There are many types of schedules that schools can follow. Carter High School has been going by the block schedule – until now. Next year, students will follow the A/B schedule. With this schedule, students will take four of their eight year long classes on Monday (this could be represented by A), the other four on Tuesday (this could be represented by B), and that pattern will repeat throughout the week. We may have alternating Fridays as well (for example, one week’s Friday will be A and the next week’s would be B).

Many students are talking about their dislike for the new schedule, as it would just feel hectic and stressful.

I think that we shouldn’t change the schedule next year from the current block schedule to an A/B schedule.

First of all, students may find this new schedule to be stressful, as we will be taking eight classes at once for the whole year. Having to juggle eight classes rather than four at a time will be difficult, especially when it comes to having to do homework and studying for tests.

In addition, students who have been here while we’ve had the block schedule may find the new schedule to be chaotic. We’re so used to the block schedule with four classes each semester, so this is going to be a huge and difficult change, especially for us.

Finally, this new schedule may affect fine arts, like band and musical theatre, and make them chaotic and difficult to plan meetings and practices. For example, if a student is in both the Marching Band and Concert Band (which is the case for most band students), they would have to take both classes at the same time, which could be more overwhelming to the student.

Yes, this new schedule is implemented for a reason. One of Knox County’s goals is to get all of its schools on the same schedule (the A/B schedule) so that it’s easier for transfer students within the county to navigate their new schools. The new schedule is also supposed to give students more time with subjects, as the classes will be year long rather than semester long. 

Even though this is a good reason for the new schedule, the cons just outweigh the pros.

All in all, though the new A/B schedule has its benefits, it’s overall just not a good idea. Students feel that keeping the current schedule would be much more beneficial. 

It is the first home football game of the season, and you’ve been so excited. Upon entering, you see your friends, and you all go to the student section only to see your worst nightmare. There are no seats. Disappointed and angry, you are forced to stand, sit elsewhere, or, if you are brave, battle the roaring student section and band.

Going to the football games is a big deal for students here at CHS. Some may say it is a crucial part of having a nice high school experience. Students agree with the statement that we need more room for our student section at the games. There is simply not enough room, and it causes some students to have anxiety or panic. 

I also believe that we need more room or an extended area for our students and our band. 

First of all, it is way too chaotic for students to even get near the student section. Students are not allowed to stand near the rails when there is no room in the bleachers because of a police officer that is always stationed there. 

Second, it can be dangerous sitting or standing in the student section because of the pushing and excitement. The benches are not very comfortable or sturdy. When I stand in the student section and I can’t see, I stand on the bleachers. However, I find myself falling or almost falling several times throughout the game. 

Third, it can be very discouraging to students who can not get in the student section. They come to support the school yet they may not even be able to be with peers. They may have to sit with whoever brought them, middle school students, and people they do not know. This has happened to me and I did not like the situation at all. In fact, I felt like I had to get to the next game super early or just not go. 

However, it would be very hard to move and rearrange where the students, band, and parents sit.

Even though it may be difficult, it is very possible, if a group of students or teachers come together, to make new sections. For example, the students and band could be moved more towards the middle, we could have a parents (of the players) section, and then regular guests wherever else there is room. 

All in all, the students and I believe the student section should be bigger for a better football game experience.

Homework for teens is at the bottom of our priorities. Many students don’t get home until 10 pm, sometimes 11 due to work. How are young adults supposed to have experiences, work,  shower, clean, have free time, socialize with family, and do hours worth of homework?

Many teenage students don’t like homework. There’s always a handful of students that never complete their homework, or take their sweet time doing it. Students most of the time cheat on their homework, and that’s one of the reasons why homework is not helpful.

First of all, homework doesn’t help young kids meet developmental needs. They are not as likely to socialize as much as other kids who don’t have homework. This includes hanging out with family, friends, or engaging in hobbies. Kids who don’t socialize are the ones who stay quiet. Quiet is okay, but when it comes to participation or even making friends, that’s an issue.

 Secondly, the pressure to be a hard worker and overachieve can take a toll because if they don’t do that 110% effort in their work, they feel as if they did nothing. Every day is a new day, but for overachievers it can be hard when having a normal day like everyone else. 

Lastly, students normally cheat on their assignments. First thing teens do is use google, or text their friends and ask for the answers. If everyone will cheat in the end and not even take the time to learn pointless boring things, what even is the point in assigning anything? Some students even do it either in the morning or right before class starts as well!

Many people may say that homework is pointless to many kids, it does allow more learning time for students who struggle with understanding what they learned in class. It helps them have their own time to go over and take as much time as they need to finally understand it, without the pressure of finishing before the bell rings. 

