually can get more of a one-on-one instruction with their teacher,” said Kurzawa. “I would say those students who struggle with that intrinsic motivation aren’t going to be the ones reaching out because that would involve intrinsic motivation.”
Math teacher Jennierae Paker suggested an alternative explanation for the reason behind student’s misuse of FLEX.
“Students can be so tired from the day they don’t want to work on their assignments, or they are just enjoying the time with their friends so it’s hard to get them to focus on
their work,” said Paker.
Luna detailed how she saw FLEX as not just time to finish work, but also to relax after a long school day.
“It’s a nice way for students to catch up on work, or a nice place to generally chill and take a break from the previous four hours you just had in class,” said Luna.
Physics teacher Colleen McDonough expresses that students can do other things such as talking with peers, rather than spending time on distracting devices.
“Most students that I have in my room are not taking advantage of getting one-on-one help from me but that doesn’t mean that they don’t understand that they can. And an addition to that would be even though they
are not asking me for help right now, I still think what they are doing is valuable, I think it would be more valuable if they were talking to each other rather than sitting next to each other and on their phones,” said McDonough.
Though devices can be an issue when they are not being used properly, there are students who do use the technology in an appropriate way.
“I like going on my phone and chilling because I usually don’t have any work, because I do it all,” said Neta Brinitsky, 9.
Although teachers do their best to keep students on track and productive during the FLEX period, in the end, it is up to students on whether they will utilize the period well.
“I do encourage them to come, but it’s really their grade and up to them to show up, I offer the help and resources,” said Paker.
The transition back to in-person learning has created many obstacles, but one that has continued to affect both students and teachers was students’ lack of knowledge about how Pioneer’s FLEX period works. Some teachers, such as English and ALS teacher Theresa Kurzawa, noticed that almost 50% of their students were not utilizing FLEX for its actual purpose.
During FLEX, students are given the opportunity to catch up on work or get one-on-one support from their teacher. However, on a lot of occasions students misuse the time given to them, which not only negatively affects them personally but can also negatively impact other students trying to get work done.
Ashley Luna, 9, said students not being productive often disturbed other students trying to get support or do work in FLEX.
“A lot of the time students just sit in class and do nothing but just fool around,” said Luna. “There’s nothing wrong with that, but it distracts other students who actually need to get their work done or need to focus.”
Teachers, such as Kurzawa, often found that the students misusing FLEX and not taking advantage of the extra support that it provides, were the ones who needed the most help.
“I would say the students who need FLEX the most are also the students who are unlikely to take advantage of FLEX because they lack that intrinsic motivation that they need to say ‘Hey I need to buckle down and do the work I’m supposed to do,’” said Kurzawa.
Kurzawa suggested that a restructure of FLEX could help teachers better meet the needs of the students who are struggling to utilize FLEX correctly.
“I think it would be a lot better if perhaps those students had kind of more focused FLEX period time where they can actually can get more of a one-on-one instruction with their teacher,” said Kurzawa. “I would say those students who struggle with that intrinsic motivation aren’t going to be the ones reaching out because that would involve intrinsic motivation.”
Math teacher Jennierae Paker suggested an alternative explanation for the reason behind student’s misuse of FLEX.
“Students can be so tired from the day they don’t want to work on their assignments, or they are just enjoying the time with their friends so it’s hard to get them to focus on
their work,” said Paker.
Luna detailed how she saw FLEX as not just time to finish work, but also to relax after a long school day.
“It’s a nice way for students to catch up on work, or a nice place to generally chill and take a break from the previous four hours you just had in class,” said Luna.
Physics teacher Colleen McDonough expresses that students can do other things such as talking with peers, rather than spending time on distracting devices.
“Most students that I have in my room are not taking advantage of getting one-on-one help from me but that doesn’t mean that they don’t understand that they can. And an addition to that would be even though they
are not asking me for help right now, I still think what they are doing is valuable, I think it would be more valuable if they were talking to each other rather than sitting next to each other and on their phones,” said McDonough.
Though devices can be an issue when they are not being used properly, there are students who do use the technology in an appropriate way.
“I like going on my phone and chilling because I usually don’t have any work, because I do it all,” said Neta Brinitsky, 9.
Although teachers do their best to keep students on track and productive during the FLEX period, in the end, it is up to students on whether they will utilize the period well.
“I do encourage them to come, but it’s really their grade and up to them to show up, I offer the help and resources,” said Paker.