East High School recently debuted a new class called Connections. The new admin of East High applied Connections class to everyone’s schedule making mandatory. Connections class in only on Tuesday and Wednesday after 2nd period for 25 min. It was applied to everyone’s schedule because the admin wanted the kids to feel like they have at least one teacher they feel comfortable with. The admin wanted the kids and teachers to build a special bond with each other and for the teacher to really get to know their students. Although that is what the admin wanted, most of the kids at East High don’t agree with it and have other feelings about connections class.  

A student at East High says, “I personally don’t go to connections class anymore because I feel as if it useless and I don’t really learn anything in there. All the kids my class just sit on their phones and don’t do anything, so why go to a class where you’re doing nothing but sitting on your phone?”  After speaking with that student and interviewing other students, they all had similar thoughts and opinions about it. Students at east high tend to not care about class where they are not learning anything useful or when they are just sitting there on their phones. Another student at East High says, “Connections class is just very useless. My teacher does not even care about anything and just sits at their computer the whole time. The only time they talk to us is when they are taking attendance or asking a question about a different class. Connections class is boring.” Students are not wanting to attend connections because of the lack of communication between the students or because of the boredom in that class. In the opinion of many students at East High, Connections is useless.  

Although most of the students think Connections is useless, there are some students who think it is useful. A student at East High says, “My Connections class is very fun. The teacher likes to talk to us about anything and cracks jokes most of the time. They make us feel welcome all the time and makes it worth going to.” Some students are enjoying their Connections class because they really feel like they can open up about their day to their teachers. The students feel as if they have a special bond with the teacher and are in the process of building trust with each other. Students are having fun in classes that they can interact with students and teachers. Another student says, “My Connections class is fun because I am with kids I know. We get to share answers with each other and help each other out with schoolwork. Connections class is probably 60% of the reason why I am passing chemistry.” The students that like Connections are the students that are putting an effort into being there. They are taking advantage of the time they to slow down and to get caught up in classes that they need the most help in.  

After interviewing and hearing different perspectives of both sides, we can say that connections class is useful if you are really putting in an effort of being there. The kids who think Connections is useful are the kids who participate in the activities. They put in a lot of thought into being there and make most of the 25 min they have in that class. The teachers also make it worth coming to by, being active with the students, talking to them, laughing with them, and most of all being there to listen and to help them. The kids who think Connections is useless are the kids who go just for attendance, so their parents can be happy that they went to their classes. Those kids are the kids who sit on their phones and don’t participate with anything and just sit there and watch the time go by. It is also because some teachers don’t put in as much energy as they do with any other classes. Those teachers are the teachers who stare at their computers the whole time and never look up unless it’s loud in the class or they need to answer a kid’s question. The opinion on whether Connections is useful or not really depends on how much energy and effort both the students and teachers put into being there and to interact with each other or not.