“My lesson plans typically are not super. I mean, it is always matching up to what we are doing like before we left for school or when we’re out for school this year. Obviously it was a little bit different because we started off this semester. But the good news is that I already knew the kids, so they kind of know my drill, so mine are applicable to what it is we’re learning,” broadcasting teacher Elaine McDonald said.
Even when teachers change their lesson plans to accommodate online school days, students feel less prepared for the school days that follow AMIs.
“A drawback would be if you have a test that you’re gonna have on the day that ends up being an AMI day. Then if you were prepared for it, I would feel less prepared for it, having taken it the day after,” sophomore Jayla Marriott said.
Some students feel that AMI days can not only make them feel less prepared, but they are also invaluable to their school work.
“A lot of teachers just assign busy work or easy work. So I feel like I waste three hours of my day doing stuff that’s not really valuable to my learning,” senior Oliver Matney said.
Students aren’t the only ones who dislike AMI days, teachers struggle with the student’s absence in the classroom.
“I don’t get to see my kids. I don’t like that. It seems empty. I don’t like the energy. So, that’s another reason why I don’t have big, huge, super in-depth assignments on AMI days because there are some kids who are not going to understand it,” McDonald said.
From certain teachers’ perspectives, the AMI days can feel empty and lack a human connection.
“Honestly, I’d probably rather have a regular school day. I’m an in-person learner, and honestly, I like to see my friends a lot, so I’d rather be in person to hang out with people and interact,” Matney said.
Many students have mixed feelings about the AMI days, but some students feel that AMI days are a reprieve from school.
“AMI days have affected me positively because it gives me a break from school. The work is typically a bit easier. Because teachers give less, and also it’s easier to understand versus when the teachers teach it. For me personally,” Marriott said.
It is 50/50 between students, as some love the break from school while there are others that feel they are less impactful.
“I feel like we could make them more impactful in a way, maybe rather than just having the teachers assign something for attendance and then assigning an assignment. Maybe we just have them do some sort of lesson, like those advisory lessons we have to do. Maybe we do those on AMI days rather than trying to learn all of our different classes on the AMI days. Maybe something like that,” Matney said.