On the other hand, 9 times out of 10 students are lazy nowadays and would do so much research to find answers instead of doing the work. Young adults already have so much pressure, especially the ones who have 2 jobs! Teachers and admin basically pressure students that if they don’t go to college, they won’t be in “the real world” but personally I was told by my manager that as soon as I come in to work, I am an adult because it is an adult world I am working in. 

Overall, homework really is not helpful, and the most it will benefit are those behind, or struggling to understand. Homework should not be assigned unless it’s for those who need to learn on their own time.

Desks are meticulously placed in a bare classroom. Students occupy them, heads in their hands and pencils continuously moving in a circular motion. A clock ticks softly behind them; multiple faces peer back at it. This is the ACT, a test designed to ‘showcase what students have learned.’ Yet, it only displays a small portion of the student’s intelligence, possibly shattering dreams and eliminating future opportunities from some. To start, the ACT only tests on minimum subjects. The test includes english, math, reading, and science with an optional writing portion. The students are given a certain amount of time to read the context of the questions and answer them all in time. Many complain about this feature. “It is a speed test. It does not test your general intelligence at all.’ Senior Madison Brown begins, “It also is not fair due to the fact that different schools focus on and require different subjects.” For example, other high schools require more credits in other subjects that take away from possible time to study and better prepare for the ACT. This dives into another complaint seniors at Carter have with the ACT. “There are only limited times each month and year to take it if you are unsatisfied with your current score,” senior Belle Gibson comments. While some may believe that the ACT allows students to demonstrate their full potential aside from grades, others do not see it the same way. Senior Kaylie Richards closes, “I understand it has always been used, but I have had to spend hundreds of dollars and hours to get my ACT high enough to be recognized for scholarships and my top colleges; perhaps, there is a better way to measure intelligence.” 

Eleven million people in America suffer from severe or profound hearing loss (these people are under the loose term of deaf), and nearly 20% of the global population has some form of hearing loss. Yet, even though American Sign Language is the third most common language in America- besides English and Spanish, Carter High School does not teach it as a foreign language. Many people would love to change this, as many have spoken up within the school and said that if given the opportunity they would love to take the class. So, that being said, Carter should offer ASL as a foreign language class for the logical aspect of it, inclusivity, and to include students’ wants and needs into the curriculum. An ASL class would be extremely helpful to students not only because it engages them in learning in a more “hands-on” experience, but also because of how commonly the language is used. I personally suffer from SSD, single-sided deafness, and have been in many situations overwhelmed by how hard it is to try and decipher what people are saying- and that is only with half of my hearing gone. For people that are fully deaf, lip reading is tiresome, and finding someone that they can communicate could brighten their whole day. Many students have all agreed that if the class was available they would take it, so why not listen to the student body and give them a class they want, and could possibly need? This could open up a multitude of job opportunities or even careers for the students, and even if that is not the path they would want to take, people who rely on ASL as their only form of communication could be inside the students’ work or day-to-day environment. Giving the students the ability to learn this beautiful language would not only be enjoyable for the people taking it, but imagine the lives the school could change by adding inclusivity into the community. Some may say that Carter already has a couple of options for foreign languages, but in actuality would it not be more logical to make room to teach the third most used language in America? Even at that, there are plenty of opportunities to add extra classes to Carter- without having to take out any that have existed before. Some may also say that we already have an ASL club, but that has actually ended due to a lack of a teacher. Not only that, but a club is an entirely different experience than a class. This is because not everyone is able to stay after school, and with the lack of a professionally educated teacher or funding for the club, it was more of a hang-out rather than an actual learning environment. Therefore, an ASL class would not only be a more logical class to teach, that would include teaching students their preferred language, but it would also bring more inclusivity into the school and eventually out into the community.  

An art piece made by a Carter student with brail and fingerspell representation

Opinated Fewer core classes

In the job you are pursuing do you need all four of the core classes? Most people do not, yet they are still required for all students to take them in order to pass. Many students don’t remember anything they learned after the class is finished. This leads to part of the next classes just reviewing with slight add ons but if this was not a required class the people taking it would most likely care about the subject and remember more of what they learned and would therefore need less review. Also, they usually have the most homework causing an increasing amount of stress for students. If you no longer need the four core classes then the average student has sixteen classes that open up and could be filled with classes that could help students for the career they want. One such example is Collin Abbott who wants to go to school as a Dental Hygienist and get money to open a business. He said, “That high-level math classes wouldn’t help.” Also, Julian Hernandez, who wants to own a McDonald’s said:” I don’t need to know how to analyze text so English won’t help.” Some say that the purpose behind the core classes is that they hit the broadest categories. However just because they hit most areas doesn’t mean that they are useful to all who take them.    

