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Spirit week is a time to wear interesting outfits, get excited for the upcoming basketball games and have fun, but there could be a downside to all of the crazy activities that Spirit Week encourages. At a college preparatory high school, the focus is primarily on getting students ready for their future academic goals. That is why students are required wear uniforms and take so many difficult classes. When students lose the uniforms, how is the classroom affected?
Photography teacher Elizabeth Silver said that Spirit Week is very distracting, causing students to be more social. First hours have been filled (or not filled, rather) with tardy students who are spending their mornings talking in the halls.
“Kids aren’t getting their homework done because they’re thinking about costumes, and they’re not studying for their tests because they’re thinking about costumes,” Silver said. “It’s a week that needs a certain amount of patience and forgiveness.”
Though Spirit Week can be distracting to students, Silver said that it is worth the inconvenience because Harding is such an academically rigorous and demanding school.
“I think it’s good for you guys,” Silver said. “We don’t really let you be obnoxious teenagers very often.”
Biology and Environmental Science teacher Meghan Whitney finds it necessary to go easier on students in the classroom because of the distractions of Spirit Week.
“I always get to Monday or Tuesday of Spirit Week and discover that I have managed to decide to teach the hardest concepts in Biology, this particular week,” Whitney said. “Generally it works out okay. I do try not to push my students too hard because I know they’re not going to be awake, or paying much attention.”
AP US History teacher Amanda Johnson also had some difficulties during Spirit Week, though she appreciates it because the second quarter is such a stressful time of year.
“It makes it harder to manage discipline because people are hyper and want to focus on each other,” Johnson said. “Overall I think it’s still a good idea. This is a very tense time of year. I think it’s nice to have that fun release.”
