By: Eiman Shahzad, Sullivan Freshman
Having been stuck in the same routine of online learning, Sullivan High School’s freshmen teachers came up with the perfect thing to break it for a Wednesday… “Tiger Day”.
This day was not like every other day where students went to each class doing the same remote lessons. On Wednesday, March 5th, students got to make their own schedule which included three sessions of what they were interested in. This might have been the first time, in a long time, students felt some choice and agency through virtual learning.
Various Sullivan teachers shared their thoughts on Tiger Day.
Eiman Shahzad: Do you think it helped the students and if so, how?
Angela Aviles (Social Studies): I truly do believe Tiger Days benefitted the students! So many students seemed lighter and happier during our afternoons, and a lot of them didn’t want to leave the last afternoon session when school ended. They seemed much less stressed by the end of the day. I know it helped student grades as well, out of my four World Studies classes I received over 40 late assignments that day which was a big boost to grades.
Shahzad: Was there anything in particular that inspired Tiger Day?
Eleanor McMahon (Math): We have this Wednesday schedule that is called “Wellness Wednesday” but we usually just go through the motions of a normal day, so the 9th grade team decided to try something new! We have seen a few other schools try something similar.
Jennifer Coyle (Math): Seeing that students needed some additional focused work time and also to do something different!
Shahzad: Have you been feeling a little depressed over the same routine? Has not being able to see students faces been stressful?
Ellen Berkowitz (English): Not seeing students is really difficult! Getting to genuinely know my students is my favorite part of teaching so this year has been hard. We’ve made the most of it and I’m proud of all the work my co-workers have been putting into their lessons but mixing up the routine was very fun!
From a student’s perspective, I absolutely loved it. It was a nice break from a tiring, restless, repetitive schedule. Getting to interact with teachers about things I am fond of was a breath of fresh air which was much needed.
I didn’t want the day to come to an end while talking about K-pop with Ms. Aviles and felt genuinely disappointed that I didn’t get to sing more karaoke songs with Ms. Kordek. Although, at the end of the day, I felt quite satisfied. I’m very glad they are deciding to do this again. Seeing teachers actually care about their students sets off a sense of motivation to go to school and actually try.
The second Tiger Day will be on Wednesday, March 24.
