Mrs. Kohl’s 3rd Grade class was asked their opinion 5 school topics: Year Around School, Recess, Cursive Writing, Safety Drills and School Uniforms. Here are their responses:
Some schools are deciding to have school year around. They will have breaks throughout the year. They think this will help students to learn more because they will not have a chance to forget over the summer. What is your opinion? Do you agree with this idea? Why or why not?
Abby: Could you imagine sitting in your classroom chair in the middle of July while other school kids are having a nice summer break? Well here are some other things why we shouldn’t have year around school. If your parents work, it would be hard to find a babysitter. and it would also be hard for the babysitter to get out of school because elementary might have Year around school, but high schoolers don’t. here’s another thing, it would be hard to have vacay with all the switching back and forth and when you don’t have year around school you can go on months for a vacay. That is why I think we should not have year around school.
Julia: Do you think we should have year around school? I think we should have year around school. Because my parents work all year long. It can be hard to find a baby sitter. Some people have more fun with 3 months off. Most of my family lives far a way. So that is why I think we should have year around school.
Briella: Imagine sitting in class learning science in the middle of July! I think we shouldn’t have year around school because, summer weather is nice. For example, you can go to the beach. If kids play summer sports it would be hard to go to practices and games. For example, if you have a game at 9:00am it would be hard to get to school. That’s why I think we shouldn’t have year around school.
Brailyn: Imagine it is July and you are sitting in class learning math. That is why I don’t want year around school. Because I have working parents all the time. And it would be hard to find a babysitter during year around school. And I play summer sports. Also there is a lot of starting and stopping. And then you would miss your favorite months. That is why I think we should never have year around school.
Lily: Can you imagine a hot summer day and all your friends are on the beach but you have go to school wouldn't that be horrible. I think we shouldn't have year around school. It is hard for working parents. If both of your parents work it will be hard to find all those babysitters all the time. Also summer sports. You can't play summer sports in December. I feel like they should never have year around school.
Grady: Can you imagine learning math in the middle of July? I don’t think we should have year-around school. A lot of people play summer sports. I like to play football and baseball in the summer. If we had year-around school, it would be hard to get to games. Also, in the summer my family goes on vacation and we want the weather to be nice, not yucky. That’s why I never want to have year-around school.
Joe: In the middle of July sitting doing math would be horrible. We should have summer break because we can go fishing. Because the weather is nice you can play sports for exercise. Me and my brother bike to the lake and catch blue gill because they bite better in the summer. In summer break you can get your mind off school and catch big bass.
Some principals and school boards are in favor of eliminating recess for more learning/teaching time? They say that a lot of behavioral concerns happen at recess and students would better benefit from more structured academic time. Others say that behavior concerns in the classroom would rise if students don’t get to have recess breaks. What is your opinion?
Aaron: I think we should have recess because if we did not we would have to much energy and we would be running a round in class a lot. When people don’t get their energy out, they run around the classroom a lot. That annoys others. And that I think we should have recess.
Griffin: Can you imagine not having recess? I think we should have recess because, sometimes people can get a little hyper. We could get energy out. You can play with your friends. If your friends are in a different class, you can play with them. I feel bad for the kids who don’t have recess. I hope we keep having recess.
Mason: Could you ever imagine if you didn’t have recess? Because you won’t get fresh air. For an example, you would be stuck inside breathing the same air. A brain break you will have time to stop working. Also, you will have time to lose energy. That’s why I think we should have recess.
Serenity: Could you imagine a school day with no recess kids would be jumping around and that's not a good thing for teachers. In my opinion l think we should have recess because we can socialize with friends. Sometimes me and Aliah plan sleepovers. Recess also lets you get fresh air which clear's your brain and when you come back you can be a better student these are a few reasons that l think we should have recess.
Aliah: Should we have recess? I think we should not have recess for example because you will get hurt feelings. Friends might be mean to you. Without recess less bullying and friends don't have time to be mean and you can get hurt at recess you can trip and fall. That’s why I don't like recess.
Garrett: I think we should have recess. I think it’s away for kids to play. And get there energy out. And take some time off learning. And when kids play and run around they clear some room in their minds and when they come back in they can learn some more stuff. Like me I like to play football. And that is why l think we should have recess.
