A new school year at GHS has brought new rules and regulations to the building, such as the E-Hall pass. In my opinion, having the E-Hall pass doesn’t teach students independence very well and also takes away the ability of the student body to make their own decisions. It teaches dependence on teachers instead of a student using one’s own judgment. For sophomore Luke Muller, school is turning into something like a third parent.
“In my opinion, I think that the E-Hall passes are unnecessary,” Muller said. “I feel like the school is turning into the helicopter parent.”
For freshmen Ainsley Hodges, being a high schooler was a new beginning to freedom, independence and more. But having the E-Hall passes tarnished the reputation of this “freedom.”
“I think that the passes will be more of a problem in the classroom than a solution,” Hodges said. “Sometimes I truly don’t need to use the restroom and just need a break from class to regroup, but I feel like with the E-Hall passes I can’t do that.”
When the E-Hall pass was first brought up, staff members and educators in school said they felt the idea could help the accountability of students. Many students such as Hodges said they agree with this, but feel that only a few of their peers need this type of help.
This idea of using the E-Hall Pass system started at Aspen Creek Middle School, where the students have to sign out on their iPads before leaving them with their teacher. But this is high school. Having four passes a day, for going to the nurse, library, bathroom and more, is unnecessary and inconvenient for many students like senior Mia Bowling.
For Bowling, the E-Hall passes do not help upperclassmen who are on their own in college next year. Having to ask a teacher to use the bathroom seems unreasonable.
“Personally, I think that they are annoying and not realistic for preparing us for the future,” Bowling said. “I will not have to fill out a pass to use the bathroom in my further education. When you need to use the restroom in a class you can just walk out and won’t get penalized.”
The E-Hall pass was something that a lot of educators like Principal Todd Mueller were hoping to enforce. For many students at the high school, going to the bathroom is a time used for being on phones, skipping class and even meeting up with friends. These are the kinds of situations that principal Mr. Mueller and other staff members at GHS want to prevent.
“This will give us a better idea of seat time,” Mr. Mueller said. “One of the big things in education is obviously seat time and the more you are in your desk, or classroom basically, the less learning that takes place the more you are out. It gives us a better idea of tracking some of the kids that we are concerned about with missing a lot of time and actually knowing how much time they are really missing.”
So far, in my opinion, the E-Hall passes are not appreciated in the consideration of their intent. This program was set in place by Mr. Mueller and other staff members solely to keep the students safe and increase accountability. For senior Kiera Morgan, this new change is being used for the safety of the students, not to make them angry.
“Students in our school building are forgetting how much the teachers care for us,” Morgan said. “Teachers are never going to tell you that you can’t go to the bathroom if it is an emergency. No teacher wants people to feel uncomfortable in the classroom.”
Having this type of technology can help the school to always know where students are, at a moment’s notice. During real emergencies, teachers will be able to get students to a safe location. Although many students do not like this new change, it is being enforced it to keep the school a safe environment for all students and staff members.