No more homeroom/free period in FCPS HS?

[Anonymous]

What is this "emotional IQ" or sharing "study" going on in the HS? Apparently the kids are expected to give up home room, a time when they could meet with teachers, study, or just decompress before the day starts, and share their feelings with 15 or so kids they barely know (grouped by last name, alphabetically). My child is not in HS yet but some friends were discussing last night. I can't find anything on it but it sounds like a ridiculous waste of time. This sort of thing ticks me off about FCPS.

[Anonymous]

I attend FHS from 1998-2002 and we never had homeroom we had FLEX and then they changed to rebel time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is this "emotional IQ" or sharing "study" going on in the HS? Apparently the kids are expected to give up home room, a time when they could meet with teachers, study, or just decompress before the day starts, and share their feelings with 15 or so kids they barely know (grouped by last name, alphabetically). My child is not in HS yet but some friends were discussing last night. I can't find anything on it but it sounds like a ridiculous waste of time. This sort of thing ticks me off about FCPS.

Nothing like this at our FCPS high school.

[Anonymous]

I think you are getting your knickers in a pinch for no reason. All the MS and HSs have a study hall time. Occassionally, the school uses that period for a counselor's lesson or goal planning.

Get your facts straight before you fly off the deep end.

[Anonymous]

Our FCPS high school doesn't have what you describe, but there is a built-in 30 min. "period" where kids can go get help from any teacher, or work on volunteer projects, or just study. It's called Saxon Time at Langley and I think other schools do the same thing, but call it by their mascots. It's been invaluable for my kids to go get extra help in classes where they need it.

[Anonymous]

HS teacher- I haven’t had a homeroom in about 10-15 years. There is time built into the school day for students to see teachers for help. It is similar to study hall but all teachers are available to answer questions and students can go from room to room.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is this "emotional IQ" or sharing "study" going on in the HS? Apparently the kids are expected to give up home room, a time when they could meet with teachers, study, or just decompress before the day starts, and share their feelings with 15 or so kids they barely know (grouped by last name, alphabetically). My child is not in HS yet but some friends were discussing last night. I can't find anything on it but it sounds like a ridiculous waste of time. This sort of thing ticks me off about FCPS.

What FCHS still has homeroom? We had children at McLean over the past 6 years and they never had homeroom.

[Anonymous]

I graduated from FCPS in 1994 and we didn't have homeroom then.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:HS teacher- I haven’t had a homeroom in about 10-15 years. There is time built into the school day for students to see teachers for help. It is similar to study hall but all teachers are available to answer questions and students can go from room to room.

I’ve taught in FCPS for 18 years and we’ve never had homeroom. We do have “Learn” like was mentioned above.

[Anonymous]

I'm not "flying off the deep end" as it doesn't affect my child yet. But, I do find this one of those silly ideas in a school system full of them.

I'm using "homeroom" in the sense that it is the first place they go in the day. Sorry if my vocabulary as to what it's called was wrong. But, several parents told me that their kids are experiencing this change. So as far as I'm concerned it is a "fact."

The teacher above who stated that the period is used for meeting teachers with questions, etc. is what is being given up for this new concept (at least in western FFX Co.) I'm trying to figure out what it is. It was described as an "ivy league study" wherein kids are grouped by last name, alphabetically, and they talk about "emotional intelligence" (a lot of "how do you feel about XX" circle time.) Thus, the free time is given up (and the free time seems a much more useful way to spend that time).

My child is not in HS yet but soon will be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not "flying off the deep end" as it doesn't affect my child yet. But, I do find this one of those silly ideas in a school system full of them.

I'm using "homeroom" in the sense that it is the first place they go in the day. Sorry if my vocabulary as to what it's called was wrong. But, several parents told me that their kids are experiencing this change. So as far as I'm concerned it is a "fact."

The teacher above who stated that the period is used for meeting teachers with questions, etc. is what is being given up for this new concept (at least in western FFX Co.) I'm trying to figure out what it is. It was described as an "ivy league study" wherein kids are grouped by last name, alphabetically, and they talk about "emotional intelligence" (a lot of "how do you feel about XX" circle time.) Thus, the free time is given up (and the free time seems a much more useful way to spend that time).

My child is not in HS yet but soon will be.

OP, I'm the Langley poster from up above. I would also be upset if this is what study hall/Saxon Time had become. They absolutely need that "free" time built into the day to get help (if needed) from teachers, study, or just take a breather. The nonsense you're describing is one of those "feel-good" exercises that is a complete waste of time. None of the kids take that stuff seriously - nor should they, IMO. Hopefully, enough parents will manage to get study hall back by the time your child starts HS there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think you are getting your knickers in a pinch for no reason. All the MS and HSs have a study hall time. Occassionally, the school uses that period for a counselor's lesson or goal planning.

Get your facts straight before you fly off the deep end.

I don't blame the OP, and it sounds like she does have her facts straight. I'd be mad too, if this was going on at my kids' schools. As it is, my MS child misses out on getting much needed help from her language and math teachers when they do silly counseling exercises during what is usually study hall. It's ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

There is no first place they go in the day except to their first class. By junior year the kids are crazy stressed. Throwing in some stress busters or mindfulness training now and then is not something I’m going to complain about. There’s no way all those random subject teachers who monitor the check-in-with other teacher or make up test time are going to be organizing wellness activities on a regular basis. Last thing to bother worrying about.

[Anonymous]

The county requires some sort of remediation time built into the school day. It is up to each individual school to implement that as they see fit. Most schools have gone to 8 periods on an odd/even schedule, where one of the periods is remediation. If this is going away at your school, it is your SCHOOL'S decision--not the county.

Where I teach, the block is divided--half silent reading, half homework time. Students can't go see other teachers unless they have signed up and received a pass in advance.
Once a month we do lessons on growth mindset, stress relief, mental health, etc. They still have plenty of time to get work done (and in my 10 years' experience, I'd say only 1/4 of the kids actually use the time to do work. Most are goofing off with friends if I don't intervene and separate them constantly).

[Anonymous]

When I went to high school here in the 90's there wasn't a free period. When did the county start requiring this? Was the day made longer or classes cut?