Lunches, hours and even entirely different classes? Every year at Timberland, hundreds of students fill out schedule change requests. The counselors are busy with people asking to change due to difficulty, friends or teachers, or sometimes they just do not want to take it anymore.

Starting in the 2020-2021 school year, this problem will dramatically decrease for counselors, but might pose a new problem for students- with a few exceptions, schedule change requests are gone. Counselors have given their reasoning as to why this is.

“This year, we went to an online form to track and see just how many we were getting. It was an outstanding number of over 500 requests for schedule changes,” counselor Amy Green said.

Counselors presented this information to administration, who agreed that something had to be done. However, not all students are entirely on board with it. Not all students agree that the lack of schedule request forms are a good thing. In fact, many are upset and think of it as “unfair” and “stressful.” 

“This feels awful, honestly. I still don’t know what classes to take for next year. It’s going to be hard to find classes that will have a good fit into my schedule as I am going to be a senior next year,” junior Zach Yatim said. 

Others, think the change is appropriate.

“I think it is reasonable, because it prevents students from switching classes just to be with friends,” freshman Caitlyn Graslie said.

In addition to not knowing what classes to take, other students are worried about the ones they have already signed up for, and fear the material will be too much, or they will not end up liking the class material. Junior Jailah Henderson is one of many students who, in the past, have asked for a schedule change. 

“I had asked to change classes because I was in the wrong class- it was one I did not want to take anymore,” Henderson said. “I also think that students should have the opportunity to switch; it is part of the high school experience to take classes that will help you, as well as ones you enjoy. Grades could also be affected for the worse if students are in a class they don’t like or understand.”

Counselors have said that schedule changes may only be available if a student is incorrectly put in a class that is not their academic level. This does not calm many students who are upset about the change in the first place. Many still feel that they should be given the opportunity to switch classes, with good reasoning. 

“Although it might be some extra work for the system that generates our schedules, it would really, in my opinion, benefit not only the upper but the lower classmen as well. There might be situations that we are not comfortable in, or when the curriculum is too overloaded in our already busy lives,” freshman Grace Busby said. 

For more information, view Ireland Murray’s article, “Timberland’s New Class Rules Changing.”