DEAR students: mandatory reading period still exists
DEAR time during Pascack Period will still happen, but changes have been made to reflect student feedback.
Although the past two scheduled DEAR sessions were cancelled, the mandatory Pascack Period reading session is not gone for good.
According to PV Principal Tom DeMaio, the administration decided to cancel DEAR (Drop Everything And READ) time in both October and November in order to “make adjustments” based on student feedback from the September session when DEAR was first introduced.
“The first time we did it there was a little too much movement,” DeMaio said. “We were working on how to better organize the whole thing so that we get a little bit more of what we’re looking for and yet also make adjustments for what the kids want.”
DEAR time will now begin immediately after homeroom approximately once per month when Pascack Period Session A would typically take place. On days that DEAR will occur, the second half of Pascack Period will switch back and forth between Sessions A and B.
We were working on how to better organize the whole thing.
— PV Principal Tom DeMaio
Additionally, changes have been made regarding what is required of the students during these sessions. While students were originally unable to see a teacher for extra help or do their homework during this time, they will now be able to do so as a substitute for reading.
“The biggest concern coming was that people still needed that time to study and that was being taken away,” DeMaio said. “[Now] if you still have work that you need to get done, you can get it done. If not, you read.”
Students will be able to witness these changes at the next scheduled DEAR time on Dec. 14.
“Hopefully more people take in the joy of reading,” DeMaio said. “If, in that half an hour a month, I can maybe hook a couple more people into reading, I think it’s worth doing.”
Kax Petkovich • Dec 12, 2016 at 8:47 am
I appreciate the effort that is going into honoring the student’s opinions, however I still feel like mandatory DEAR time is still not a good option. Most of the work that people have to do doesn’t involve seeing a teacher. Alot of it is homework, and even personal stuff for extracurriculars. On top of that, cutting the pascack period short which really screws up the schedules of every pascack period class. Contrary to popular belief, being forced to do something for long enough will not make you enjoy it if you didn’t already enjoy it in the first place. I also know that many of the English classes already have a reading period once a week. I am fine with this, as it is part of the class and is not taking up time that is labeled as “free time.” If you want people to form a love of reading, that is the place to do it. Forcing people to give up half of their free period to read when they do not want to and have better things to do is not the way to go about things. If anything, this is making people have a hatred of reading moreso than a love. Reading IS fun, but when we have more important things to do it can seem like a waste of time.