FLEX day–Is It All That Effective?
October 27, 2014
On Thursday, October 30th, the second Flex Day of the year will commence at Eagan High School.
FLEX days are two days every trimester during which students can get remediated or just come in for some extra help. For some students, this opportunity to strengthen their chances for academic success is very beneficial. However, there are some, both students and teachers, who think otherwise.
EHS Teacher Rita Anderson of the English Department explains her opinion on the matter. She thinks that Flex Days are effective for certain classes, like math and science. “They [math and science teachers] really focus on specific kids and they have a different way of grading and collecting data,” Anderson explains. “Math: chapter 3; you didn’t understand that? You can just come in. English classes don’t have that kind of a world.” Ms. Anderson does, though, believe that it is a nice change of pace to be able to bring students in for some one-on-one learning.
Ms. Deyo of the Language Department begs to differ; she feels that Flex Days are extremely useful. “I use them mostly for remediation when my students have been missing assignments or quizzes and tests,” Deyo discloses, “They sit one on one with me and get so much done that they are miss ing.” She also makes sure to entice people into arriving to her classroom for extra help by bringing food for the students. “If you bring food I think they’re more likely to come,” Deyo smiles.
On the students’ side of the spectrum, junior Riley Hale explains that “of the students that are remediated, most of them don’t want to be remediated.” He goes on to say that the other students look at Flex Days as purely optional and don’t even bother coming in.
The debate over the influence that Flex Days have over the students of EHS has been fought over many of times, but for now people seem to know when and how to make the most of this extra practice- or, in some cases, extra sleep.
