Every major at the University is different and they all come with their own set of frustrations and long list of questionable classes. Most people think of engineering or mass communication, but the School of Education should get a little more credit and exposure. It’s well known that engineers spend many of their hours doing math or that mass communication majors do a lot of outside-of-class writing or reporting. However, Education majors, along with others, spend much of their time driving to off campus classes or off campus field or lab observations.
The University should require and enforce professors to mark off a lab block when creating schedules so that students can accurately plan their schedules. Many education classes require tutoring, classroom observations and other requirements out of class that impose a challenge on students who take University classes from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. If they’re sitting in class during that time when, how are students supposed to find time to visit an elementary school that already limits students’ visiting hours and is only open from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.?
Education majors aren’t the only ones faced with this inconvenience. Lauren Lirette, a Spanish and International Trade and Finance junior, faces the same problem of having to find time for an assignment for her Spanish class. She has to observe a Spanish class at The University, but spends most of her day attending her own, previously scheduled classes.
“The most difficult thing is finding time in my busy schedule to complete assignments like this one,” Lirette said. “Like every college student, in every major, I have classes and assignments that continuously add up.”
Many students share that exhausted sentiment. As college students and adults, we understand time management should be something we’re working on and have somewhat mastered, but professors and the scheduling department need to do their part as well. Are students supposed to prioritize one classes out-of-class assignment over attending another one of their classes?
Students should not be forced to make this decision; it should be made for them during the scheduling process. Another reform that should be made to the scheduling process is back-to-back classes. It should not be possible for a student to schedule one class on the University campus, finishing at 4:20 p.m. and another off-campus class that begins at 4:30 p.m. It’s common for students to schedule back-to-back classes, and it’s up to the professor whether or not to be forgiving and kind about tardiness or timeliness.
Students face enough daily aggravations and stresses, and they don’t need to be worrying about something that was essentially out of their control or necessary to their schedule. Professors should sympathize with students and push for better, more manageable schedules so students can focus their efforts on class assignments instead worrying over their on time arrivals.
Jordan Miller is a 20-year-old elementary education junior from New Orleans, Louisiana.