Jayden: Imagine a school where everyone is going crazy, well that's what it would be like if there was no recess. I think we should have recess. We would get a brain break. For example after I work for a long time I need a break because sometimes I get stressed out. Another reason why I think we should have recess is because we would get to socialize. For example I have friends in other classes so I would get to socialize with them. That’s why I truly believe that we should have recess.
Teachers disagree on whether or not cursive should be taught in schools. Some say that it is an important skill, others say that it takes too much time. There are many reason on either side. What is your opinion?
Lauren: What if you had the best hand writing in your class that would be cool right? Why I think we should have cursive is because, kids get to wright in two ways. For an example, kids sometimes kids get bored of writing in normal printing, so they could be writing in cursive. Also, some kids like fancy hand writing. Some kids have bad hand writing and if kids are writing in cursive it is much better no matter what. This is why, I love cursive.
Lillie: Have you ever learned to do cursive? Do you like cursive? Well this is my opinion. I think we should have cursive because… first, some people write neater. Then You get work done faster if you practice a lot. Now I am going to tell you one reason for one and two You’re not sloppy. Then, You get work done faster. I strongly believe we should have cursive
Schools practice safety drills to make sure that systems are in place in case of an emergency. Some argue that these safety drills create fear and anxiety. What is your opinion?
Jake: What if there was a real tornado and nobody knows what to do? A reason to have safety drills we will be prepared. Also, because we will grab everything we need. Taking drills make me feel safe, because if it does happen we know what to do. That’s why we should have safety drills.
Henry: Once in Hortonville elementary school, there was a fire. No one knew what to do and they were running around like crazy! The fire took 8 lives and injured 13. They would have all been fine if the practiced their safety drills. This is a story I made up to show why we should have safety drills. It could help us be prepared. If there was a real emergency, everyone would know what to do and no one would get hurt. It could also make people feel safe. For example, if there was a tornado people can think positive like, “I’m going to be ok.” That is why I think we should have safety drills.
Some schools require students to wear uniforms to school. These uniforms usually are a pair of khaki-type pants and a shirt with a collar for boys. Girls can wear the same thing, but they also have the option to wear a dress. There are many reasons why people might be for or against school uniforms. What is your opinion?
Emma: Imagine if you had to wear the same clothes every day. I think kids should not have school uniforms because kids don't get to show their personality also sum kids like to choose what they like to wear and at the beginning of the year. And the uniforms might be itchy and tight our uncomfortable and at some schools they have name tags and strangers can know their name and that's why I think kids should not have school uniforms.
Asja: One day all the principals in the world decide to require kids to wear school uniforms! "Oh! No!" Said all the kids. What is your opinion? Should kids be required to wear school uniforms? I think kids should not be required to wear school uniforms, because teachers can mix up their students, because their students will be wearing the same clothes. For example, my teacher mixes up kids in my class, and we aren't even wearing the same clothes. So, imagine what it would be like if we had to wear school uniforms! It would be terrible! Also, kids won' t be able to wear their personality. Like for example I like to wear clothes that are comfortable, and I like to wear clothes that aren’t ugly. I hope the school board never changes to school uniforms! That would be terrible!
Kaitlin: Imagine you woke up every morning and you had to wear the same exact clothes, except for after school and on Saturday and Sunday. Plus, your parents already paid for other clothes and not a school uniform, they would be wasting their money. You would get sick of wearing a uniform. If you buy 16 shirts and 12 pairs of pants then you're good for the year . You could get tired of wearing the same clothes thing the whole year. That is why I think we shouldn't have school uniforms.
Max: Have you ever thought about people at your school always having to go to school with a uniform on all the time and to getting to choose what they would like to have on. Oh, you think that that is not true… Well it is. The school principal had enough of bullying. He’s tired of bullies picking on kids who don’t have cool clothes and are poor and not having enough money to have lots of or do not have cool clothes. So the principal decided to make school uniforms for all the kids. So the boys who went to pick up smaller kids did not laugh at their clothes. So kids could not be late for the bus because when they woke up they know what to wear. But there are some bad things about school uniforms. People have to pay a lot of water bills because the school uniforms had to be washed out a lot and the kids didn’t get to chose what he wanted to wear. Some people like school uniforms and some people do not like them.
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