    I don’t think we should take exams because we did the work in that class. We worked hard to get our grade but when we take the exams our grade goes down and it makes it worse on us.Taking exams puts a lot of pressure on us, we have to study and try to remember everything that we learned. We already did the work and they are wanting us to do an exam, we do a lot of work already I just don’t think we need it. Also the teachers can just see how we are doing and look at our grade to see how we are doing. If our grade is getting bad then just get a turding for us to make us understand better cause taking exams is not going to help us at all it will just make it worse. Also taking exams can put so much stress on us. Doing exams just puts more work on us. They think that we can remember all the stuff that they went over for an exam, we can’t remember everything that they went over and most of the stuff they have us using we might not even use it. And I know that taking exams are important but I still don’t think we need them. One more thing is that we already take tests too. This is my opinion on why we should not take exams.

Have you ever thought about who picks up after the kids who leave a mess at lunch well one of those people is Sue? Sue is the Carter High School janitor who helps pick up the trash and clean the tables during lunches. Sue got the nice job she has all because of a good friend of hers. Her favorite part of her job is the amazing students and all the positivity they bring to her. She has had more than one favorite student over the years, but the ones that have made an amazing impact on her are the students, Jayden and Asia.

Every day Jayden Winston and Asia Mills always welcome her with a fantastic smile and ask about her day which makes her very happy. The most enjoyable thing about the job for her is “simply all of it because of all the interaction that it comes with.”

 Something about Sue that some don’t know is that if she has a chance to talk she will take it so the job is perfect for her because it allows her to have lots of conversations with students she says, “When they are all happy and talking to me it warms my heart.” Another thing some may not know is that her last name is Hickman.

 When the opportunity sets forth for her to go shopping, she takes it. Sue loves to spend her budget at West Town Mall. Sue has such a kind heart when the students are stressed out. She becomes very stressed out as well because she cares deeply for every student that takes the time to chat with her. 

Her colleague also wanted something to say about Sue,  “She is just an amazing woman who helps do so much of the work and doing all she can with the students, building relationships for a lifetime with them and being such a happy person.” Her good student Jayden Winston states, “ When I am having a hard day Mrs. Hickman takes the time to just listen and that means so much to me.”

Not all students talk to Sue, but when you do, it’s the most enjoyable time and conversation you will have.

An infamous ice cream machine was removed from the lobby of the main building at Carter High School on January 26th, and yet nobody knew the whole story behind it. The machine spent its days in the building for almost two years now and yet had been broken since the second it arrived. It was a rather large bright orange and white machine that laid waste in the lobby with a label that read, “Jeff’s Best Soft Serve Ice cream” printed across it. It was twice the size of a normal vending machine and offered three-cup sizes in a small variety of flavors vanilla, chocolate, or swirl- with the option of up to four toppings. Tasty or Not?- Nobody can truly tell because this machine never was capable of actually producing anything in its lifetime- or at least while it was in the school’s possession. Karyn Lee, a principal here at Carter High, was interviewed before the disappearance of the ice cream machine and talked about how “ The ice cream machine [belonged] to Cruze Farm… A partnership with the school”.  She went on to explain that Cruze Farm itself has a partnership with the school and was planning to do maintenance to fix the machine, and eventually, sell fresh ice cream to the students. 

Some may wonder why the school has such strict dietary restrictions on what the school can sell and produce for lunch, but then sell one of the fattiest sugar-induced desserts on the market? To answer that, the school made an exception to this rule because the student body would benefit by having more snack options, and both Cruze Farm and the school would be making extra profit. It was a win-win scenario if it was not for the misfortune error of the machine. As most can assume, this plan never was enacted to fix this beautiful machine because technical issues arose. Nobody could truly pinpoint the exact fallacy, but they had tried on multiple accounts to fix it. Plans have been made since before the removal of the machine to replace it with some extra vending machines once it had finally left. Some students like Jazylnn Jefferson, a sophomore here at this school, believe that it was absurd to take away the vending machine, and instead, they should have put more effort into fixing it because of how much potential it had. Sadly, the deadlines have already taken place- and the problem was unfixable. Many may think about the potential the machine had, and while it is sad to think about how the old thing left, hopefully, these new vending machines actually work. 

Parent Square is an app that is used by Carter high school students and parents. 

Parent square lets parents send messages to their student’s teacher, coaches, and other people at the school. A few people like the way the notifications are set up and how the app has changed their view of other apps. 

Abigail Lawsons, an eighth grader, talks about how she uses the app, and how the app has improved from other apps. 

Abigail Lawsons, an eighth grader, talks about how parent squares messaging has helped her messaging with teachers. She says “Sending messages to my teachers when I need something.” She also talks about how the app has improved with other apps like canvas. She says “The notifications make more sense and are more organized.”

Jody Lawson, a parent, talks about how the app has helped her with receiving messages. Jody says “I don’t miss things, because they don’t get lost in my emails.”