Friday Activity Block Should Be Replaced With an Early Dismissal

by Joie Liu

Opinion

March 25, 2020

Friday activity block is a period after Friday classes constructed to allow clubs to have time to meet or students to get a head start on the weekend workload. With BUA’s recent move to remote learning, it is no longer occurring, but it is planned to resume once BUA is able to hold in-person classes again. For many students, Friday activity blocks are seen as time to catch up with friends and to socialize after a long, hard week of academics and tests. Often, no productive work is done, which I know from experience, and the block becomes a inefficient use of both students’ and teachers’ time. BUA is known for being an intensive school, and throughout the week, students’ brains are tested in a multitude of different ways. As a result, by the end of the day on Friday, we are tired and ready to go home to have a relaxing weekend. 

The plan that Student Council proposed to solve this problem would be to remove Friday activity block. Instead, students could choose to leave school and go home, or they could stay at school to participate in clubs or study. I think that this would offer the greatest flexibility for students, as students who anticipate that they will be unable to focus in the school environment can leave. Allowing students this choice would have the additional benefit of freeing up teachers’ time. However, students who are interested in going to club meetings can stay, since the building will still be open and clubs can use the free classrooms. 

A significant counterargument that could be made is that some students only go to clubs during Friday activity block because they have nowhere else to go, with the result that if the period is cancelled, attendance in these clubs might decrease. Despite the fact that this could be true, clubs may find that the students who choose to stay even with the option of going home contribute the most to the club, since they are the members who genuinely enjoy attending. I support and approve of Student Council’s proposal to remove Friday activity block. As a student, I appreciate that the plan both gives students the flexibility to either participate in clubs or have an early dismissal and allows teachers to go home earlier.