Homeroom is incorporated into the flow of the bell schedule twice a week. But these 20 minutes allocated towards homeroom mean something different to each student. Some like their homeroom and some despise it. For the majority of students, homeroom is enjoyable, however, some factors could be altered to heighten the experience for students. The Iliad staff believes that homeroom can be a productive class that students can enjoy with a couple of changes. Although there are pros and cons, we think that it can be changed slowly but surely.
Students tend to find homeroom satisfying because of the unstructured free time to be on their phones, relax, read a book, or converse with their friends. Some events go on during homeroom that can also improve opinions about it. Some teachers throw food-related parties where students or the teacher provide treats for the class.
But the majority of homerooms play the Titan TV, which for most Titans is the only time they will see it, and others even host games like Kahoot or trivia for their students to participate in. Occasionally, counselors will schedule times to come in and provide useful information, especially to freshmen and seniors.
On the other hand, Titans may hold a strong disliking for homeroom because of the inability to get a lot done, lack of connection with homeroom teachers, and more. If there were changes made, the enjoyment of homeroom can increase due to the hopes of getting to know one’s homeroom teacher, having a longer homeroom period, and being able to leave for other assignments. Students are not allowed to switch their homeroom which can cause students discomfort because they may feel trapped in an environment for four years. By allowing students the option to switch, with good reason, can allow for healthier situations in terms of homerooms.
That being said, being in a class for four years constitutes getting to know the peers and teacher as the standard. Having a homeroom for the entirety of your high school career means you’ll most likely have the same teacher for that time unless they retire. Because students see the same adult figure two days a week for four years, it would be nice to establish a trustworthy and stable relationship with an adult on campus. An example was when my homeroom teacher was not there and we had to go to a different room. In that room, the teacher was playing Kahoot with her class who were split into groups and were so engaged, it was clear this wasn’t the first time playing. Homeroom is a nice pause from educational classes. It could also be a period to catch up on homework, however only twenty minutes is not enough time to get all of your things out and get a good chunk of work done.
Inconsistency in homerooms is also a problem. For example, showing Titan TV should be a necessary aspect of the period, along with communicating with students about what they expect and want to gain from the class during homeroom. For example, my homeroom teacher likes to ask us every Monday and Friday if we want to watch the Titan Broadcast. An option could be homeroom teachers setting up a survey for their students to answer questions about what they would like to participate in during the duration of the period. Icebreakers are another idea to get the students who will see each other two days a week for three years to get to know each other.
Making the period longer, ten more minutes would make all that much of a difference.
Students would also like to be able to use at least some of their homeroom time to get help from, other teachers. With a lengthier period can come a more tutorial-like feel where students can leave the homeroom with the permission of their teacher to make up a quiz, interview someone for a class, or get help on an assignment. Even making the period five or 10 minutes longer would give students more time to get their work done.
